The Broken Soldier She Fell For (Book 2 of Something Series)

Chapter 7

"This is Merry," I said to Kanen, gesturing to the young foal that walked over to us when we entered the stall. "She's about a couple of months." I rubbed the young foal's neck and looked at him, smiling. "She is one of our orphaned babies."

"The only one at this time," Calvin said, "which is good because we've had to lease out our nurse mares, and they're working with other families right now." He shrugged his shoulder and cleared his throat. "So, she is being bottle-fed and has Lib for company."

Kanen hesitated but nodded his head. He looked at the foal by my side, and I could see this fear in his eyes as if he had no idea what to do with her. His whole body was tense, and I wondered if he was afraid of horses.

"Are you scared of horses?" I asked, and he looked at me. I raised an eyebrow when he scowled and cocked my head, waiting for him to answer. "Well?" I asked when he didn't answer off the bat. "Are you scared of horses?"

"No," he replied coldly. "Why would you ask that?" He looked away from me and cleared his throat, not meeting my gaze. "I don't understand why you would ask that."

"Because you are looking at her as if she was some snake," I replied. "She isn't going to bite you hard." I pushed her muzzle away from my jeans when she got a little too hard and scowled. "She is kind of mouthy, though, but not that much."

"I can see that," he mumbled before he cleared his throat. He tapped his finger against his wheelchair and looked away from me and the foal. "I am still not scared of her."

"Ok, then touch her," I replied. I cocked my head and studied the male. "I mean, you aren't scared of her, so pet her while I keep her mouth busy." I cupped the foal's muzzle gently and felt her lips wiggle against my hand while her warm tongue pressed it.

Kanen's eyes grew wider before he placed a blank look over his face and looked at me. He shook his head and cleared his throat again. "I'm paralyzed, remember?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I am in a wheelchair."

I gave him a deadpanned look. "I had no idea," I replied. "I just thought you were lazy." I grinned at Calvin's snort and kept my gaze on Kanen. "I know that your bottom half is paralyzed, but your upper half isn't. You can move your hands."

"No, I can't."

I narrowed my eyes and scowled. "I just saw you tap your fingers against your wheelchair, Kanen," I said. "I know that you can."

He huffed and set his jaw. He didn't say a word but stared at the "small" creature in front of me, fear still in his eyes. He didn't say a word, and I could tell that he didn't like this one bit.

I sighed and walked closer to him, the filly following me because she still wanted attention. I held out my hand, and he looked at my hand before he looked at me. "Do you trust me?" I asked, studying the male in the wheelchair. "I won't do anything that will cause you harm. I promise."

Kanen looked at my hand and then at the foal. Doubt filled his eyes, and I had a feeling that he wouldn't do this. His whole body was tense, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on behind his eyes.

Finally, he sighed and nodded his head, knowing full well that I wouldn't let up. "Ok," he said, and he placed his hand in mine. His touch was gentle and warm, and I would be lying if I didn't say that I didn't feel a spark between us. He furrowed his brows, and I had a feeling that he felt it too, but he made no comment about it, and neither did I. "I just trust you doing this and nothing else."

I smiled and nodded, relieved that he trusted me enough to put his hand on the foal. "I'll take that," I replied. I squeezed his hand reassuringly and cleared my throat before I licked my lips. "Maybe we can work something out later." I winked teasingly, and he rolled his eyes, but a small smile appeared on his lips before it turned into a scowl.

"Whatever," he said with a huff. His scowl deepened, and I had no idea what he was thinking. He set his jaw and cleared his throat, and stared at the foal before him. He didn't look at me for some reason, and I wondered if it was because of the spark that had happened. "Just put my hand on the damn foal so that I can get away from you again."

I rolled my eyes and scowled, but I didn't say a word because I knew that I would say something sarcastic back to him. I bit my lip to make sure that I wouldn't say anything and nodded before taking a deep breath and letting it out.

Gently, I placed Kanen's hand out for Merry to sniff, and Merry walked over to his outreached hand with pricked ears. I watched as she sniffed his hand before she nudged it, her touch gentle, more gentle than she was with me and the others.

It was as if she knew that Kanen was afraid of her and her breed, and she wanted him to know that there was nothing to be afraid of, even though she weighed about the size of an adult dog and would grow more with each passing day.

Kanen stayed still and watched the filly walk over to him. A gasp escaped his tight lips when she nuzzled his hand before he let out a startled laugh that didn't startle the filly. His whole body grew slightly relaxed while he stared at her in awe.