Ethan regarded the horse grazing in the open field. Another week had passed, and now Phoenix allowed him near. His regular visits helped the horse get used to his presence. The horse now allowed him to stroke and comfort. And he took his treats—he had a terrible sweet tooth and a weakness for iced oatmeal cookies—with a trust that built a bit more each day. It had taken longer for Ethan to finally get a decent bridle on him and lead him outside, but he got there. Even the horse’s sensitivity to noise was getting a bit better. Ethan banged an old tin can against his door a few times per day. When the horse spooked, Ethan was right there to soothe, until Phoenix began to realize noises weren’t associated with pain. It was all good, but now the real challenge began.
To get him to accept a rider.
“He’s bonded to you,” Harper commented, watching Phoenix munch his way through the field. “Must be all those hours in the barn and Ophelia’s cookies. He’s a pig, too. They must’ve been starving him.”
“Probably.”
“Do you think he was raced?”
Ethan kept staring at Phoenix, running the rope through his hands as he pondered his approach. “Yeah. I’ll know more once I ride him, but that may be a while. Gonna need to find his hotspots and have him reconditioned. You know, there’s no guarantees.”
“Just need a chance. He deserves it. There’s something about him. Something—”
“Special.” The word popped out before his brain made sense of it. He’d bonded with horses before, especially since he was young. Ethan figured this one had dug under his skin because it had been so long since he’d tried to heal a horse, but it was more than that. His gut screamed there was a fire in the horse’s soul that burned bright. It had been smothered, and Phoenix had forgotten it was there.
Ethan intended to show him it was still there, ready to ignite.
“You’re coming for dinner tonight, right?” Harper asked.
“Yep.” A knowing grin tugged at her lips. He smothered a groan, realizing it was teasing time. “What?”
“You and Mia. You make each other happy. I like seeing you both together.”
He quirked a brow. “Do you know you’re channeling Mom right now?”
“Nah, that’s Ophelia, not me. I just like torturing you. So is this a summer fling or more?”
“None of your business.”
She laughed again. “Sure it is. I have to look out for my big brother. Make sure she’s not some hussy looking to manipulate and steal all your money.”
“She probably has more than I do,” he muttered. “And I happen to like hussies.”
“Come on, just give me a little something so I’ll leave you alone.”
“We’re just having fun this summer. She has to go back in August when Chloe goes back to school.”
“No talk of the future?” she asked.
“The moment we do, I’ll be sure to call.”
He pushed away from the fence and headed toward Phoenix. Unease trickled through him at her sister’s words. Ridiculous. Things were going great with Mia, and there was no need to analyze further. They’d fallen into an easy routine—working separately during the day, then eating dinner with Ophelia and Harper and Chloe. After sitting on the porch, chatting with various guests, they’d retire to his bungalow and spend the night together. Hei Hei was delighted at his new nightly companion and took pride in waking them both up before dawn with his enthusiastic clucking. Only Mia’s appearance made him stop. It was getting to be quite a love story.
Each night, another layer seemed to be stripped away, both physically and emotionally. He craved her body like a drug addict, but it was her brain that kept him long engaged after his stamina gave out. She combined a shy sweetness with a sassy spice that kept him mesmerized. She was smarter than him in too many ways and had a delicious sense of humor.
She was the whole package.
And she’d be leaving in three weeks.
Shoving the disturbing thought out of his mind, he concentrated on the horse who had stilled and was waiting for him to approach. Ethan swung the rope back and forth in his hand, registered the slight tremble of nervousness shaking through his body. Yeah, it must’ve been bad. The horse had gained weight, and his coat was now a healthy, shiny black that gleamed in the sunlight. But Ethan knew it wasn’t the outside that mattered. It was the scars on the inside that needed to be addressed.
“Hey, Phoenix, how are you doing, boy?” He kept talking in a low voice, reaching out to stroke and coddle, enjoying the way Phoenix ate it up like he was starving for kindness. “See this rope I got? We’re going to try to do some work with it, okay? I’d never hurt you, which you still don’t know now. But in order to get to the other side of this mess, you need to go one way, which sometimes isn’t pleasant.” He rubbed under the horse’s chin with one hand, lifting the rope overhead to throw over his back.
The horse reared back, snorting madly.
Ethan remained still, the rope still swinging in his hand. “Bad memory, huh? Yeah, this may suck. But eventually, you’re going to realize what it feels like to carry someone on your back. To become one with a rider. To be free, the way you need to.”
Phoenix rolled his eyes back and pawed at the ground in a pure temper tantrum.
Ethan grinned. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I never said it wasn’t going to take a while. Let’s calm you down and do it again.”
And he did.
