Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 128313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
I rushed to the exit, feeling both livid and humiliated, when something made me turn to face him and say, “I can’t believe I was so wrong about you.” I let those words circle around us, filling every inch of space with disappointment. “I have idolized you for years, have only heard your reputation to be one of a gentleman. But this—” I waved my hand up and down his frozen frame. “This? This version of you isn’t someone to admire.” Jasper’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared. “You are cruel, and you are bitter, and to discover the man who inspired me to ride is such a fucking dick . . .” I laughed sardonically now. “That is the real tragedy here.”
With that, I spun on my heels and rushed out into the cold night, ignoring the few stray tears that tracked down my cheeks and the sudden ache of emptiness that had burrowed into my heart.
Chapter Nine
Hallie
The sun beat down from above, warming my old Stetson and keeping my head warm. This kind of weather had come to be my favorite in England—the brisk coolness of a winter’s day, but with a clear blue sky, the sun beaming brightly above, casting the mass of green fields in a stunning golden hue.
Clicking my tongue, I smiled as Huxley immediately moved from a trot to a canter as we worked at liberty. His dark coat glistened in the bright light as he circled around me, highlighting each of the muscles that’d been honed and defined from all our training.
“Good boy,” I praised, and Huxley’s ears pricked back and forth at the compliment. We were outside in an arena away from the main body of the estate. Yesterday, an insane number of security guards had turned up at Golden Oaks and were staying for the foreseeable future. Word in the yard was that Jasper had hired more guards due to a string of stud farm break-ins that were happening up and down the country. I understood the reasoning for the extra protection, but seeing a guard everywhere you turned was a little unnerving.
Today, I wasn’t riding. This morning was just Huxley and me bonding, something I’d been doing with him since we’d been assigned as a team. Taking out my cell, I video-called the one person who’d appreciate this.
When Canyon’s face came on my screen, I smiled despite the lingering ache that had been there for the past couple of days, one that had cast a shadow over my happiness, regardless of my best efforts to put it behind me.
“Hallie-girl!” Canyon said, and the rising Texas sunrise behind him made homesickness crash over my heart. Canyon was clearly on horseback if the bobbing of the camera was any indication. It was about 5:00 a.m. on the ranch, but I knew Canyon already would have been up. Ranchers awoke at the crack of dawn.
“How’s the ranch today?” I asked. I kept my arm out to signal to Huxley to keep going. I wanted him to do his final rounds of this exercise, then we’d call it a day.
Canyon lifted his steel coffee mug to the camera. “Good, Hals. Havin’ my mornin’ ride around the perimeter with Rosie.” Canyon moved the camera down so I could see his old, treasured quarter horse beneath him. She didn’t work cattle these days, but she still loved to hack around the land. My chest squeezed tightly. I loved my life now, what I did for a living, but there was something about ranch life that called to me like a siren’s song. I wiggled my toes in my cowboy boots and felt the heavy denim of my trusted jeans pressed against my thighs. Wearing these clothes, if I closed my eyes, I could almost taste Texas. Could almost trick myself into believing I was back there with him.
The way I’d been feeling these past couple of days, I wished I was. Just for a small reprieve from the cave that had burrowed into my heart.
“Hals?” Canyon said, suspicion in his voice. “What’s wrong? I know that face.”
I opened my eyes and forced a smile. I turned the camera so Canyon could see Huxley being lunged without a line. Our liberty work was coming along nicely, and my beautiful stallion trusted me increasingly each day.
“He’s a beauty,” Canyon said. I turned the camera back to me and whoaed in a gentle voice, signaling Huxley to come down to a walk. He did exactly as I wanted. “He trusts you,” Canyon said approvingly, and I could see the pride on his face. “We’ll make a horse whisperer out of you yet.”
I laughed. “I’ll leave that to you and your magical touch, but I like the bond Hux and I have built up. I’m really getting to know what makes him tick.” I held up my hand, and Hux came over to where I stood. I laughed again when he laid his head over my shoulder, his beautiful face filling up the screen of my phone. I kissed his nose and said to Canyon, “I’ve almost got him jumping bitless. After that, I want to see if I can do it with just a neck rope.”