Riding under an endless blue sky, dragging in deep breaths of clean air, had some of the hard things inside of Jamie dissolving. The wet season had ended and the wild country around them was lush and green, the ridges in the distance a deep and distinctive red. As beautiful and mesmerising as it was, though, it couldn’t hold his attention.
The expression on Grace’s face when he’d asked her what she was doing back at Kings Reach chafed at him. The pain in her eyes had been quickly blinked away. Her unconvincing laugh and off-the-cuff, ‘Oh, you know? Life,’ made him throb. Silence had risen up between them and he didn’t know how to break it.
‘How you doing over there?’ she asked now.
He shook himself. ‘It’s great to be back on a horse.’ Which was true, but it wasn’t what she was really asking. She’d be worried about pushing him too hard on his first day. ‘I haven’t been on a horse in a while, but I am fit.’ His daily gym sessions were one of the few things that kept him sane. ‘I’m not ready to turn back yet.’ They’d only been going forty minutes.
‘Even if it means you’ll be sore tomorrow?’
‘Even then.’
‘You want to see something special?’
He slid a glance in her direction, but her face gave nothing away. ‘Absolutely.’ He wanted to see anything she thought special.
‘You used to enjoy a good canter. Up for one now?’
Did she remember everything as vividly as he did?
Stop it. ‘Absolutely!’
‘Don’t forget—heels down, grip with your calves and thighs, keep your hands light on the reins.’
They eased their horses into a light canter. As if some secret button had been pressed, more tension eased out of him, the weight on his shoulders slipping away. It left him feeling in harmony with something bigger—something wholesome and good.
When she eased her horse back to a walk, his followed suit. Glancing across, her lips curved into a genuine smile. ‘You look as if you needed that.’
‘You’ve no idea.’
‘A lazy canter is good for the soul.’
‘Why is that?’ He needed to find a way to recreate this feeling when he returned to the city. He would not turn into his father.
‘Ah, now, I do have an answer for that. So many of us have busy lives, which means we become disconnected from nature. Studies have shown that people who get out in nature regularly—even just for a walk in the park—are happier and more creative.’
‘And that’s why you want to work for Fitz doing this? To help people reconnect with nature?’
Her face closed up again and it was like a knife to the heart. But she owed him nothing. It didn’t stop him craving an answer, though. His eyes narrowed. He was a smart guy. If he put his mind to it, he should be able to find a way to win back a portion of her trust and satisfy his curiosity about her and her life.
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