Play Me

Kendall cleared her throat and seemed to falter for a moment. “I have feelings for your son that I’ve never had for anyone before. This is new to me and we’re…” Her voice trailed off.

I stepped closer to her and took her hand. “Exploring that,” I finished for her.

My mother walked up to Kendall and kissed her on the cheek. “Sometimes admitting something to others is just as hard, if not harder, than admitting it to ourselves. Good job, sweetheart.”

My mother. The personal cheerleader. I could practically see the plans swirling around in her head.

Kendall beamed at my mom, and soon they were hugging each other. My heart pounded so hard in my chest I actually rubbed the spot in an attempt to settle it down. My body suddenly got hot, and I took a step away from the two women. I hadn’t felt this way when Rachel had hugged my mother for the first time. So what the hell is this feeling rushing through my damn body?

I looked over at my father, and it was like he was reading my mind. He gave me a half smile and nodded as if to say he understood the realization I had just had. I was falling in love with Kendall. He also knew I’d only ever given my heart to Rachel, who’d broken it. Or so I thought it had been. With Kendall, I already knew if she were to break my heart, I would never recover.

21

Hunter

Kendall and I rode through the pasture in silence. The rolling mountains surrounding us were beautiful. It was spring in Tennessee, but there was still a hint of winter trying to hold on as long as it could.

“What’s over there?” Kendall asked, pointing to a small corral.

“That’s part of the original ranch. They used it for cattle. See the chutes? They loaded up the cattle in the corral and then herded them into the trailers.”

She stopped Romeo, the horse she’d picked to ride—at my father’s suggestion, of course—and stared out at the scenery. Before we’d left for the ride, Mom had packed us a small picnic lunch.

“This looks like a beautiful place to stop and eat. I’m starving.”

I nodded. “This will be a good test for no-name to see if she runs or stays with Romeo.”

“We could tie her up to the corral?”

“Nah, I’m going to give her some trust and see how far she takes it.”

Kendall smiled. “I have a feeling you were like that as a coach, too.”

I smiled but neither agreed nor disagreed with her.

We slid off our horses, draped the reins over their necks, and walked a few yards away from the horses. My nameless beauty seemed confused by my letting her wander. She let out a blow, as if she was curious about her freedom. She followed me for a few steps before she stopped. Glancing over my shoulder at her, I smiled. She bobbed her head a few times before she lowered it and started grazing. I wasn’t surprised by this. She showed me I could trust her, and I had just returned the same trust to her.

Kendall laid out the blanket while I pulled everything out of the basket. My mother had somehow whipped up chicken salad with pecans in it, fresh fruit, and two brownies that she must have hidden from my father.

“May I ask you something?”

“Of course you can.”

“Why don’t you like talking about it? Coaching, I mean. You know it wasn’t your fault, right?”

Swallowing hard, I glanced around the wide-open countryside. I could feel Kendall staring up at me.

I didn’t like talking about the past. It was just that—the past. A part of me I had buried away and saw no sense in discussing further. But a part of me wanted to talk about it. Maybe I needed to and was just afraid. “I should have known something was wrong. It was my job, and I failed. It’s that simple.”

“Hunter,” she whispered, standing up and taking my hands in hers. “That’s not true. How could you have known? Did you have a way to look inside his body? See what was wrong? It was a tragic accident, that’s all.”

I lowered my gaze so our eyes met. I wanted to lean down and kiss her again, but I didn’t want to use a kiss as an excuse not to talk about my past.

“It’s over with. I’d rather not talk about it, Kendall.”

She nodded her head and said, “Okay. Then let’s eat. Everything looks amazing and smells even better.”

I watched as she sat back down and got to work arranging everything. I loved that she hadn’t pushed me on the subject. When I declined to talk about it, she took it in stride and kept the mood light. This woman truly was amazing. I fought against the urge to spill my guts to her. Instead, I dropped down next to her and took the bottle of water she handed me.

We sat in a comfortable silence as we ate. She popped a strawberry into her mouth and glanced out over the pasture.

“It’s so beautiful here. I can see why you love it.”

“I really do. It settles my soul. Gives me a sense of peace I long for.”

I felt her stare, but didn’t turn to face her.

“May I ask you something, Kendall?”

With a sweet smile, she replied, “Of course.”

Our gazes met and for a long moment, we held the connection.

“Have you never been in love?”

She stiffened before glancing down at her food.

After a long moment of silence, she let out a chuckle and replied, “No. Unless you count my job.”

I grinned. “No one has ever caught your interest? Made you long for something more?”

“No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Not until you.”

That made my heart beat faster.

She lifted one shoulder and stared out at the horses.

“I wonder how your dad got your nameless horse to let him ride.”

Change of subject. Okay, fair enough.

My chest filled with pride as I thought of my father training my horse. “Let’s see. He’s patient. Has a great deal of love in his heart and is stubborn as hell.”

“Sounds like the apple didn’t fall very far from the tree.”

I winked at her when she looked in my direction. Then we both focused back on the horse.

“Dad has always had a way with horses, though. Everything I know about ranching and football, I learned from him. I remember when I was little thinking I couldn’t wait to grow up and be just like him.”

“What did he do differently than you did?” Kendall asked, honestly interested.

“Who knows? Patience goes a long way.”

“You weren’t patient with her?” she asked incredulously.

I laughed. “I was, but she also knew she was getting to me, and I think she liked it. Stubborn mare.”

And as if she knew we were talking about her, she gave a quick bob of her head and neighed. Kendall and I both laughed.

“I think you’re right. Seems she likes getting under your skin.”

I chuckled. “The moment I saw her, I fell in love with her.”

Taking a bite of my sandwich, I felt the heat of Kendall’s stare.

“My mother once told me in order to love, you have to give love. I feel the love coming from this horse. It’s hard to explain, but I feel connected to her, and I think my father does, too. I think she feels that.”

“Ahava,” Kendall said softly.

Kendall stared out at the golden horse with a look on her face I’d never seen before. She whispered the word with an almost longing. It made my chest squeeze to see that longing on her face.

“What?” I asked.

She cleared her throat and looked directly at me. “Ahava means love in Hebrew. It literally means to give love. I attended a wedding last year where ahava was used to describe the kind of love these two people had. I always thought it was beautiful.”

I jumped to my feet, alternating my gaze between the horse and Kendall.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

The horse was only a few yards away, so I walked over to her and ran my hand over her impressive muscles. “That’s it.”

> “What’s it?” she asked, following my lead and running her hands over the horse as she neighed again and dropped her head so Kendall could give her a good scratch between the ears.

“Ahava. That’s her name.”