Ellie’s stomach was filled to bursting after helping herself to three servings of Dorian’s famous chicken stew. She hadn’t met Liz’s husband until supper but found she instantly liked him, and she especially loved the way he doted on his new wife.
“Can you believe our love story started with this guy stalking me?” Liz had asked with a light-hearted roll of her eyes that evening.
“Hey, all’s well that ends well,” Dorian had shot back, reaching out to grab her hand and kissing it before letting go.
Wow, Ellie had so many questions to ask about that, but instead she stuffed another spoonful of the creamy chicken concoction in her mouth. All in good time. Liz will tell me when she’s ready.
She’d met the other residents at that shared supper, and most were far older than Ellie and with far sadder stories. A few even had the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s and were working to slow memory loss rather than hoping to recover as she was.
And now she sat on the front porch of her own little cabin taking inventory of her day. After supper, songs, and socializing—the three S’s, as Liz joyfully called them—Liz had helped Ellie move from the guest room in the main house to her own private cabin.
A wolf howled in the distance, sending a shiver down her spine. The noise was eerie, even with the night sky still being lit up. She shook her head once more in awe of how much daylight was still out here even though it was well past eleven. Liz had told her it wouldn’t get much darker than it was now until well into the night, and even then it would only be for a couple of hours.
She was thankful, however, that she had a perfect view of the corral from her cabin. She could even see Penny grazing on the far side of the pen. The poor thing stood all alone, looking over the fence into the distance. Ellie could almost feel the horse’s sadness in her own heart as she watched her take another mouthful of hay.
“I thought with such a busy day you’ve had you’d have been sleeping long ago.”
Ellie jumped as the voice interrupted the quiet of the night around her. She quickly brought her hand up to her chest to slow her racing heart when she realized it was just Landon. He came around the corner of a small shrub that had hidden his approach and stood silhouetted with the setting sun behind him.
“Oh, I didn’t even hear you coming. You must be very light on your feet considering the boots you’re wearing.”
He laughed and shrugged. “I don’t think anyone has ever accused me of being light on my feet before. You looked like you were deep in thought, and I was afraid to intrude, but I have to walk past here to get to the bunkhouse so figured I might as well say hi.” He grinned sheepishly as he pointed in the direction of the staff quarters at the far end of the compound.
She pulled her eyebrows together suspiciously. “Isn’t there a path from the stables directly there? In fact, I’m pretty sure Liz pointed it out to me earlier.”
Laughing again, he shook his head in amusement. “Yes, there is. I went out for a late ride tonight and well… I might have noticed you sitting over here all alone when I came back out of the barn. Figured I might as well come over and check up on you to make sure you were all right.”
He gestured toward the step with a sheepish grin. “Mind if I come over and sit for a spell?”
“Well, I guess it would be impolite to say no after you came all this way over to check up on me.” Ellie feigned irritation, but then smiled to let him know she wasn’t really annoyed with him. In fact, she secretly thought it was a bit sweet that he cared enough to check up on her. “Is this a service you provide to all guests—looking in on them when they are sitting alone enjoying the peace of their surroundings?”
His laughter sounded from deep in his throat as he moved to sit down and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “Truthfully? Only the pretty ones. If you were a balding middle-aged man, I don’t imagine I’d have taken the time to walk around the long way home.”
Her cheeks warmed as he grinned in her direction. “If I was a balding middle-aged man, I don’t imagine I’d have appreciated the company.” Her skin burned as the words came out. Was she seriously sitting here flirting with the cute cowboy who worked on the ranch where she was supposed to be focusing on healing?
She forced her sights back on Penny, pretending she didn’t notice Landon’s eyes zoom toward her as if they were coming home after a long time away. The sounds of the night surrounded them and, once more, the wolf cried out. But this time Ellie wasn’t afraid. I’m safe with Landon, she told herself, but still crossed her arms in front of her, hugging her body tight as she pulled the sleeves of her large sweater down over her hands.
“I always thought it would be so much colder up in Alaska,” she prattled on, hoping that a conversation would make their togetherness feel a bit less awkward.
“Common misconception of those from the lower forty-eight,” he answered with a flick toward his hat. “Alaska isn’t covered in snow year round. It’s still July so all the igloos have long since melted and we can actually be outside without losing body parts to the frost. Thank goodness for that!”
Ellie’s head snapped up in surprise. “Igloos? You’re kidding me, right?” Immediately she saw the grin on his face and rolled her eyes. “Haha. Very funny. I knew there wasn’t snow year round, and I didn’t really believe people lived in igloos up here. I just meant that I expected it to be a lot colder even in the summer.”
“I know. I’ve been told I have a strange sense of humor. But I just like trying to make people smile. Whatever it takes is what it takes.”
At last she allowed herself to laugh as she leaned back in her chair and eased into Landon’s company. “I thought cowboys were supposed to be tough, brooding, macho. Not amateur comedians.”
“Oh, I can be brooding. But for some reason, when I’m around a pretty woman, I end up acting more like an immature teenage boy than anything else.” He winked at her and it felt really, really good.
Sitting here talking with him like this made Ellie realize she hadn’t felt this comfortable or relaxed for a very long time. After she’d been discharged from the hospital, her mom had brought her back to her childhood home. And since her dad was determined to stay around whether or not he was welcome… let’s just say the constant tension between the two of them had been hard to cope with.
But with Landon, the whole world looked different. Better.
“So, have you ridden a horse before?” Landon asked as he casually leaned forward with his elbows resting on his thighs. Did he feel the same way around her? Did it matter? They’d only be in each other’s lives for as long as Ellie stayed at the ranch. She could be his friend for now, and that wasn’t such a scary thing to be.
She thought about his question for a moment. “I think so,” she said. “My dad tells me I used to ride when I was a child, but I don’t know if I have lately.”
He nodded. “Would you like to go for a ride tomorrow?”
Ellie’s heart lurched as she looked back out at Penny. She wanted this, but a part of her held back. Was it because of Landon? Because of something she just couldn’t find a way to remember?
“I don’t know,” she hedged, casting her eyes down and searching for any excuse that might seem reasonable. “What if I can’t remember how to ride? I don’t want to end up falling and hurting everything again. I mean, seriously, the last thing I need is another injury to add to my collection.”
“Don’t be afraid,” he said, craning his neck and forcing her to look at him. When she did, he smiled. “How about we just have a lesson then instead? We’ll take it from the very beginning, and we’ll go slow. I promise to do my best to keep you safe from further injury. You have my word on that.”
Landon leaned closer to Ellie, but she didn’t move back. Instead she welcomed him into her space, sensing his words had meant something far more important than learning to ride horses.
When she didn’t give an answer, Landon pulled away from her once more, as he said, “Besides, I suspect riding a horse is a lot like riding a bike. Once you know how to do it, I’m sure you couldn’t possibly forget.”
She closed her eyes briefly as the words hit her, and as soon as she did, she saw her nightmare man pulling her back into the fog. “But I’ve forgotten everything else. What makes you think I’ll remember this?”
The sound of a horse snorting broke the silence as she waited for him to reply. Her eyes shot open and all she could see was the friendly cowboy before her. He wanted to help her, so why was she being so difficult?
“You might think you’ve forgotten,” he pointed out, emphasizing each word as he spoke. “But I’m going to do everything I can to help you remember.”
The earnestness in his voice made her believe it, made her let down her guard, and say, “Okay.”