All but, Walker, Liza, and Whitley, stayed back with my mother and Nickolas. Everyone else set off for the barn. Layton and Reed occupied most of my time with questions about the day-to-day operating of our cattle ranch. Glancing up, I couldn’t help but notice how Nate walked further ahead with Ava and Jase.
Monk, who was in charge of my father’s stables, stepped out of the barn right as we walked up.
“Ah, there is the man who takes care of this whole place,” Nate said as he shook Monk’s hand.
“Well, I don’t know about this whole place, but the horses and the three stables, yes. That would be me.”
“Three? Wow. How many horses do y’all have?” Ava asked as she peeked around Monk’s shoulder. I could see her body practically bouncing with excitement.
Monk laughed as his hand went through his hair. “A lot. The Montgomery’s own about forty-five horses and about seventy-five more are boarded or here to breed.”
“Wow!” Courtney and Ava said at the same time. Nate leaned over and whispered something to Ava, causing her to giggle.
I’m going to pound his face in tonight when he’s sleeping.
“Ryder? Did you hear what I asked?”
I shook my head to snap out of it as I looked over to Monk. “No, what was that?”
“Your father requested you show Mr. Moore and Mr. Morris around. I have Juniper, Rascal and Monty all ready for you.”
“Oh um … yes! Great. Sounds good. Thanks so much, Monk.”
I turned to Reed and Layton and smiled. “My father is an all-work no-play kind of man.”
Both men laughed as they headed into the barn. Nate was talking to Jase, so I took the opportunity to make my way over to Ava. “Ms. Moore, this is Trinity Rose. She’ll be your horse,” Monk said with a tip of his hat.
Ava’s hands began to run down Trinity’s strong back as she smiled and began talking to her. “Hey there, beautiful girl.”
I placed my hand on Trinity’s side and gave her a good pat. “Trinity is one of my favorite horses. Gentle, but isn’t afraid to let go every now and then.”
Ava smiled as she looked back at the horse. “It’s good to see you again, Ava.”
Without so much as looking in my direction, she nodded. “You too, Ryder.”
My heart dropped as I looked down and kicked at some hay in the dirt. “I’ve got to take your dad and Layton on a little tour of the ranch.”
Ava had walked all the way around Trinity before stopping and looking up into my eyes. I wasn’t sure what I was seeing in those beautiful blue eyes. Whatever it was … I was captivated by them.
“Have fun with that. Nate offered to show me around.”
If felt as if someone had turned on an instant heat wave as my body became ridged. “That so?”
With a tilt of her head and a smile, Ava said, “Yep.”
I nodded and took a step back. “Enjoy your ride, Ava.”
Her smile faded as I tipped my head and started down to the other end of the barn.
“Hey, Ryder? May I ask you something?”
I stopped and turned back to her. “Of course.”
She licked lips and then bit down on her lower lip. “Are you … um … did I hear you say you were moving back up here to Montana?”
“At some point, yeah, I’ll be moving back to stay.”
Ava nodded slowly. With that, I turned and walked away from her. The further I walked away, the more I cussed at myself for not just pulling her into my arms and telling her I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her for the last two weeks.