She wondered if Mia was thinking about Nick. What they’d had, what had ended.
Mia reached out and covered her hand. “It would take a lot of trust, but when you feel safe enough to try, you will. And when someone means that much to you, you’ll want to.”
A sinking feeling settled in her gut. Because, for the first time ever, a man other than her brothers had meant something to her. And she had wanted to try.
But he wasn’t interested. And he didn’t even know all the reasons he shouldn’t be.
Chapter 9
Stephen raised and lowered the weights in each hand, counting out another set, barely noticing the million-dollar view from his home gym. Finishing, he set them down and moved to the incline bench for crunches. The stock exchange tape from Friday’s closing ran across the bottom of the muted flatscreen and each time his body rose, he made a mental note of the information. Just because it was Saturday didn’t mean he couldn’t work.
He breathed out forty-eight when his cell rang. He grabbed it on the third buzz. “Hello.”
“Hi, Stephen. It’s Abby.”
“Hey. What’s going on? Everything okay?” She’d never called him before, couldn’t imagine why she ever would.
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Everyone’s fine, but I’m kind of in a bind and I wondered if you could help me.”
“Sure.” Relieved, he picked up a towel. “What’s up?”
“Well, I’m supposed to take Gracie out to ride horses with Hannah today, but my car won’t start and Matt’s buried in renovation problems. I was wondering if you could give us a ride. I assume you know where it is.”
Yes. He knew, though not for the reason she thought.
“If you’re busy, I understand,” Abby said. “I can call Tony, or your dad. I just thought of you first.”
“Hannah knows you’re coming?”
“Of course. She invited us at the party, remember?”
And then honored that invite in spite of what he’d done. “I’m happy to help you, Abby, but Hannah and I…we aren’t together.”
“Oh. Well, shoot.”
An awkward silence followed.
He had no excuse. Even had an SUV gathering dust next to his Porsche. He sank onto the bench and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. “I can still take you.”
“Really? I hate to ask, but Gracie’s so excited. She’s been counting the days.”
“No problem.”
It shouldn’t be a problem.
—
Gracie skipped along beside him as they walked to the barn, so overflowing with sunshine and rainbows, you couldn’t help but get splattered with it. The three of them passed a stocky gray-haired man carrying a young boy in his arms. A boy with no hands, but rounded nubs of skin several inches below the bend in both elbows.
“Mommy, did you see—”
Abby pulled Gracie along when she would have stopped. “Don’t stare, baby.”
“But Mommy, what—”
“He lost his hands somehow,” Abby said softly.
Hannah had told him what she did, but it hadn’t really registered. He hadn’t pictured children with missing limbs.
The car door opened and closed behind them and Gracie turned her head. “He looked sad. I’d be sad too if I lost pieces.”
Gracie’s innocent words twisted hard in his stomach. His youngest brother had lost a piece and J.T. was well past sad. A second later, they reached the barn and Hannah stepped out of the shadows.
“Hi, Abby. Hi, Gracie.” She greeted them with that bright, open smile he loved, the one that went all the way to her eyes and made them sparkle. Until she saw him and the smile slipped, sparkle gone.
“Gracie needed a ride, so I…” He gestured lamely at the obvious. It had been a week since he’d seen her. A week of trying to get her face out of his mind. A woman who obviously hadn’t expected to ever see him again. Well, he hadn’t expected it either. Or the kick in his chest when he did. But here he was, and he couldn’t say he was completely unhappy about it.
“Thank you so much for this,” Abby said, picking up the conversation.
“You’re welcome.” Hannah smiled at Abby, then looked down at Gracie. “Have you ever ridden a horse before?”
“No, but I always wanted to so, so, so bad.”
“Well, why don’t we walk around and you can meet everyone first.” Hannah took her hand and Gracie half walked, half skipped as the two of them moved deeper into the barn.
“She’s sweet,” Abby said, just loud enough for him.
“Yes.”
“You could use some sweet in your life.”
He wasn’t sure about that. Stephen followed Abby’s gaze, taking in the surroundings that he’d missed before. The barn was worn but clean. A few full hay bales were pushed against the wall like benches. A plastic caddy with various horse-grooming tools sat on one closest.
“I’m glad you came to Gracie’s party. So was she.”
“It was nice.”
The girls came back, leading a small whitish horse.
Hannah patiently showed Gracie where to stand and where not to. Showed her how to run the brush along Hazel’s body, following the pattern of hair. She named each piece of equipment, letting Gracie help when she could, then talked his niece through the mounting.
“Abby, there’s a bench under a shade tree where you can watch,” Hannah said. “Can I get you a water?”