We arrived at the stables with plenty of time before our ride was due to begin, and the kids were practically bouncing out of the windows with excitement. As soon as I parked, they flew out of their seats, not even closing the doors before they rushed up to Ellie, who stood outside, smiling.
“Oof, hey guys! I missed you too.” She laughed, ruffling their hair affectionately. “Ethan, are you going to be my big helper again today?”
“Yup,” he replied, puffing his chest. “I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”
“Well, that is a relief, thank you. Olivia, I have Rosy all saddled up for you. I bet she’s excited to see you again.”
Olivia stared at her dubiously. “Are you sure? Can horses really get excited?”
Ellie crouched down, so she was closer to their height. “Oh, you bet. Want to know a sure-fire way to make a horse excited to see you?”
“Yeah!” they said in unison.
Ellie pulled two small apples out of the bag at her feet. “Here, you each take one and give it to the horses. Hold it like this, on a flat hand,” she demonstrated, “or they might accidentally mistake your fingers for food. Rachel is inside. She’ll help you.”
The kids took the apples and turned to me for permission with twin expressions of excitement. “Go on, but remember what she said about how to hold them!” I shouted as they ran off down the trail to the barn.
Ellie stood, dusting off her jeans. She wore a flannel shirt and had her hair in a braid today, looking every bit the low-key, casual woods woman. “Hey, I’m sorry about yesterday. I totally forgot I’d signed up for that tournament with my dad. I hope they still had fun.”
“They did, but they missed you. We all did.”
Ellie’s gaze dropped, a sweet smile crossing her face. Instead of responding, she turned and started down the path. I matched pace at her side.
“How was the tournament? Did you win?”
She barked a laugh. “Me? No way. I’m the worst golfer, so bad even my team couldn’t make up for me. I sent you those photos of them looking for my lost ball. That wasn’t proof enough?”
“For all I know, you hit just that one off course for the photo op. Maybe you did it because you didn’t want me to feel bad. I have no idea.”
“Well, suffice it to say, I am genuinely that bad. Golf is not my sport at all.”
“Who was on your team? Were they upset that you lost?”
“It was my dad and some family friends, the Graftons. They own Snowshoe Ridge, the resort one town over. We’ve been friends since I was a kid.”
“Just friends?” Even though I kept my tone light, I knew Ellie could tell what I was up to.
She stopped walking and sighed, then turned to face me. “Zach and I used to date, but we’re just friends now.”
“Okay. I was just surprised to find out you were hanging out with your ex on my own instead of hearing it from you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t want to have this conversation over text. Zach and I were highschool sweethearts, and throughout college. We broke up when I left to get my MBA and when I came back, we tried to rekindle it, but it just wasn’t there. We don’t want the same things. It… just ran its course, I guess. I haven’t seen him as anything more than a friend in over a year.”
I nodded, accepting her answer despite the sliver of worry that lived in my gut.
Even so, it still felt important to tell her how I felt. “Look, I know we’re not anywhere close to something serious yet. But before we can get there, we have to be on the same page with what we want. And I still don’t know enough to say that we are.”
“You’re right,” she agreed. “This is all pretty new to me, too. I have a lot of balls up in the air, not the least of which is taking over Aspen Ridge. My dad would not be happy to find out there’s something going on between us—he’s got some pretty old-school ideas about getting involved with employees.”
I couldn’t help but bristle at the words. It wasn’t fair; I knew that as the boss’s daughter, she had every reason to see me as an employee… but I’d imagined us more like co-workers. On a similar footing, at least. Calling me an employee was akin to saying we were nowhere near the same level.
“…But,” she added, setting a small hand on my biceps and drawing my gaze to her face, “I like you, Jake. I have since that first night. I know we had our disagreements at first, but I feel like we’ve just been growing closer together. I don’t know for sure where it’s going right now, but I know I want to keep going and see where we end up.”
My heart thudded in my chest, pleasure curling through my body to hear her say it. “Me too,” I admitted with a sigh. “I like you. Obviously, my kids love you. I’ve never seen them take to someone so fast. And I know it’s complicated with JJ. I don’t want to make things harder for you. I just… if we’re going to do this, let’s do it together. Okay?”
“Yessir, Captain Wright,” she teased with a coy smile. “There’s a lot I still don’t know about you. Seems like we have some sharing to do soon.”
My lips curled into a smile of their own volition. “Seems like we do. But we’d better catch up to those kids or they’ll tear the barn down before we can stop them. Complete heathens, I’m warning you.”
“Nah, I don’t buy it.” Ellie shook her head. “They’re great kids, and even if they weren’t, Rachel would put them in their place. She spends all day domesticating animals. She can definitely keep them from any major destruction.”
We shared a laugh and finished our walk to the barn.
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