His hand on her arm conveyed determination to finish the conversation, yet it was light enough to give her a choice. She turned of her own accord and admitted, “I never said I didn’t want to learn to ride, either.”
He frowned. “Yes you did.”
“I said, I never said I wanted to.”
“You just said you didn’t want to learn and that I couldn’t make you. I’m not going to for
ce you, Kendra.”
She shook her head. “If I didn’t want to learn, you couldn’t make me.”
“No…you said…aw, hell.” Confusion became annoyance. “So, which is it then?” When she hesitated, his jaw clenched. “Do you or don’t you want to learn to ride?”
“Yes,” she said quickly. Looking down at her boots, she lightly kicked at the grass, and added, “I do.”
“Fine.”
He left, mumbling under his breath as he went. For once she understood his frustration, because she felt it, too. Why was it so hard for her to get along with the man?
Paelo’s soft nudge against her back brought her around. “You’re still here?” She ran her fingers across his velvet-soft muzzle. His brown eyes regarded her as he lipped at her hands for more sugar. “Sorry, he had them all,” she apologized with a final stroke down his neck.
The bus from the teen center arrived as she returned to the barn. Kendra helped Britt pack lunches and said goodbye as they mounted up. Noah stood at her side, waving with a forlorn look on his face.
She was surprised when Cody halted his horse next to Joel at the end of the line. “Dad, can I stay with Noah?”
Not to be outdone by his brother, Dustin decided he wanted to stay, too. From atop their own horses, Joel and Britt exchanged a glance, as if debating which one would remain behind with the boys, so Kendra stepped forward. “I can watch them.”
Britt reined Paelo around. “That’s okay, I’ll stay.”
Joel shook his head. “No, you go. In a couple of months you won’t be able to.”
Kendra smiled and pointed out, “I’ll be here with Noah anyway, it’s not a problem.” She waved them off to catch up with the other riders.
After putting their horses away, the boys took off for the tree house and swing set between the two houses. Kendra detoured through the guesthouse to get her book, making her way to a chair on the front porch where she could see them.
****
Colton rode back into the yard as Kendra settled into a chair on the guesthouse porch with a book.
She sat forward when she spotted him. “Is everything okay? I thought you were going with the group?”
A glance across the yard confirmed all three boys playing by the tree house. “Everything’s fine,” he assured her calmly. And I’m going to make sure it stays that way. “I forgot about some things I needed to get done,” was the only further explanation he offered Kendra.
He kept an unobtrusive eye on her and the boys from the barn for the remainder of the morning. He couldn’t believe Joel and Britt had so casually left their children in her care. Sure, she seemed harmless. Didn’t look or even act the type that’d steal cars and wield knives, but Colton knew better. Yes, he was insanely attracted to her, and yes, he was slowly beginning to respect her, but until she came clean and revealed her secrets, he couldn’t trust her. He wasn’t willing to leave her alone with the kids all afternoon.
After lunch, she walked to the barn office with the three boys, who asked if they could play in the hayloft. He warned them to be careful, and they disappeared in a flash. Kendra requested to brush one of the horses.
“Sure. Cinnamon isn’t overly protective, she’ll probably let you brush her colt, too.”
Her quick, appreciative smile hit him in the gut. It lit her brown eyes and made him want to see it again. Damn her for continually surprising him and throwing him off balance. He didn’t want to like her when he still didn’t trust her. A firm reminder of how she’d tossed him over her shoulder did the trick. Not that he particularly liked the memory, but it was the quickest way to stop the unruly train of thoughts racing through his mind.
He returned to his bills and wrote out the final check of what felt like fifty for his father’s medical expenses. The whispers and giggles of Cody, Dustin and Noah up in the loft registered on his consciousness. They made an occasional detour downstairs, and their antics brought a smile to his face.
To be young again with no worries, he thought, staring at a five hundred dollar payment for the latest batch of prescriptions. Blowing out a sigh, he stuffed it into the envelope, sealed it and set it aside before deciding he’d had enough for the day.
Colton strode outside to collect his Arabian stallion, Lucky, from the paddock, but noticed the water trough needed to be filled. The faucet and hose were just inside the barn doors. With a practiced flick of his wrist, he turned the water on and reached for the sprayer attached to the end of the hose so he could unwind it from the reel.
Cold water showered him from head to toe. Colton leapt back. He eyed the water arching from the sprayer. What the hell? A muffled giggle from the hayloft brought him around in time to see three heads duck behind a hay bale.