For the next few hours, he swung the rope. Phoenix retreated and gave him shit. Ethan soothed. The routine went on and on under the hot sun, until they were both sweating and tired. Until, finally, the rope swung over his back and he didn’t move. Just panted madly, gaze fixed on Ethan, as if letting him know he’d try this only once, and if he got screwed, he was done.
Damn, this horse was magnificent.
He tied the rope around the horse just so he could get the feel of it, and then pulled the oatmeal cookie out of his pocket. It was smooshed, but Phoenix pricked his ears in delight and gobbled it up, slobbering all over Ethan’s palm. He talked and stroked and patted all the horse’s favorite places, then pulled the rope off his back.
As he headed back to the stable, Harper and Chloe began clapping. “That was amazing,” Chloe said.
“Thanks, but it’s only the first step in a long process. Patience is the number one item needed when working with horses. Consistency is another.”
“Well, you’re on the right track,” Harper said. “Three people told me this horse was a lost cause.”
“No such thing. I’m gonna shower and head into town for a few. Meet you for dinner at six?”
“Sounds good.”
He took his time changing into fresh jeans and a blue button-down shirt, then drove his pickup into town to stop at Bea’s Diner. He had a plan for seducing Mia tonight, and it all started with one thing.
Pastries.
Damn, how he loved to feed her. Loved to watch her eyes roll back in ecstasy as the sugar hit her tongue. Loved the little sounds she made at the back of her throat—the same exact sounds right before she came. He had become officially obsessed with surprising her with various treats that were as high quality as he could get.
Mia wasn’t cheap. She didn’t eat carbs or sugar unless it was extraordinary. And that was a challenge he relished.
The cheery bell rang as he entered. A few of the townspeople waved him over, and soon he had been roped into having coffee, sharing the normal gossip and news. Mia seemed to be the hottest topic of conversation—and quite popular. Seems all the local shops were clamoring for her advice and wanted to put her on payroll. He dodged the most private questions and eventually got back to the pastry counter. “Hey, Bea. Ready to hook me up?”
“Of course, sweets. I have something special I just made today for Mia.”
He frowned. “How’d you know it was for her?”
Bea gave a tinkly laugh. “Sweets, I see it all over your face. You’re smitten. Fran told me all about the cupcake festival and how you went to dinner there and insisted she try an apple cider doughnut. Said you both practically combusted when you looked at each other.”
Ah, shit. Was he blushing? Ex–Special Forces did not blush. “Just a summer thing,” he mumbled.
“Sure. Lacey Black got all pissy because you said you didn’t want to take her friend out. That true?”
Why was he surprised? There was never any privacy in this town. “Yeah.”
“Well, there you go. It’s serious. Is she getting a tat from Tony? It’s free.”
He shook his head. “How the hell does word get around so fast here?”
“Nothing else to do but gossip and look out for our own—especially in the summer. Soon the college will be open, and those adorable teens will be filling my booths. I tell you, they may talk a good game about eating organic and vegetarian, but my burger-and-fries supply triples when they come back. Most of them are good for business.”
A shadow crossed her face, and he frowned. “Some giving you trouble?”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “Just a group of four who ran out on a check a while ago. Then they came back and caused quite a scene in here. I told Ronnie at the station, and he wrote it up as an incident, but so far they haven’t been back. Reminded me of the vandalism you had over at your place. They’re not welcome here any longer.”
“Did Ronnie open up a police report?”
“Yes, plus I have people looking out for me.”
“What do they look like?”
“Two girls, two boys. The boys make me shudder, and not in a good way. Short brown hair, dark eyes, piercings, and a crappy attitude. Curse a lot. One of the girls has hot-pink hair. She’s short and curvy. The last one has purple hair, with nose and brow piercings. Tall, willowy. Gorgeous blue eyes. She’s the one that seemed the most anxious about the incident.”
He stiffened. Tingles of warning shot down his spine and crawled into his gut. “The one with the purple hair. Anything else you remember about her?”
“Not really. The only things that stood out were her combat boots and short shorts. I mean, who wears boots in ninety-degree heat?”
Ah, shit. Chloe. He remembered the way her face paled when they mentioned eating at the diner. Her strange fear over the vandalism. Had she gotten wrapped up with the wrong crowd again? Did this group have anything to do with her community service or marking up his barn?
Prick.
Bitch.
It could’ve been a message to him and Harper. But damned if he just couldn’t believe the girl was involved. Something was off.
“Anyway, keep an eye out for me, will you? Now, let’s get to the good stuff. Magic dream bars just out of the oven. Coconut, chocolate, graham cracker crust—everything you need to seduce a woman right, sweets.”
“I’ll take it.”
“Bet you will.”
They both laughed, and he left Bea’s with two very different plans in mind. One for the seduction of Mia.
The other to unearth the truth about Chloe.