Courage (Heroes of Big Sky 1)

She blinks at me, and then blinks faster as if she’s going to cry.

I clearly don’t do enough around here if just taking the twins to a party so she can do other things makes her emotional.

“Okay,” is all she says.

“Are those good or bad tears?”

“I’m not crying.”

But she sniffs and turns her back to me so she can wipe her nose on a napkin. I can handle the bad moods. I can handle just about anything. But I can’t do tears.

Seeing her cry is my undoing.

“Do you need a hug?” I ask.

She shakes her head.

“A latte?”

She chuckles.

“Good God, just tell me what I have to do to make the tears stop, and I’ll make it happen.”

“You’re just a nice guy,” is all she says. When she turns to me again, the waterworks are finished. “That’s all.”

“That’s the kiss of death.” I shake my head sorrowfully. “When a girl breaks out the you’re-a-nice-guy line, it’s usually followed up with, ‘But I can’t see you anymore.’”

“You’re a dork.” She laughs and reaches over to smack my arm, but I catch her hand in mine and pull her against me. “Thanks for handling the kids this afternoon.”

“It’s no biggie. It’ll be fun.”

She smiles, and I’m not sure if it’s in pity or if she’s patronizing me.

Then she taps me on the cheek.

“Sure. It’ll be fun.”

* * *

“You’re not getting out of horseback riding today,” I inform Natasha.

“I thought you said the birthday party went just fine,” she says with a sweet smile.

Of course, I told her that. Of course, I did. Because I refused to admit that it was pure and utter torture.

I was the only parent who stayed. And because of that, the kids wanted me to bounce with them, and I’m quite sure I might have dislocated my knee at one point.

I’m too old for that shit.

But I’ll be damned if I admit that to the woman I’m supposed to be impressing. She’s younger than me by almost a decade as it is. I don’t want her to see me as old.

“All I’m saying is, you get to participate in the fun with the rest of us today.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it.” She leans over and kisses my cheek. “Thanks again for yesterday. I got a ton done, and I know those parties are a lot. Like, a lot. I appreciate it.”

I just shrug. “No big deal.”

She laughs and then shakes her head at Kelsey when the little girl walks into the room.

“Nope. You can’t wear a dress to ride the horse, sweetie. You need jeans to protect you from the saddle. And a sweatshirt. The sun is out today, but it’s November, so it’s chilly.”

Kelsey turns around without a word and stomps back to her bedroom. The little girl has been so excited to go ride the horses that Tash could tell her she has to wear a bathing suit in the middle of a snowstorm and Kelsey wouldn’t argue.

Within thirty minutes, we’re loaded up and ready to head out to the Lazy K Ranch. The drive out of town is nice today, a surprisingly warm day for November.

“Do you see the deer?” Tash asks, pointing out the window, and the kids scramble to see it before we drive past.

Before long, we pull into the long driveway of the Lazy K, moving past the big house where Zack and Jillian live and on to the house that Josh built more than a decade ago. He and Cara have made their home back here, nestled next to the back pasture.

I park next to Seth’s truck. As we get out of Tash’s SUV, Seth walks out the front door, smiling at us.

“Who’s ready to get on a horse?”

“Me!” Kelsey yells. “Is her name Spwinkles?”

“No.” Seth laughs and leads us around the house to the back pasture. “No, this one is named Suzie. She’s a gentle mare, and she’s perfect for learning.”

“I want a fast horse,” Kevin says. “A really fast one.”

“Next time,” Seth says with a wink and reaches out to pet Suzie. “Hey, girl.”

He shows the kids how to touch and talk to her while Tash and I hang back, watching.

“Are you itching to get on her?” I ask.

“Yeah. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the saddle, and I miss it some. I learned on Suzie, too. Seth taught Monica and me how to ride when we were kids.”

“I remember. I also remember Monica came home with a broken tailbone after one of the lessons.”

“She fell off,” Tash says with a smile. “And she fell hard. Poor thing. She was walking funny for quite a while after that.”

We watch as Seth puts Kelsey in the saddle.

“Oh!” she exclaims and wraps her arms around the horse’s neck in fear. “It’s really high.”

“You’re okay,” Seth says. “Loosen your grip so Suzie can breathe. There you go.”