him?” At Jake’s surprised face, Shea chuckled. “Might make you less nervous around horses for the future.”
Doubt clouded Jake’s eyes. “The future? I don’t think I’ll be riding any animal for a very long time.”
“Aw, now, don’t be thinkin’ like that,” Shea said as he undid the cinches on Rambo’s saddle and removed it. Rambo pawed the ground, and Jake took several steps away. “Jake. He’s not gonna hurt you. Come on over here. Put your hands on him. The only way to get over your fear is to jump right in with both feet.”
When Jake still hung back, Shea took his hand and placed it on the horse’s shining neck. After a minute, Jake began to stroke the horse, who stood quietly. Almost as if he knew. Shea rubbed Rambo’s nose.
“Attaboy,” he whispered to the horse, who flicked his ears and nosed at his pockets for a treat.
“Thanks. I feel stupid. I don’t know why.…I’m not afraid of animals. I love them, in fact. That’s why I didn’t mind this trip so much out of all the other retreats I’ve had to go on.”
As Shea watched, Jake became more comfortable, and at Shea’s suggestion, helped remove Rambo’s bridle. When Shea opened the gate to the paddock, he and Jake entered, and Shea even managed to persuade Jake to give Rambo some oats.
“See? Not so bad.”
Jake met his eyes across Rambo. “No. Not bad at all.”
Again Shea had a feeling they were talking about more than the horse. Was Jake giving him signals?
“Hey, Shea?”
One of the new ranch hands walked over, holding Birdie’s reins. “Found her by the lake, just like you said.”
“Thanks, Cody. Just rub her down and give her a good brushing. She got spooked on the trail and took off.”
“Did she now? This sweet girl?” Cody petted her. “Okay, anythin’ else you need me to do?”
“Well, the others’ll be comin’ back from the trail soon, so make sure the stalls are ready.”
“Will do. Those are some nice ones you picked up at the auction, Shea. Couple of ’em are a little older too. Perfect for little kids or people who ain’t used ta ridin’.” He touched the brim of his hat and nodded to Jake. “Afternoon, sir.” Cody clicked to Birdie and began to take care of her.
Jake smiled. “So you’re the boss around here?”
“Guess you could say that.” Shea was never one to separate himself from the rest of the people who worked at the ranch. His father had taught him to get in elbow deep with everyone, so he would get a sense of what the job entailed.
“Can’t lead unless you’ve followed at some point, son.”
“My daddy always said, ‘How can you tell someone what to do, when you’ve never done the work yourself?’ ”
“True. How long have you been working here?”
Shea opened the gate and gestured for Jake to walk out with him. “Oh, on and off since I was fifteen, sixteen.”
“Really? That’s a long time, isn’t it? I guess they treat you well here.”
“I reckon you could say so.” Squinting into the sunshine, Shea could see the other riders returning from the trail. He knew he should help Craig and Johnny with the group, but he wanted to talk more with Jake. “Wanna take a look around? I can show you the rest of the farm animals.”
Jake’s smile was all the answer he needed to banish any lingering thoughts as to whether he should be doing what he was doing.
“Over here are the donkeys, who are nothin’ more than food grubbers,” Shea said, chuckling as Frick and Frack ran up to the gate and nosed at his hands. “If you bring them carrots and apples, they’ll be your friends for life.”
“I guess I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow morning. After all, everyone can use more friends.” Jake laughed, and an unsettling, unfamiliar emotion swept through Shea as he watched the man pet and talk to the donkeys.
“This way.” He walked away, afraid if he stayed too close, he might do something foolish. Like kiss the man.
They wandered around the grounds, and Shea could see Jake visibly relax. The tense lines around his mouth and across his brow smoothed, and by the time they returned to the ranch house, he looked almost as if he belonged there.
“Maybe I could try and go fishing tomorrow morning. I only got a look at the lake as I went sailing off Birdie and landed on my ass.” Jake’s eyes sparkled like water hit by sunlight. “I