Not Fake for Long by Weston Parker

10

KEIRA

Bright and early the next morning, I was showered and ready to go. I’d called Hailey after I’d set out some breakfast for us, but I hadn’t seen her yet.

In fact, I hadn’t seen much of her at all after we’d gotten back from riding yesterday. We’d made lunch together, but she’d been on the phone almost the whole time. Then, despite the fact that she’d texted me to find out where I was when I’d been having a drink with Harrison, she’d been on the phone again when I’d come in.

After that, I’d made dinner while she soaked in the tub, and then she’d decided to go to bed shortly after we’d finished eating. Knocking firmly once on her door, I pushed it open to find her still in bed.

Her curtains were still drawn, her room dark, and she had a fluffy sleeping mask over her eyes.

I frowned. “What are you doing? It’s time for us to go. Our lesson is starting soon.”

“I’m not going,” she groaned and rolled over to bury her face in the pillow. “Why don’t you go? I’d rather stay in the house. My body feels like it’s been hit by a truck.”

“This was your idea, Hailes. You can’t stay in the house all weekend.” I marched up to the bed, but she knew me well enough that she gripped her comforter so I couldn’t yank it off. “Hailey Piatt! We’re leaving in five. Get your skinny ass in the shower.”

“I’m not going,” she protested again, burrowing deeper under the covers. “I’m being serious. I really don’t feel like going back out there and riding a horse for twelve more hours with the sun beating down on me.”

“You hardly rode for two hours yesterday. Maybe almost three, but it definitely wasn’t twelve.”

“No, but it will be twelve today. Even if it isn’t, it will feel like it is. Just go on without me and tell them I’ll see you all later.”

“Hailey…” I started but then trailed off. If my sister set her mind to doing something—or not doing it, as the case may be—she stood solid as a rock by her decision. Obviously, she’d had enough of horse riding already, which meant she wasn’t going to budge no matter what I said. “Fine, stay here then. If you fall off your horse in your wedding dress, at least you can’t point the finger at me.”

I wasn’t proud of it, but I slammed her door shut behind me when I left her room. She was just so frustrating sometimes. It was so typical of her to drag me along on one of her genius plans, and then to leave me to follow through while she did whatever the hell it was she wanted.

As I marched out of the house, however, it dawned on me that if Hailey wanted to stay in all day, that left a whole day for me to spend with Harrison. It was difficult not be excited by that possibility, even if I was disappointed in Hailey for behaving this way.

Both men were at the stable when I arrived, and Ashton gave Harrison a strange but victorious look when he saw me walk up to them alone. He grinned and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “It doesn’t look like I’ll be needed today. I’ll just go take a look at that fence.”

Harrison waited until he’d shuffled away before looking back at me. “So, your sister decided she’s not joining us this morning after all?”

“She said she’s going to spend the day at the house.” I sighed as I raised my arms out to my sides and shrugged my shoulders. “She might change her mind and join us again later, but I think it’s just you and me today.”

A slow grin lifted only the corners of his lips. “Suits me just fine. Do you think she’s ready to ride into her wedding after only one day, though?”

“I don’t know. Probably not, but she wouldn’t budge this morning.” I rolled my head back and glanced up at the clear blue sky, so soft and gorgeous at this time of the morning. “I wish she could see what she’s missing out on. Maybe that would’ve convinced her.”

Taking two long strides closer to me, he reached out and put his hand on my forearm. “It’s not your responsibility to get her out here. You came with her for the weekend. If she decides against riding again, then that’s fine. We can go out and come back to get her if she ends up changing her mind.”

I nodded, supremely aware of the heat of his hand on my skin. When he withdrew it after only that one brief reassuring touch, I wished he’d bring it back but he didn’t. Obviously, because he hasn’t suddenly turned into a giant ball of lust.

“Sounds good,” I said. “Can I help you get Molly ready?”

“Ashton’s already groomed her and her saddle and bridle are ready and waiting. Nairobi’s all tacked up. Let’s go get Molly. Then we can go.”

The golden mare—apparently technically called a palomino—was hooked to a fencepost by her halter. She lifted her head when she saw me and I knew it was impossible, but I liked to think she looked happy to see me.

I walked up to her without hesitation, offering her my hand for a sniff first before dragging my fingers along her neck. “Hey, girl, did you miss me? I sure missed you.”

