Laredo was having difficulty breathing. He had known Aria Callahan for years. In fact, he had known her even before she and his adopted sister, Jesse, had become close friends. So, why was he having so much difficulty delivering what amounted to a business proposal to her? She was a businesswoman. It was pretty simple. She ran a barn. She had horses and students in competition all the time. He knew from her very comprehensive and well done website that she had won several titles on the local, state, and regional horse show circuits. She spent a lot of time taking her students to high school rodeo events. She trained barrel racers and pole benders for speed events, and she was most definitely in the business of buying and selling horses. So, why was it any stretch that a man like himself who owned—or at least partly owned—plenty of top-notch stock would seek out her help in campaigning these horses?

“I’m sorry,” Aria said with a shake of her head. “Why would you need my help to do this?”

Okay. So, he hadn’t been quite ready for that question. Silly since he’d reasoned it all out in his head. Laredo cleared his throat. “You’re a professional horsewoman. I’m a man who owns several very good ranch horses. I would like to compete them and boost the value of our stock.”

“So, have Jesse do it.” Aria shrugged as though that were obvious.

Laredo felt suddenly very uncomfortable. “Jesse and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms.”

“That is probably a grand understatement,” Aria snorted. “But why would you want my help? You’re a Hernandez. You have all of the skills, the contacts, the equipment, and the money you need. Why ask for my help?”

Laredo thought about what his father had spouted at him, about the prisification of cowboys. Laredo didn’t ride anymore. He hadn’t since the first few years of his marriage. Not since he had been told so eloquently by his ex-wife that he looked ridiculous on a horse.

That whole conversation burned. Laredo had never really thought too much about why he had let it get to him. But it had. And he hadn’t ridden more than half a dozen times since the incident. Now, it had been too long and he was pretty sure he was going to make a fool out of himself.

“Let’s say I agree to this very strange proposal,” Aria said in a measured way. He could not see her expression, and she was so busy currying the sorrel lesson horse that it was impossible to read her body language. “What would you expect? Of me, I mean. What results are you looking for?”

Laredo stumbled over his answer. It should have been very basic and obvious. This was a perfectly reasonable question. He just couldn’t stop staring at the way she moved. Watching Aria with a horse had always been like observing poetry in motion. There was something about the way she moved that struck a chord in him. The animal seemed to be an extension of her body. The horse always seemed to trust her and know what she wanted. When she stroked the brush along his broad back, he arched into the contact as though it was the best feeling he’d ever experienced. When she ran her hand down the animal’s leg to ask him to pick up a foot, the gelding would lean away and immediately surrender his foot to her care. There was no balking and no stubbornness. She exuded the sort of calm confidence that everyone—animal or human—felt acutely.

The woman that Laredo had married had been society’s idea of beautiful. Helena had been tall and striking. People had often remarked that they looked like a power couple. She was fair and as delicate as an elf. He was dark and broad-shouldered. But in the end, those elven good looks had been hollow. And even way back in the beginning, Laredo had always been more attracted to a woman like Aria.

Aria was athletic and strong. Her arms were solid muscle, and her legs were lean and powerful. You could see the strength of her in the way she moved. She was a large-boned woman, and yet she was light on her feet and as well-balanced as any athlete. Her sable brown hair barely brushed her shoulders. She kept it trapped beneath a ball cap, and her face was tanned from the hours she spent outdoors. Her face was full of character. Her nose wasn’t classically beautiful, but it was cute with a slight bump on the bridge where she’d broken it at least once. She had full cheeks and a stubborn chin, and Laredo thought that this woman was probably the most genuine female he’d ever known.

“Mr. Hernandez?” Aria prompted.

He didn’t like how that sounded. Why? He was a mess. Maybe he didn’t want her to call him Mr. Hernandez because he was so embarrassed that he didn’t seem like himself at all.

“Laredo?”

That was better. He felt himself relax at the sound of her voice saying his name. Why? Of course, that was about the time that he realized that Aria was waiting for him to answer her. He tried to remember what she’d asked him. Something about expectations. Right? “I don’t expect to win, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He managed to give her a lopsided grin. “I just want to—I need to show some investors that the Hernandez family hasn’t completely lost touch with their roots.”

“I see.” She finished currying the horse and unclipped his halter from the crossties. “So, you want to compete some horses to show the world in general—and probably the Flying W crew, that the Hernandez Land & Cattle Company is still being run by real cowboys. Is that it?”

“How do you know about the Flying W thing?” Laredo shifted uncomfortably in his loafers. He really wished he’d worn his boots. These shoes were not made for this kind of terrain. Every piece of gravel felt like a boulder.

“Everyone in the business knows about the rivalry going on between the Flying W and the Hernandez Land & Cattle Company for that new stock contract. When JP Rawlings folded and stopped providing rodeo stock for all of the rodeos on the front range, it left a big old hole. Didn’t it?”

“Yes.” Laredo appreciated her sharp mind. “And yes. We are trying to bring in a new contractor with the hope of providing stock to them the same way that we did to JP Rawlings.”

Aria gave a careless shrug as she turned the horse into his box stall. “And so is the Flying W.”

“That’s beside the point.” Laredo sighed. “Will you help me or not?”

She didn’t say anything for what felt like forever. Somehow, Laredo didn’t mind the silence. It was soothing. He could hear the horses munching hay in their stalls, and it reminded him of all those years ago when he had still enjoyed being in the barn and dealing with the actual livestock portion of the business.

