Paradise Peak (New Americana 5)

“Oreo!” Zeke bounced and pointed at the mare.

“Shh.” Liz touched a finger to her lips. “You have to speak quietly around the horse, okay? Otherwise, you’ll scare her.”

Zeke pressed his finger to his lips and nodded solemnly at his mother.

“Travis seems like a nice guy,” Ben said, moving behind Liz and looping his arms around her. “But he doesn’t offer up a whole lot about himself, does he?”

“Ben, you’re as bad as Hannah.” Liz smacked his arm playfully before snuggling back against his chest. “There’s no need to pick apart every stranger’s character the moment you meet them.”

Ben grinned. “Hazard of the job, baby. I just noticed he’s standoffish. So did Carl.” He glanced at Hannah. “Or are we wrong? Is he more open with you?”

Hannah shook her head. “Sometimes, but only when he’s asked directly.” She watched Travis walk slowly across the paddock, his muscular frame relaxed and his steps soft. “He said he grew up in Rockton Park, and he’d never been around horses until Red brought him to the ranch two days ago. He doesn’t drink and chooses not to drive.”

Ben frowned. “Where’d Red run into him?”

“On a trail by the river,” Hannah said. “Red said he bumped into him on the way back from fishing. Travis had been hiking and looked tired, so Red offered him a room for the night; then he and Margaret offered Travis a job.”

She made a face as Travis reached the mare, who took a startled step back. Carl said something, held out a rope and a small bag of sliced carrots, and Travis took them.

“What do you think of him?” Ben asked.

Hannah hugged Zeke closer as Travis tossed a slice of carrot on the ground and waited off to the side. The mare lowered her head and ate the treat.

“He’s been a hard worker so far,” she said. “I’d never have finished the stable roof in one day if he hadn’t helped me.”

Ben leaned on the top fence rail and looked at Hannah, his eyes meeting hers. “But do you trust him?”

“I . . .” She hesitated, watching as Travis took a step away from the mare, tossed down another piece of carrot; the mare followed. “I don’t know.”

Ben studied Travis for a few moments, then said quietly, “I can run a background check, if you’d like me to.”

Hannah leaned closer to Zeke and rested her temple against his. Zeke leaned into her, his attention rapt on Travis and the mare.

“I’ll think about it.” Eyes on Travis, Hannah tensed as the skittish mare approached Travis from behind. “Guess we’ll see a bit more of what he’s made of.” She glanced at Liz. “Animals see as much as kids do when it comes to people.”

Liz nodded, but didn’t answer, and she and Ben continued to watch Travis and the horse. Zeke remained still in Hannah’s arms, save for the lift and fall of his small chest on excited breaths as he stared, too.

The mare reached Travis’s side, eyed the bag of carrots, then lowered her head and nudged the back of Travis’s arm. Travis lifted his arm slowly, presented his upturned palm, and the mare nibbled a carrot from his hand.

“Well, what do you know?” Liz winked at Hannah. “He’s a natural.”

Zeke, shi

vering with excitement, smiled up at Hannah and whispered, “Giant.”

“A gentle giant,” Liz added, leaning over and kissing Zeke’s cheek.

Zeke giggled and Hannah hugged him closer.

A gentle giant. Hannah turned the words over in her mind as Travis slid the rope slowly over the mare’s head. She wondered if Liz and Zeke were right.

CHAPTER 6

“Who do you see, beautiful?”

Travis watched the black and white mare, her dark eyes wide on him, shift inside her stall in Paradise Peak Ranch’s stable. Her gaze stayed steady, just as it had been hours earlier when he’d loaded her into Red’s trailer.

Carl had said the mare trusted men more than women, but even he had been amazed at how quickly she’d taken to him. Hell, Travis had been amazed himself. He knew the treats he’d offered the horse must’ve sweetened the deal, but he still couldn’t figure out exactly what drew her to him.