Monday rolled around faster than I would have preferred, and I found myself stuck inside the ranch house again, working at the small desk, feeling Zeke's eyes on me.
"Taylor, did you enter those manifests into the books last week?" I turned and looked at him.
"What manifests?"
"The ones that I placed on your desk last Friday." My brow wrinkled, and I turned to shuffle around the papers on the desk, looking for them.
"I'm sorry, Zeke, I never saw them, and I don't see them now." I heard him get up out of his chair and come over to help me look.
I swallowed when he used a hand on my shoulder to lean over the desk and search. He pulled on the tiniest corner of a sheet of paper that had fallen behind the desk, pulling it out to place it in front of me.
"There it is," he said, smiling at me. I looked up at him with a smile of appreciation, and our faces were close again.
He stayed close for a long moment and then finally stood, still looking at me. He gave me a peruse and then returned to his desk. My heart had sped up when our faces were close, but out of nervousness, something about his closeness made me a ball of nerves. I could feel his eyes on me the rest of the day until I left his office.
Wednesday felt the same for me; oppressive and bizarre. I felt stifled every time I went into his office to work. He hadn't done anything wrong, but the sense I was getting off of him irked me.
I was about to leave his office for the day when he called me back.
"Do you have a moment, Taylor?"
"Ugh, sure, Zeke, what's up?"
"Shut the door, would you?" I did as he asked and turned to look at him.
He motioned for me to come back into the office. I walked over to him, curious about what he wanted. "Have a seat," he said. I looked behind me at his desk. Was he serious? OooooooKay. I sat on the edge of his desk and looked at him.
"Are you doing alright?" I looked to the side, confused by his question.
"Well, yeah. What do you mean?" He moved his chair a little closer to me.
"I heard from some associates that the guys have been heckling you. That true?"
"Well, not more than their usual, no." His face was a mask of grave concern.
"So they weren't yanking you around on the dance floor and kissing you as a prank?" His brow furrowed as he said it, his face tilting to catch my eye as he placed a hand just above my knee.
I was confused, "Well, no. We had a couple of evenings at the bar, where I danced with many of them. It's true that they had a bet going to," I blushed and looked down at the thought of Brant's kiss.
"To what, Taylor?" My eyes that were looking down widened a little as his hand shifted a fraction higher as he tried to get me to look at him.
I finally answered, "It was just a bet that if they could do a full eight on the bull, they got a kiss. I'm the one who agreed, and it was all in good fun. There isn't a problem, Zeke. The guys and I are all good friends. They look out for me."
He studied me intently with his hazel eyes. He used his hand on my thigh to help himself stand over me.
His other hand came to my shoulder, and he looked into my eyes, "You'd tell me if there ever was a problem, right?" I was so uncomfortable with his proximity and intimate touch that I had the hardest time not leaning away from him.
"Of course," I said, swallowing and wetting my lips. His eyes caught the movement and stayed there for a moment.
My heartbeat and breathing picked up a little. My god, did he just look down my shirt?
He finally stood up straight, releasing me, and nodded, saying, "Good. I want to hear about it, first thing if any of them bother you." I gave a small nervous smile and nodded.
"Is that all?" I asked.
"Yes, have a great evening," he said.
I slid off his desk and brushed against him on my way around his desk. I went to the office door and opened it, leaving and shutting it behind me.
I had such a hard time not running from the house. After five, I heard the dinner triangle ringing but had no appetite. I just crossed my apartment and climbed the stairs, locking myself inside.
I slid down the door, holding my pounding heart. Did that just happen? Was I overreacting? He seemed so sincere but. But.
My head fell back against the door, and I just sat there for who knows how long, trying to rid myself of the dirty feeling that had washed over me. What had just happened? Was I overreacting? Had he actually done anything wrong? Had I? Why did I feel so funny? So uncomfortable?
I stood and went to shower to see if I could wash the dirty feeling from my mind as I washed my body; the feel of his hand on my thigh still bothered me, making my stomach turn to summersaults.
I got out and looked at the clock. I had lost track of time. It was after 9 pm. I sighed. I laid down on my bed, but I just couldn't stop thinking about Zeke and what had happened in his office.
I finally gave up on sleeping and dressed in a tank top and my short jean shorts. I put on my boots and walked out of my apartment for a walk.
I just followed my feet, the almost full moon lighting my way. I kept feeling Zeke's hand on me, his closeness, brushing up against him on the way out.
