she stared into her past, her present, and her future. “Do you think Laurel would be happy for us?” she asked.
A knowing glint twinkled in his eyes. “Yeah, Maisie, she’d be happy we found each other.”
Epilogue
“Hang on!” Maisie yelled from the fence line as the horse bucked like a wild animal with Hayes on its back. This time, he wore a helmet and a protective riding vest that she’d seen bull riders wear. “Oh my God, he’s going to kill himself.”
Beckett snorted a laugh. “Hell no. He was forced to stay away from the farm because of the last fall. He’ll stick this time, believe me.”
Maisie could barely look. She peeked through her fingers, scared to death Hayes was going to get thrown off. But then she realized Beckett was right. Hayes leaned back and held the reins tight so the horse couldn’t buck him. The moment the horse realized Hayes wasn’t coming off, the horse stopped and snorted, sounding like a pissed-off man throwing a giant temper tantrum.
She kept quiet, silently watching Hayes work, and it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever witnessed. The connection between horse and man was there—in every way Hayes moved and the way the horse responded. It wasn’t all easy. The horse reared a few times, bucked in attitude, but Hayes was firm yet understanding. He let the horse make mistakes and rewarded him when he got things right.
Maisie knew why he needed this. It all suddenly made sense. Hayes understood what it felt like to be broken. Working at the farm gave him a way to fix the brokenness in these horses. On the verge of tears, she forced herself to think of something else. They were happy. They were engaged. No more sadness. They’d done enough of that. This was their time.
When Hayes finally had the horse walking around the ring slow and easy, the horse covered in sweat, he stopped in the middle of the ring and dismounted. He removed his safety gear, untacked the horse and walked away, the horse watching him like even he didn’t know what in the hell had happened. He had obviously planned to kill the human on his back, and somehow that human’s touch shifted his entire world until trust was formed. Yeah, Maisie got that. Hayes had magical hands.
“Not a bad start,” said Hayes, opening the gate to join her and Beckett outside the sand ring.
Maisie snorted. “You make it sound like that was easy.”
“Last time he got a jump on me and I lost my balance,” Hayes said, clearing his throat. “That won’t happen again.”
Maisie nudged him with her shoulder. “Or maybe he was just helping by putting you in my path for a road trip.”
Hayes grinned and dropped his head, until his lips were near hers. “Should I thank him then for wanting to kill me?”
“No thanks needed, but maybe be a little more understanding.” She pressed her breasts against his warm chest.
“I’ll take that into consideration.” Then he dropped his mouth and kissed her until they were both breathing deep.
Beckett heaved a long sigh. “I am here with you, you know.”
Hayes leaned away, giving Beckett a shit-eating grin, and reached for him. “Come here, bud. I’ll give you a kiss too.”
Beckett responded with a hard punch to the shoulder, sending the men into laughter.
Maisie shook her head at them and reached into her pocket as her cell rang. She looked the screen. “Hi, Clara,” she answered.
“I need you. Come home.”
Clara never needed anyone or anything, and the tremble in her voice sent a cold blade of ice into Maisie’s gut. “What’s happened?”
“I can’t explain over the phone. Just come home. Alone.”
The line went dead. Maisie stared at the phone, a thousand questions swirling in her mind.
Hayes’s strong hand slid along her back. “Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know.” She looked up at him. “I need to go home. Something’s happened. Clara’s upset.”
Hayes handed Beckett the tack. “I’ll come with you.”
“No,” Maisie countered, pressing a hand against his strong, damp chest. “She wants me alone. I’ll call you soon. Promise.” She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and ran to her MINI.
The drive home should have taken twenty minutes. She got there in eleven. Once she reached the house, she threw the car into park and ran up the porch steps into the house. Mason was nowhere in sight, but she found Amelia and Clara sitting around the kitchen table. Three glasses of scotch already there. Uh-oh. Scotch always meant trouble.