Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
As if to make his point, he reached down to Hamlet and did exactly that. For his part, the pig immediately rolled on his side, welcoming the special attention. I grinned and shook my head.
I’d definitely like some extra attention paid in certain areas, that’s for sure. If Kerry were around, I might’ve made that joke—or maybe not. His reaction might’ve been too much to handle with all the tension between us.
George grew serious. “But if there’s ever a commotion with the other animals, Mercy gets a bit skittish.”
“Maybe it reminds him of the accident?” I pondered.
George nodded. “It’s possible.”
“Just like humans,” Marta said, staring toward the window, where I’d noted Dr. Barnes’s car parked again as I stepped inside for lunch. So maybe Marta was thinking of Ainsley and her anxiety issues. Thankfully, the scrutiny wasn’t on me. By now either or both of them might’ve noticed me getting lost in my own head from time to time, but neither ever called me on it.
After I finished my lunch, I found myself wandering yet again over to the paddock to watch Ainsley with Dr. Barnes. This time Ainsley was finished grooming Piper and was already affixing the saddle, if that was the sequence they normally took. Maybe each action built on the previous one to get Ainsley and Piper to trust each other.
Then suddenly Kerry and Sienna were walking toward the fence together, both anxiously glancing in Ainsley’s direction.
Kerry settled beside me, and I felt the heat from his shoulder and smelled that earthy scent, which made it hard to concentrate, honestly. But this was how it had been between us lately, one or the other standing a bit too close, almost on purpose, until the tension became suffocating, at least on my end.
And that night last week… After our talk on the porch, I could’ve sworn I heard his soft moans as he rubbed one out on the other side of the bathroom door. My hand had reached for the handle, wanting to barge in on him and take over with my hand or mouth, or…fuck, whatever he wanted to offer me. Instead, I’d cut the lights and went back to bed, tossing and turning until morning.
“Did we miss it?” Kerry asked absently, staring across the paddock.
Sienna’s eyes were trained on the horse as she stood on the other side of him. “I don’t think so.”
I glanced curiously at them, wondering what the hoopla was all about, and I nearly asked, when Ainsley looked back at them and waved animatedly. Then, with Dr. Barnes’s help, her foot latched into the stirrup, and she launched herself into the saddle while grasping the reins. I could just make out Dr. Barnes’s soothing voice, encouraging her not to wiggle too much and scare the horse. Ainsley’s face had split into the biggest smile, like she was filled to the brim with sunshine and couldn’t possibly contain it.
Sensing this was a big moment—I was guessing Ainsley had earned Piper’s trust enough to finally ride her or at least sit on her—I nearly got as choked up as Sienna did as she swiped at her eyes and Kerry cleared his throat. I didn’t dare look in their direction because again, it was like I was intruding on a family moment. But I couldn’t make my feet move away either.
A small beam of joy spread through my chest for Ainsley, and suddenly I wanted to feel like I’d conquered something as well. Sure, I was helping with the silo remodel, but that was the type of work I was used to and I’d be proud when it was all completed. I’d wished on more than one occasion that Dad were working on it with me because he would think it was one of the most challenging and coolest projects ever, and we had done dozens together before he passed.
But this felt different, like doing something out of my comfort zone, something I was unfamiliar with that might help me…I didn’t know exactly what—grow in some way, shape, or form? Not that I hadn’t challenged myself in new ways by joining the service or by traveling all the way across the country to help Sienna. This was more about a deep, budding need inside me that I couldn’t quite place my finger on yet. Maybe it wasn’t so much about growing as it was about healing. It might take me a bit to unpack what the hell that entailed.
I must’ve totally zoned out because the next time I looked at Ainsley, her feet were firmly back on the ground again and George had brought Rocket and Mercy inside the paddock with him.
“Okay, I’m off to get some paperwork done in the office before I get emotional again,” Sienna said. “Catch up with you later.”
There was a moment of silence between Kerry and me as his elbow rested beside mine on the wooden slats.