I almost tripped when the memories caused my eyes to close. I needed to tell someone, and I knew the someone was Brant. But it was nearly 11:30 pm. It would have to wait until the next day.
I looked up and saw that I had wandered to the watering hole. I walked over to the picnic table and sat, staring out over the waters shimmering in the moonlight reflected across its surface. I could hear some frogs mixed in with the crickets singing.
Suddenly, a smile spread across my face, and I reached down to remove my boots, tossing them on the table. I walked over to the pine tree and grabbed the rope swing. I hauled it back and leaped, swinging forward through the air.
I released the rope with a screech of delight and sailed through the air, doing a massive cannonball into the water. I surfaced, throwing my hair back, smoothing it off my face with my hands, laughing. I turned and started swimming in the pond. At last, I just floated in the water, relaxing as I drifted, smiling up at the moon with my eyes closed.
I heard something in the forest coming my way, and I stood up with a gasp, my hand going to my hip to find it empty.
"Shit," I whispered under my breath. If it was a bear or something else, I was so screwed.
Instead, a massive black stallion and rider came into the moonlight, right up to the pond's edge.
His voice was gentle as he teased, "You saying that because I caught you on my land again, or some other reason?"
"What?!?" I looked around and realized I was standing on his side of the borderline, even if I was still in the water.
He urged his stallion forward, and I backed away from him again. The massive black Friesian walked up to the water's edge, and I backed away more, losing my footing, and splashed down into the water.
When I surfaced, coughing and sputtering, I heard the most delicious sound that had ever met my ears before; Aiden's laughter flowed out of him, filling the night's silence around us.
I watched as he gave the stallion the reigns, allowing the massive black head to dip down to the pond so he could drink. Aiden's eyes were fixed on me with his intense way again, a slight smile tugging his lips as he looked at me.
An amused smile, remnants of his laughter, spread across his face. He dismounted and took ahold of the reigns, bringing them over his stallion's head. He backed the horse away and then let the reigns drop, to rest on the ground. I watched with fascination as the stallion stood perfectly still when he did this.
I looked back to Aiden and his eyes still hinted at his amusement at my clumsiness. And then he held his hand to me again, just like he had the other night. I looked at it and back up at him. What could he possibly want? My heart started pounding.
I kept my eyes on him as I stepped forward and slid my hand into his again. He drew me from the water to stand before him on the beach, dripping wet. He looked me up and down with a touch of amusement.
"You often go swimming at midnight, Taylor?" A humored smile broke out over my face.
"Do you often go riding at midnight, Aiden?"
His humored smirk took over his face before he said, "Yes." Shock flitted onto my face, and my mouth dropped open, making him laugh a little again. His laugh had me feeling breathless.
"Are you always on the back of a horse?" I asked him, incredulous.
He smiled at me before his face turned serious, and he whispered, "Are you ever on one?"
A guarded look came to my face, but even that small effort couldn't keep the pain from showing; from my eyes watering. His deep blue eyes looked deep into my eyes, taking in my reaction, while he waited for my answer.
"No," I whispered back to him.
Suddenly I saw a deep look of sadness and understanding cross those eyes.
"Because of the accident?" He whispered to me.
"Yes." His lips tightened, and he blinked his acceptance of my answer.
"Have you ever thought about it?"
I looked down and whispered, "Yes."
He waited until I looked into his eyes before asking, "Was that ride I gave you the first time you've been back up on a horse?"
My face contorted in pain, and the tears threatened to fall, my eyes and nose prickling and growing hot as I fought them. I licked my lips and turned my face away from him, trying to blink the tears away.
"That took a lot of bravery then, to trust me," Aiden said his comment simply, but it drew my eyes back to his. I found that gentle patience again there that I was coming to appreciate from him. I opened my mouth to say something but shut it again. "You think you could trust me again?" He asked, his head cocking a little as he studied me.
He held my gaze as I thought about it. I found that reassuring strength again as I looked into his eyes, the same that had prompted me to take his hand the other night. I bit my lip and nodded a little.
A beautiful smile captured his lips, and his eyes twinkled. He turned and pulled me after him by the hand that he still held. I pulled up a little when I saw he was leading me to his horse.
He stopped and looked at me, his eyes reassuring but his smirk challenging my earlier agreement. I flushed, and my eyes were tearing again. He stepped up and looked down at me; I had to angle my head to meet his look. He smiled reassuringly at me, and his eyes moved over my face like a caress.
"What's it going to be, Taylor?" I swallowed and nodded once more.
