My shoulders tighten, and my stomach starts to roll. It couldn’t be... For the love of God, please no. “Uh, which one is she?” I ask hesitantly.
Olivia points to her. The woman still standing with her back to me. The one with her arms wrapped around her body in defense mode.
Olivia starts to walk away. “Here, I’ll go get her.”
“No!” I say loudly. Olivia turns, surprised, and I lower my voice. “No, it’s okay. She doesn’t need to thank me. I need to get back to work.”
I turn and walk into the barn quickly.
Everything from earlier starts to replay in my head. Yeah, there’s no doubting the attraction. It was plainly written on her face. But so was the surprise and then the offended attitude. She wasn’t coming to hit on me... she was coming to thank me. Fuck, maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she was using it as a ruse. Maybe she has Olivia fooled.
The internal argument continues for ten minutes before I convince myself the only way to find out is to talk to her. I’m just about to go find to her and apologize when Alan hollers at me from the other end of the barn. “King, the vet is checking on Bronco. He wants to talk to you.”
I start walking, knowing I need to check on my father’s old horse. The kids will be here for a while, and I’ll have time to talk to Natalie before they go. Natalie... that’s what Olivia called her. And for the rest of the afternoon, that’s exactly who I’m thinking of. No matter how hard I try to stay focused on what the veterinarian is telling me, my mind keeps swaying back to Natalie. Thankfully, the vet was able to give Bronco some meds, and he should be on the mend soon.
But by the time I make it out of the stall and out into the yard, the bus is pulling away. And all I can think is that the black-haired beauty has already found a way into my head. Now, I just need to keep her out of my heart. I’ll be damned.
Chapter 5
Natalie
I’m still shaking an hour later as we all board the bus. I take my seat next to Olivia, and she’s all smiles as she sits down. “I love field trip days.” She holds her hand up. “Wait, actually I always love this field trip. Something about being outside and with the animals has the kids always well behaved.”
I bite my lip. Even though I don’t want to, I have to admit it was probably the best field trip I’ve chaperoned. “It was a good one.”
Olivia leans back and sighs. “And I think Elijah had fun with King Bryant. He said that Elijah wanted to muck stalls. He was impressed with him. You’ve done well raising him.”
“Thank you, Olivia. I appreciate that,” I tell her as my mind starts to wander. Even though I don’t care for Mr. Bryant, I can’t help but appreciate the fact that he said nice things about my son. The whole trip back to the school, I go back and forth on what the right thing to do is. I start listing off the reasons in my head of why the ranching camp is a bad idea. Mr. Bryant definitely isn’t the best influence, not if he’s going to treat a woman like he did. It will probably get worse too if Eli goes to his camp. Will he think I planned it so I could get closer to him? And then there’s the matter of safety. I don’t think Brad has found us, but what if he is just lurking around Whiskey Valley, waiting for his chance to get his hands on Eli? A cold sweat covers my body, and my hands start to tremble. I can’t let him get our son. I just can’t.
I grip my hands together in my lap. “Olivia, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
She opens one eye and looks at me before opening them both wide and turning in her seat. “Are you okay? You look as white as a ghost.”
I nod and try to force my body to relax. “Yeah, I’m fine. I uh, I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done to get Eli into the camp.”
She starts to talk, but I shake my head to stop her. “I’m sorry... but I don’t think it’s a good idea to let him go. Please have Mr. Bryant give the scholarship to someone else.”
“But, Natalie. You were so excited... It really is a good camp. They do them every year, and they make sure the kids are safe.”
I nod. “I know. I just... I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
She looks at me curiously. “Is it because of your ex-husband? Is that why?”