| |
Grunts sounded from Kade’s room across the hall. I stopped and listened. They came in regular intervals. What was he doing? Shifting the laundry basket to my hip, I pushed open his door with the tip of my fingers. The door swung in, brushing lightly against the rug on the floor.
Kade stood in the middle of the room facing a large mirror on the wall with his feet shoulder-width apart. The boot on his injured foot was planted on the floor, making his hips uneven. His white T-shirt was discarded in a pile on the floor. He raised and lowered a pair of dumbbells, working his shoulder and back muscles. The muscles contracted with each grunt. Sweat ran down the ridges of his hard torso. My fingers itched to run along the muscle that he was building and to catch the beads of sweat.
He caught my stare in the mirror and gave me a wink. A blush spread up my neck and face and the temperature in the room increased a few degrees.
“Do you like what you see?” He raised the weights above his head, flexing the muscles of his upper back, shoulders, and arms.
“As a physical specimen, you’re shaping up quite well.” My grip on the basket loosened and it dropped to the floor.
He raised his eyebrows at me before moving to bicep curls. My mouth went dry and my tongue wooden. All the thoughts left me except how much my hormones like his body. I swallowed a couple of times and cleared my throat.
Kade was still watching me in the mirror and flashed me his debonair smile. It was THEE smile. The one that melted all my arguments with him and made my heart sing. I felt myself falling even more for him.
“When you’re done working out, do you want to come to see my horses?” I gathered the bedsheets into the basket.
Kade’s body stilled and he slowly turned around. His blue eyes sparkled as he smiled. “I’d love to.” The words were soft and breathy. “It would mean a lot to me.” He moved to come closer to me.
My hand extended halting his forward progress. “Finish lifting and take a shower.” I wrinkled my nose. “You smell.” Picking up my basket, I turned to the door and his laughter followed me out.
Forty-five minutes later, I sat at the kitchen table reading the comics from the paper when Kade’s signature step, clomp, step, clomp echoed down the hall. Turning toward the noise, my breath caught. He wore pressed blue jeans and a button-down shirt. His black cowboy hat rested in his palm.
“I’m ready.” The Texas twang thickened his voice.
“You look...great,” I said numbly. He chuckled and step, clomp over to me. Leaning down, his lips brushed my temple.
The screen door slammed shut with a bang and a gust of wind rushed through the kitchen. It caught the newspaper and scattered it around the room. Kaleb strode in followed by a couple of his ranch hands. He passed the coffee pot around and each person filled their thermos.
“It’s a blustery day today.” Kaleb sipped at the coffee. The ranch hands nodded to me and Kade before leaving.
Slipping my jacket on, I stood up from the table and placed my coffee cup in the sink. “Kade and I are heading over to Lindsay’s place.”
Kaleb nodded, his dark blue eyes watching us closely.
“I’m going to introduce Kade to my horses.” I shoved my hat on my head and pulled my ponytail through the space in the back.
Kade and Kaleb locked eyes. I looked from one brother to another, trying to decipher their unspoken conversation. Eventually, Kaleb broke the staring contest with a shake of his head.
“I’m not doing it,” he growled. “I told you that before.”
Kade’s eyes flashed to me before settling back on his brother. Panic stirred in their depth for a moment. “Please.” He stepped toward Kaleb.
“No.” Kaleb slammed his coffee cup on the table. Coffee sloshed over the edges, staining the newspaper. “I’m not helping you kill yourself. Ask your other brother.” He glowered at Kade and left the room.
“What was that about?” I cocked my head to the side and my forehead pulled into a frown.
“Nothing.” His eyes skittered past mine. “Let’s go see your horses.” He held the door open for me to proceed him.
The ride to the Wilson ranch was quiet. Kade stared out the window and hummed along with the old country song playing on the radio. A nagging feeling bothered me the whole drive. There was something he was keeping from me. Something big. My mind searched for a way to bring it up, but I kept drawing a blank. I sighed in relief when the sign for the ranch appeared ahead. Steering the car up the drive, I itched to break the silence.
“Lindsay and her uncle have been wonderful to me,” I said softly.
“That’s nice.” He said distractedly. “Are you paying board?”
“No, just chipping in for hay. Lindsay said they have plenty of pasture since they no longer have cows.” I steered my car around a tree that had grown up in the middle of the driveway.
“Really? Since when?” He glanced around. The pastures were overgrown with old grass and weeds. Mesquite trees dotted the once open fields, and fences sagged or were pulled down with vines.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. The last couple of years.” I rubbed the ache forming between my eyes. “After his wife died, he couldn’t do the ranching anymore, even with Lindsay’s help.” The barn came into view. The siding was stripped of all its paint and had weathered to a depressing gray. It leaned haphazardly to the side, only to be held up by a tree.
“It’s a little rundown around here.” Kade grabbed his hat and exited the door, shutting the door behind him.
Shaking my head, I followed him. At the fence, I whistled two short beats, and a pounding of hooves answered. Billy led the herd with Penny at his heels while Jasper brought up the rear. I climbed the fence, rubbed their foreheads, and feed them chunks of carrots. “This big black one is Billy. And Penny is the copper pony.” I petted and whispered to each horse as I introduced them to Kade.
“That’s a fine group you have.” He leaned on the fence and ignored Penny’s nose nudging him.
“I’m excited about the therapeutic riding stables.” I proceeded to outline mine and Melanie’s plans for him. He nodded along and absently petted Penny’s nose. “What do you think?”
“It sounds like a plan.” He rested his booted foot on the bottom rail. I settled against the fence and watched the horses mill around.
“So...” I cleared my throat and watched him from the corner of my eye. He stiffened. “What did you want Kaleb to do for you? Maybe I can do it for you?” I held my breath, waiting on him.
He picked a long piece of grass and chewed on it. “Um...don’t worry about it.”
“No, seriously.”
He sighed. “Fine, I wanted Kaleb to set up my drop barrel.” He muttered.
“Your drop barrel?”
“You know, the barrel suspended from the pulleys and springs in the barn.” He picked his teeth with the piece of grass.
“Why do you need it?” I didn’t understand it at all. I rubbed at my forehead, again.
“To practice my bull riding techniques.” He gazed off out into the distance, ignoring my frown.
“Now, why would you need to do that?” I crossed my arms and glared at him. Anger building within.
“In case, I can ride at the Bull Riding Finals.” He muttered.
I stared at him. I couldn’t believe my ears. Was he planning on riding if he got released? I snorted. There was no way Dr. Glanders would approve of him riding. Dr. Glanders was a stickler for enough recovery time.
Kade cut his gaze to me, his expression was unreadable.
“You won’t be ready.” I laughed, bitterly.
He studied me for a bit and threw his piece of grass to the side. “Forget I mentioned it.” He turned and step/clomp back to the car.