her and get stepped on.” Mason pointed down at Star’s hooves. “See those? They can break your bones if she steps on you. She’s a calm girl. As long as you’re nice to her, she’ll be nice to you. Understand the rules?”
Both boys nodded.
“Great. Who wants up first?”
Oliver ran forward, arms up.
Mason scooped him up and set him on Star’s back. “Okay, buddy, you hold on to her mane like this.” Mason placed Oliver’s hands around two fistfuls of black hair. “Don’t pull or hold too tight.”
Oliver nodded.
Mason turned to Danny. “Ready?”
Danny held up his arms.
Mason lifted him up to the horse to sit behind his brother. “You hold on to Oliver’s waist and make sure he doesn’t slide off.”
Danny nodded, looking unsure as the horse shifted under him.
Mason put his hand on Danny’s thigh to steady him. “She’s going to move a lot while she walks. Move with her.”
Danny nodded.
Sierra moved in next to the boys as Mason took the lead rope at Star’s head. Mason caught her eye and nodded, acknowledging that she’d walk alongside just in case the boys got scared or nervous or slipped off.
“Here we go.” He clicked his tongue and gently tugged the rope to get Star moving.
Both boys’ faces lit up with bright smiles when the horse started moving under them and they walked out of the stables, down the driveway, and into the pasture.
“Oh my God. She’s so tall.” Danny looked over and down at the ground.
Sierra fixed her hand at his waist. “Sit straight up, or you’ll fall.” Without a saddle and stirrups to keep the boys in place, they needed to focus on staying upright.
Oliver whispered, “This is so cool.”
And just like that, the weight of all their troubles lifted off Sierra’s shoulders. She smiled up at her boys, who were amazed and filled with wonder, riding their first horse and falling in love with it.
Oliver leaned over and hugged Star’s neck. “Can we keep her, Mama?”
“Star is Mason’s horse, honey.”
“You can come visit her anytime you want,” Mason offered. “She’d like it if you did.” Mason turned and gave Sierra a So would I look.
One part of her hoped she read that right. Another part wondered if it was too soon to start dating again. Maybe she should focus on the boys and getting them a new home. But those were excuses for not putting herself out there.
Truth be told, Mason was hard to resist, especially when he was so kind and sweet to her precious boys.
But that wasn’t all that drew her to him. There had been something there when they were younger. So much so that at one point before she married David, she’d had a moment where she wondered if a relationship with Mason was the better choice.
She chalked it up to nerves about getting married. Nothing but cold feet. Everyone experienced it. Second-guessing her compatibility with David just so she could be with another man, one she found intriguing and exciting and sexy as hell. They’d been friends so long, she knew so much about him.
But she’d convinced herself they would only ever be friends because she didn’t want to risk losing that bond.
In the end, she’d felt like she and David married thinking the other person fit the image of what they wanted, but down the road they each turned out to be unable to fulfill the other’s needs. David didn’t think she was spontaneously fun or outgoing enough. She saw David’s wild streak—at first so entertaining—as off-putting. He didn’t think things through.
They turned into devoted parents but distant partners.
She didn’t know when or why they both accepted that was their life, that the spark and fire between them had slowly burned out to ash. By the time David unexpectedly died, she’d been wondering for months if he wanted out of the marriage.
They didn’t fight. They didn’t disagree. They didn’t care enough to do that. They simply lived their lives under the same roof for their children.
Looking back, it made her sad to think he died unhappy and unfulfilled in their marriage.
Still, she wondered if he’d had his foot out the door for a while.
Mason broke into her dark thoughts. “You okay?”
She nodded and smiled for the boys’ benefit. “Fine.” She checked her watch. “We should head back. The game starts in ten minutes and I’ve got to get the cooler of food out of the car and some of the things into the oven.”
Mason studied her for a moment, then turned Star back