He stepped away from me and gently led me after him toward his stallion. He took my hand with his other one and gently pulled me in front of him, holding my other hand in his from behind.
I started trembling; we were only a couple of feet away from the stallion. I felt Aiden's chest against my back as he guided us forward slowly.
His breath on my neck made my eyes close when he whispered in my ear, "Relax. It's going to be alright." We walked up to the stallion and stood only a couple of inches from him. "He won't hurt you, Taylor. As long as those reigns are on the ground, he's not going to move," Aiden's voice whispered in my ear from behind. "Reach out and touch him," he encouraged.
I sucked in a deep breath and slowly started to reach out to touch the stallion. The horse's ear turned toward me, and Aiden gently shifted his weight without really moving; even so, it made me suck in a breath, jump, and draw my hand back.
Aiden's left hand, still holding mine, drew our arms around my middle, pulling me back against his muscular chest.
"It's alright, Taylor," Aiden's voice said in a deep, reassuring tone. I felt his other hand capture mine again, and slowly, he lifted our hands together out toward his stallion.
I was breathing heavily, trembling as my heart pounded in my chest. Aiden laid my hand on the black stallion's neck, still covering my hand with his. Slowly, he drew our hands down the stallion's velvety-soft neck. He lifted our hands and brought them back up to slowly stroke the horse's neck again and again. I felt Aiden's slow, measured breathing as his chest rose and fell against my back.
"His name is Samson, Taylor," Aiden whispered into my ear from behind. My head turned a little toward his, making his lips brush against my ear, sending shivers down my neck and spine.
We stood there for a long time, him holding me from behind as he guided my hand to pet Samson's neck. Aiden took my hand that had been petting Samson's neck and slid it down the horse's neck, onto his shoulder, and slowly, Aiden started moving us along the horse, keeping our hands on Samson's velvety warmth.
We slowly walked around him, touching the top of his black rump, and started walking up the other side of the stallion. Aiden continued to hold me around my middle as he guided my hand back up the other side of Samson, all the way until my fingers, wrapped up with Aiden's, glided up Samson's neck.
Aiden guided us to the front of Samson. He held my hand in his and turned our hands so they were palm up. He guided my hand to rest below Samson's tickling whiskers and velvety soft lips.
Aiden guided my hand to gently turn and cup Samson's nose, slowly sliding our palms up the center of Samson's head, all the way up until our fingers sunk into Samson's mane at the center of his forehead.
Keeping our hands there, Aiden stepped so we were no longer in Samson's blind spot, positioning me right next to the horse's black eye. Aiden guided my hand gently up and down Samson's forehead, letting me look the horse in the eye. He guided our hands down the side of Samson's face, making his eye close and reopen when our hands reached his massive jaw.
Our hands wandered back up and cupped the horse's ear, drawing our hands out to feel the softness of it.
Aiden guided my hand back down to Samson's neck. His palm pressed into the back of my hand, and then he withdrew his hand, leaving mine resting there. I was biting my lip again at the sight of it.
My stomach was full of butterflies, as much from touching a horse willingly as Aiden's touch. I felt Aiden pulling away from me, and I started to panic.
His arm came around me again, and I felt his lips on my ear again, "It's alright, Taylor. He won't hurt you." And then he released me, stepping back to leave me standing there, touching his stallion's neck.
I didn't move; I just swallowed and stared at my hand on Samson's neck. Slowly, I turned and looked over at Aiden. He held my eyes, taking in my reaction with gentle kindness.
Suddenly, I was tearing up for a whole new reason. It had been over a decade since I had willingly touched or stood near a horse because of the horrendous accident that had cost my father his life. I had denied myself a deep-rooted love because of fear, pain, and heartbreaking loss.
The tears welled up and fell as my face contorted with a sob. I felt Aiden take me into his arms, holding me as I cried. I felt him moving me a step forward, and then slowly, he turned me.
His hands captured mine as I cried and drew them out, slowly sliding them around Samson's neck, essentially making me hug the horse's neck as I cried.
Aiden stayed with me, holding my waist from behind, as I hugged his stallion's neck and cried out so much of the pain that I had kept locked inside me for years. The loss of my father, the loss of the love of riding and horses, the loss of my sister, and the loss of the rest of my family because of it.
I didn't know how long I cried, but once my tears had dried up, I stood there, leaning my face against the soft, warm neck of the stallion. I felt Aiden's breath on my neck again, and he whispered, "Come for a ride with me."