Ellie followed behind as Elizabeth Jane led her back over toward the main corral—the same corral she had spied from her bedroom window earlier that morning. Although Liz had obviously made an effort to slow her pace, Ellie struggled to keep up. Still, she pushed through the pain, knowing it was the only way to get better and eager to see the horses again, as well as their handsome handler.
Liz talked nonstop as they walked, leading Ellie to wonder if she had prepared a speech in advance. “Just beyond the stables you’ll see the trailhead. I know it’s exciting, but we do ask that you always have a staff member with you until you’re a bit more acclimated to the ranch. Some of our horses here have been brought in as rescues, so until we are absolutely, one hundred percent sure they’re ready to be ridden, they stay in this main pen. The pen on the other side is where you’ll find the horses that are all well-trained and suitable for riding.”
That last part surprised Ellie, causing her to gasp before asking, “I’ve heard of rescue dogs, but horses?”
Liz stopped and leaned on the fence, looking out at the horses on the other side. Ellie stopped beside her and watched the brown horse that stood away from the others.
“You like dogs, huh? You’ll have to meet the two we have here at the ranch. My Akita, Samson, has been with me basically forever, and a couple years ago I rescued this adorable Pitbull from a dog-fighting ring. His name is Rigby, and he’s just the loveliest guy.”
Ellie nodded. She couldn’t remember if she preferred dogs or cats, and right now she wanted to know about the horses.
“But you want to know about these guys and gals right here.” Liz paused before letting out a drawn sigh. “You’d be surprised how badly some of these horses have been treated. Fed poorly, abused, given up on…”
Elizabeth Jane pointed to an older looking horse that stood completely still with the others. “See that one? She’s gone blind, so the owner was going to ship her off to be sold as meat. It makes me so sick when an animal has given you their trust and their best years only to be treated like nothing more than property when something happens to them. They deserve to live out their remaining years in comfort, so that’s what we try to give them.” Liz swallowed and shook her head, her skin had become flush to match her bright red hair. The former plight of these horses obviously angered her to the very core. But thank goodness kind people like Liz were still left in this world to help the poor animals.
Ellie waited until Liz’s breathing slowed to a normal rate, then pointed to the brown one she’d noticed earlier. “So what happened to that one?”
Liz stared at it for a moment, her eyes blinking rapidly as she remembered. “That’s Penny. She was bred to be a show horse but apparently didn’t make the cut. Normally if a horse that’s being trained for dressage doesn’t meet the standards, they’re simply sold off as a regular riding horse. But for some reason, the owner of Penny was bound and determined to make her into what he wanted. When the poor girl wouldn’t cooperate, that’s when the abusive training methods started. I won’t go into all the details…” She sighed as if debating something internally. “Let’s just say that by the time we found her, she was so badly beaten we didn’t think she’d survive.”
Ellie heard the pain in Liz’s voice, the anger. “She doesn’t trust anymore and is afraid to let anyone near her,” Liz continued. “We’re doing what we can to rebuild her faith in people, but I don’t know if we’ll ever get where we need to be. We have a couple ranch hands who are working with her to gain her trust without pushing her too hard. I don’t often give up, but…”
A noise from the stables drew both women’s attention away from the skittish horse. The cowboy Ellie had watched earlier that day marched out carrying a gleaming pail of feed.
Liz waved her hand and called out to him, “Landon! Can you come over here for a second?”
He stopped and glanced over at them, considering. For a moment it seemed he would ignore Liz’s request until finally he set the bucket down in the hay and ambled over to them. As he got closer, Ellie noticed his dark eyes had fixed on hers, holding on with every step he took. She hadn’t even realized she was holding her breath until he stopped on the other side of the fence and offered a shy smile.
“This is Ellie Hawkins,” Liz said, gently rubbing a hand on Ellie’s good shoulder. “She’s a new guest here at the ranch, so I hope you’ll help her feel welcome. Ellie, this is Landon Hayes, one of our ranch hands who takes care of the horses. He’s been working a lot with Penny, actually. If you ever need anything, he can help saddle a horse for you to ride or even hook you up with a few lessons.”