She turned her head and bumped my lower back with her nose. I laughed before glancing up at Harrison. “Is that a yes? Did she miss me? It feels like she’s hugging me.”

His hazel eyes were warm on mine, but there was something in them that looked a lot like awe. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a real way with animals? Molly is always a sweetheart, but she doesn’t nuzzle just anyone like that.”

My answering grin nearly split my face in two. “Yeah? Well, I like her too. What do we do first?”

Harrison took me through the same steps from the day before, but he let me do them this time instead of doing it for me. It took almost no time at all before I watched from Molly’s back as he swung one muscular, powerful leg over Nairobi’s, and then we were off.

“We’re going to take a different trail today,” he said as we headed away from the barn. “It’s also flat, but it leads to one of the dams. Horses love swimming, so we might let them get their feet wet if they feel like it.”

“What?” My eyes widened, and not even the rhythmic sway of Molly’s footsteps beneath me could calm my suddenly racing heart. “We’re not going swimming with them, are we?”

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” he asked with laughter in his voice until he glanced over and saw the expression on my face. “Relax, we’re not going swimming with them. When I said let them get their feet wet, that’s all I meant. They might want to walk through the water a bit to cool down.”

“Oh.” I breathed out and then chuckled at myself. “Sorry. Swimming with them might actually be kind of cool. I just wasn’t expecting it. Next time, give me a heads-up and I’ll bring a suit.”

He shrugged and there was a wicked gleam that came into his eyes, but he didn’t let me in on where his mind had wandered to. Instead, he pointed out several natural landmarks they used to guide them. An outcropping of rocks, a broken tree, and a mountain peak a ways away all formed part of what they looked for when they’d ventured off a trail.

Eventually, we started talking about ourselves again, getting to know each other more. He held Nairobi’s reins in one hand, his body rocking with the horse’s movement as his eyes caught mine.

“How do you like the world of stock-brokering so far?” he asked. “It’s kind of difficult for me to imagine someone who enjoys the outdoors so much doing something like that for a living.”

“I didn’t know how much I liked the outdoors until yesterday. If you asked me before, I’d have said it sounded too sweaty and buggy. I enjoy my job, though. I’m still learning, but it’s going well. What about you? Do you enjoy working here?”

“I love it.” He cast his gaze to our surroundings, drinking in the magnificence of the mountains in the distance while he spoke. “There’s nothing like it. The city feels stifling to me now. I still have business interests there, but I try not to stay any longer than I have to.”

“Yeah? What kind of business interests?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders, pausing for a beat before he replied. “Before I found this place, I founded a company in the financial services industry that’s still up and running. I oversee the operations, but my heart is here now.”

“Really? Don’t take this the wrong way, but I can’t imagine you in financial services.” I took advantage of the fact that he was still looking out ahead of us to really look at him, trying to mentally replace his washed-out jeans and fitted T-shirt—white again—with a suit and tie.

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t do it. His boots were made of brown leather and were scuffed instead of polished. One of his hands rested on his thigh while the other still held the reins, but even a quick glance at his fingers revealed they weren’t kept and polished like so many guys I knew in the city.

He interrupted my ogling when he suddenly turned his head and brought his gaze back to mine. “I won’t take it the wrong way. I’ve seen me in that industry, and when I’m out here, I can’t imagine it either. Then again, I also can’t really imagine you as a stockbroker. I guess that’s what this place does to a person, though. It allows your soul to get some rest and all the bullshit to fade away.”

“I like that.” I smiled. “I also agree with it. I’ve only been here for a day and I already feel more relaxed than I have in a long time.”

Harrison and I kept talking while we rode, until eventually, it was time to turn back. When the stable appeared between the trees, he turned to look at me again. “We usually have a big cookout for our clients on their last night here. Do you think your sister would be interested in that for dinner?”

“If not, it can just be the two of us again,” I said. “I hope she’ll want to leave the house by now, but I’m just not sure.”

My earlier frustration with her resurfaced when I got back to the house. She was pacing in the lounge, her hair twisted into an elegant knot behind her head and her phone glued to her ear. When she saw me walk in, she mouthed, “It’s my wedding planner,” and then kept right on weighing menu options.

I sighed, shaking my head as I headed for my bedroom to grab a shower.

So much for bonding with my sister.