shade over the area.
She stopped and smiled with delight as she saw a small deer about fifty feet away, nibbling at some moss. It didn’t seem to notice her, content as it ate its breakfast.
She wished she had her camera; it wasn’t an exciting picture, but it sure was cute.
Figuring Brody was down in the barn, she continued in that direction. Indeed, she did find him inside, tending to several horses.
She paused for a moment in the entrance, loving the cool air that was thick with the smell of hay, wood, horses and hot summer. It reminded her of her childhood. She swallowed the hard lump in her throat as she watched him secure a lead rope around the neck of a beautiful red roan.
The interplay of muscles in his arms didn’t escape her attention, either, nor how his obvious strength contrasted with the gentleness he exhibited with the animal. He conversed with it in low tones, smiling as the roan seemed to answer his comments with snorts and nods.
As the horse fully emerged from the stall, Hannah saw it was a mare, and a beauty at that. She loved horses, and she’d had one of her own when she was very young, but they’d sold it with the farm, which had been one of the most heartbreaking parts of her youth. There was no room for a horse at their apartment in the city, of course, and renting stable space had been financially impossible then. The new owners had let her come back to ride the horse now and then, but it wasn’t really hers anymore.
Abby and Reece also had horses, and Hannah loved taking them for a ride or even helping out in the stables. Still, she never expected to find Brody with equine. She supposed in some ways it wasn’t such a surprise; Brody was drawn to powerful things. Fast, potentially dangerous things, she thought with a smile.
“She’s gorgeous,” Hannah said, making her presence known.
Brody turned, greeting her with a smile.
Well, that was a good sign. Hannah relaxed, stepping farther into the barn. Having the horses as a buffer helped somewhat, since she still wasn’t sure what she wanted to say to him.
“This is Sally,” Brody said, petting the horse’s nose.
“Hi Sally. You are such a sweetheart,” Hannah crooned, putting her hand out to the horse, who promptly stuffed her nose into her palm, snuffling for goodies.
“And who is this?” she asked, walking farther down the aisle and lifting a hand to another horse’s nose.
“Zip, meet Hannah. Hannah, meet Zip,” Brody said with a sidelong look at the horse.
“Nice to meet you, Zip.”
The horse nodded his head in greeting, snorting.
“Of course. They told me he was a ladies’ man,” Brody said as Zip nuzzled Hannah’s fingers.
“He’s absolutely beautiful. They all are,” she said, looking at the curious heads poking out over their stall doors. “But he’s...special, isn’t he?”
“That’s one word for him,” Brody teased, chucking the horse gently on the chin and receiving a tolerant huff in response.
“Were you taking them out to the pastures?”
“Yeah, they all go out for most of the day, then I clean up the stalls.”
“You don’t have people to do that for you?”
“I don’t mind the work. What else do I have to do?”
Hannah bit her lip, unwilling to pry at the moment, though his tone gave her another hint at his frustration.
“I’ll take him for you, if you want to go with Sally. I could help with the stalls, too.”
“That’s not a good idea. I know you’re around Abby’s horses a lot, but Zip is... Well, as you said, special.”
Hannah understood immediately from Brody’s tone. “He’s the one who threw you?”
“Yeah, and he enjoyed it, I’m pretty sure.”
“He does have a sparkle in his eye,” she said, grinning. “But I can handle him. He’ll be fine, walking out.”
Brody hesitated, but finally nodded.
“You take Sally—I’ll get him and we’ll take them out together. We’ll be fine, Brody.”
He relented, handing her the tack while he returned to Sally, who waited patiently. Hannah forgot the awkward encounter she’d been expecting and enjoyed the distraction.
She kept a firm hold on Zip, Sally on the other side with Brody. As she walked the thoroughbred, she let her shoulder gently bump up against his, like buddies walking along together. He seemed to like it.
She liked him, too, but she also couldn’t help but be aware of the power of the horse. He walked as though he was barely holding back from bolting. It was much the same feeling she got from Brody a lot of the time, especially now. Strung tight, needing to be let loose.
“Where did you get him? I can feel the energy practically coming off him in waves,” she commented as they walked out into the sunlight.
“Thoroughbred rescue. He has a very impressive racing pedigree, but he was too unmanageable, so they surrendered him to the rescue when they couldn’t sell him. I know the owner of the rescue, and she knew I had open stable space. They wanted me to keep a few of their horses for a while, but they weren’t being adopted, so I took them on permanently.”
Hannah smiled. “That was a very kind thing to do, Brody.”
And more like the man she’d known, too, she thought to herself.
“He’s a bit...touchy. I was working with him, but he might need a better hand than mine, clearly. Jed will probably do better with him.”
“Jed?”
“He helps with the farm, has ever since my grandparents lived here. He’s excellent with horses, and he’s been working with Zip a bit each day since I hurt my back.”
Hannah nodded as Brody opened the gate to the pasture. He led Sally in, but told Hannah to wait.
“Zip goes over in a separate section—he has to until he’s gelded anyway.”
“Ouch. Poor Zip,” she said with a comforting pat.
“We’re hoping it will calm him down some.”
“You don’t sound entirely convinced,” she commented as they walked to the next corral.
“Well, you know...I sort of like him as he is, but I also don’t want him hurting himself or anyone else. I’m waiting to see how he responds to more training, but if we’re going to geld him, I want to do it before he gets much older.”
Hannah nodded, led Zip into the smaller pasture next door to Sally’s and then walked back out with Brody, leaving the horses, her buffer, behind.
“Um, listen,” she began, taking a breath as they walked back to the barn. “I have to apologize for last night. I was...in a weird mood, and I guess the wine really lowered my inhibitions,” she said with an embarrassed laugh. “But thank you for, well, being so considerate.”
“I owe you an apology, not the other way around. I wish you’d told me about your situation.”
She smiled at him. “Talk about pot and kettle.”
He laughed. “Well, we’ll call it even. As long as you promise not to go wrestling alligators or sharks.”
She laughed ruefully. “That’s an easy promise to make.”
“You feel like a ride? The other two horses in the stable need some exercise. Zip and Sally had a ride yesterday, but Salty and Pepper—my parents’ horses—need some exercise. I’ll put Snow, the other rescue, out with Sally. She’s older and just likes wandering around the pasture. Then