There was a young man with a wheelbarrow full of hay throwing flakes over the top of each stall. Aria murmured a low greeting to the young man and picked up the saddle and bridle she had just removed from the sorrel horse.

Laredo supposed that he could have backed off. He could have just left the farm and tried to contact her later via telephone or text. He probably should have left. Instead, he followed her into the tack room.

It was even quieter and more peaceful inside Clouds End Farm’s tack room. The scent of leather and creamy conditioner hung in the air. There was a bucket half filled with water hanging from a rack. Sponges sat in a neat little container, and Aria hung the bridle on a hook beside the cleaning station. Picking up a sponge, she dipped it in the water and began wiping down the sorrel horse’s bridle.

“Tell me why you stopped riding,” she said softly. “You were always really good on a horse. Why did you stop before?”

Laredo answered without even thinking. “I wasn’t good on a horse. I looked ridiculous.”

“That’s just bullshit.” Aria shook her head. “Whoever told you that was a moron. You were always good on a horse. You have a nice way around the animal. I can remember. It wasn’t that long ago.”

“It was decades,” he told her wryly. “I can feel how long it’s been.”

“It only feels like a long time because you stopped.” She gestured at him with the sponge. “We all get that creaky feeling on cold mornings. It just goes with the territory.”

Whether it was her words or the atmosphere, Laredo found himself longing to open up. That wasn’t normal for him. Yet he could not stop himself. “Someone did tell me that I looked ridiculous”—he deliberately left out who it was to avoid total humiliation—”and since then, I’ve not really wanted to make a fool out of myself.”

She pursed her lips. “So, why the sudden change of heart, then?”

“My father has decided that the Hernandez men are a bunch of wimps. I don’t know what his deal is. I just”—he ran restless fingers through his hair—”I’m exactly what he says I am. I’m a paper cutout of a cowboy. I think Cal and my younger brother Met are the only ones who still ride.”

“Met doesn’t count,” Aria said with a chuckle. She had moved onto buffing the bridle dry with a soft cloth. “Met rides broncs. I don’t know how the man can still walk. He’s busted his knee so many times by now that he’s going to be a cripple by thirty.”

“My point still stands,” Laredo told her. He spread his hands in front of his body as though that were going to make a difference somehow. Like she was going to be able to see something in himself that he couldn’t grasp any longer.

“Laredo, being a cowboy has nothing to do with how much time you sit in a saddle.” Her tone was patient. He wondered if it was the same one she used with the kids. “It’s up here.” She tapped her forehead. Then she tapped her chest. “And right here in your heart. Do you see what I mean?”

Laredo stared at his shoes. He thought about his father’s comments and his own recent feelings of failure. He was a damn mess. “I shouldn’t have come here. I’m sorry. I know that none of this is your fault and it isn’t your problem.”

“I didn’t say that I wasn’t going to help you.” She put the bridle on a labeled hanger and then quickly wiped the saddle down before putting it up on a wall rack. “I’ll help you compete a few horses. Your best bet would be to do some reined cow horse work, I think. That’s a big deal these days. Ranch horse competitions are a big deal. That’s the way to show potential buyers that your bloodlines are still sharp and that you’re breeding cowy quarter horses that haven’t forgotten what they were meant to do.”

“Okay. So, you’ll help me?” Why was he doing this? He was ridiculous. He was acting like a fool.

“Is this what will help the Hernandez Land & Cattle Company?”

“Yes.” He did not feel any hesitation in saying that. “It will.”

“Then, what about your daughter?” Aria cocked her head to one side. “You’re going to start riding again, but what about her?”

“No. Absolutely not. I want better for Bella.” Laredo could not explain why, but the thought of Helena—of losing Bella the way he had Helena, was too painful to contemplate. “She’s a city girl anyway.”

“What would she say?” Aria asked him quietly. “Would Bella agree that she’s a city girl who should take dance classes instead of riding lessons?”

“I don’t care what she would say. She’s my daughter. She needs to choose a different path. I don’t want her marrying a rancher or a cowboy.”

“Do you even hear yourself?” Aria clucked in obvious disapproval. “I’ll do what you’re asking, Laredo, but you need to take a long look at what’s going on inside your head because you’re fighting a war that’s not going to end well.”

He gave her a curt nod. “Thank you. I’ll be here tomorrow to talk about logistics and horses and—well, whatever.”

“No.” Aria’s stubborn expression was flat and determined. “The day after. I’m busy tomorrow.”

“You’re busy.”

Then Laredo remembered that his brother was bringing Jaeger out here tomorrow for lessons. Laredo didn’t like the idea of Aria being around Darren. Darren was most definitely in a long-term relationship with Maggie, but that had never stopped women from falling in love with him.

Wait just a damn minute.

What did it matter to Laredo if Aria wanted to moon after Darren? That was her problem if she wanted to have a crush on a man who was basically married to someone else. Laredo had thought better of Aria, but then maybe she just couldn’t control whom it was she was attracted to. That was Helena’s problem. Right? Maybe that was just Laredo’s fate in life, to be attracted to women who didn’t return his feelings. That would be if he were attracted to Aria in the first place, of course. Which he wasn’t. At least not really.

“Two days from now, then.” Laredo gave her a curt nod and turned to leave. She didn’t say anything when he left. She just watched him go with that quiet look of knowing on her face that drove him a little bit crazy with curiosity to know what was going on inside that head of hers. Something about Aria piqued Laredo’s interest in a way he hadn’t experienced in many long years.