Christmas at Fireside Cabins - Jenny Hale Page 0,18

Phantom girl? They all like you the best.” He patted her nose and she pawed the ground with her hoof, making a snorting sound. “She’s glad y’all like her too,” Rex told them.

“I think the brunette over there should have Phantom, Rex,” a husky voice said from behind them. “I’ve heard she gets a little nervous about outdoorsy activities.”

Before she even turned around, Lila knew exactly who’d uttered that comment. She pursed her lips in disapproval as Theo walked into the horse ring, carrying a saddle and a blanket. He seemed taller and more substantial than he had behind the bar, his biceps showing through his flannel shirt when he slipped off his coat and set it on the bench.

“Theo!” Rex said, breaking his horse-guide character and suddenly turning back into a five-year-old, wrapping his arms around the man excitedly. Theo set down the saddle and lifted him up, wrinkling his nose playfully at Rex.

Lila was frozen in place, trying to snap her gaping mouth shut. Rex actually liked this guy? How? He was as cold as ice with seemingly everyone he came in contact with, except this little boy… She’d never seen Theo smile until now, and when he did, he was incredibly handsome. His blue eyes sparkled as the edges of them creased with happiness. His smile was like coming home after a long trip—despite all the other warning signs, suddenly she wouldn’t have minded if it were directed at her.

“I’m on my lunch break, so I thought I’d stop by,” Theo told Rex. “Where’s your daddy?”

“He’s tendin’ to the folks in the tree lot ’cause he’s down a worker, and when he’s finished he can’t come over ’cause he has to do the plumbin’ tonight.”

“He’s working tonight?”

“Yes, sir. He’s fixin’ the crop sprinkler for Bud Simmons. At five o’clock.”

“So he’s got you on horse duty,” Theo said, chuckling at him affectionately.

“Yup, and I made him pay me more than my chore money.”

“A businessman. I like it.”

Theo set Rex down and approached another horse that was white with gray spots, picking up the saddle and a pad and placing them over the horse’s back, securing the straps. “Phantom’s good for beginners. This one—Maisy Jane—on the other hand is the fastest at Pinewood Farm. She’s won twenty blue ribbons in her young life.”

“Then I’ll ride her,” Lila said, defiant, something in her wanting to prove to Theo that she wasn’t entirely made of Christmas sparkle.

“This is the horse I ride,” he stated, meeting her eyes.

“Well, today I’ll be riding her.”

“Suit yourself.” He pulled one of the crates over to Maisy Jane and gestured for Lila to come over. Ignoring the ogling eyes of her friends, she complied, stepping up onto the box, gritting her teeth to hide the jolt of nerves that coursed through her. “Grab the reins above my hand,” Theo said. “Then put your foot in the stirrup there.”

“You leadin’?” Rex asked him.

“Just for this,” Theo replied. “Let’s double up. You get the others and I’ll take care of this one, since she needs a little extra help.”

Lila shook her head in disapproval, but she couldn’t deny the zinging excitement she had at being in such close quarters with Theo. She placed her foot in the stirrup, trying to make her movements as fluid as possible to give him less to say, and swung her leg over the horse’s back, mounting and then realizing it had a double saddle. Had he planned to ride with her all along?

“Take your foot out of the stirrup a minute,” he said.

When she did, he inserted his own boot, and before she could say anything, he’d mounted the horse behind her, his arms around her to hold the reins, making it difficult to breathe properly, her heart beating a mile a Christmas minute. “Have fun,” he said to the others before calling something to the horse.

At his command, Maisy Jane took off, running and causing Lila to squeal, blowing her hair back, the scenery rushing past her in a blur as they bolted through the open gate at the back and out into the hills. She snapped her eyes shut as panic swelled within her, her body lifting slightly in Theo’s grip. She’d never been on a horse in her life. They were going too fast. How should she hold on? What if she fell? She clenched the saddle with all her might.

But then Theo’s chin was on her tense shoulder, his arms holding her securely, his calm voice at her