Landon nodded along as Liz spoke, then extended his hand between the fence beams with a knowing smile on his face.
What does he know that I don’t?
Ellie’s heart raced as she took it, her eyes still caught in his gaze.
“Nice to meet you, Ellie,” he said with one, two, three firm shakes of her hand.
The way he said her name made her heart do a little dance. Instantly, guilt filled her chest. She didn’t know anything about this Landon, but she knew for sure that she already had someone special—the man from her dreams. He deserved her loyalty, at least until she could find out what had happened to separate them.
Oh, yes, she knew it was crazy to think this way. She had come to the ranch to move forward, not dig up the past. And what if her memories never came back? What then?
If her memories never came back, she had to face the fact that she would probably never find her mystery man. She’d have to move on with whatever she had now, and right now a very dapper ranch hand was giving her his full attention.
She smiled at Landon, embarrassed by her own thoughts, and raised a shaky finger toward Penny. “Do you think you can help her?”
Landon glanced at the horse briefly before turning his eyes back to Ellie.
She swallowed hard, unable to move her gaze from his.
“I hope so,” he answered with a note of disappointment in his strong voice. “She’s been through a lot and deserves a second chance. She’s a good horse. Just needs someone to believe in her is all.”
Ellie’s breaths became heavy from the intensity of Landon’s gaze. She hadn’t had a man look at her like this in a long time—well, at least since the time she could remember.
Liz had said that everyone who worked at the ranch had to go through a rigorous selection process to ensure they are qualified to not only do the job they were hired for, but to also be sensitive to the needs of the guests on the ranch.
So Landon would know she was broken. And it embarrassed her knowing he wasn’t seeing her as Ellie, a woman. He was seeing Ellie, the patient on Memory Ranch who needed special care to fix what was wrong with her.
He was just doing his job and being nice, being sensitive to her needs. Even if Ellie found him intriguing, the feeling clearly wasn’t mutual. In fact, he stared at her the same way he’d locked eyes with Penny earlier that morning. She was like that broken horse and he was simply approaching her with caution and respect.
Liz pushed away from the fence and turned to leave. “All right, well, we have a few more people to meet before the big house breakfast, so we’ll let you get back to work, Landon.”
Landon nodded again, reaching up to tug on his hat. A smile played at the corner of his mouth before he said, “I’ll be seeing you around, Ellie. If you ever need anything, just give me a shout.”
“I will. Goodbye” She hoped her voice didn’t betray her nerves. The last thing she needed here was to be uncomfortable in her own skin. And yet…
Even as she walked away, she could feel his eyes following her.
She pressed forward, refusing to turn back as she and Elizabeth Jane made their way down the path and back toward the big house.
“Do the staff eat supper at the main house with the guests?” she suddenly needed to know.
“Nope,” Liz answered, completely unaware of Ellie’s internal suffering. “Some of them live close to here and go home when they’re done for the day. Those who live here at the ranch have a bunkhouse on the far side of the stables where they have their own kitchen and facilities.”
“What about Landon? Does he live at the ranch?”
Her cheeks burned as Liz looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile. “Yes, he lives in the bunkhouse. He’s a hard worker and more often than not I see him out here working with the horses even when it isn’t his shift.”
“Yeah, he seems… nice.”
Liz raised her eyebrows at Ellie and let out a boisterous laugh. “That he is. If you need anything, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to help you, as will any of the other staff at the ranch. You know to aid in your recovery. Don’t forget those three re’s!”
Of course, Liz was right. Not only did she own the ranch, but she’d recovered from memory trauma of her own. If anyone knew what Ellie needed now, it was her.
She wasn’t here to flirt and have a silly schoolgirl crush on one of the men working here. And that’s what she kept telling herself even as she peeked back for one more innocent look.
Okay, so maybe a bit of a crush would be okay. Maybe it would stop her dreams. Maybe, maybe…
But, unfortunately, she knew nothing for sure.