Page 20 of Set It Right
“It’s not that easy,” Zara replied.
Mrs. Keller lifted her sunglasses, giving Zara a long look. “Isn’t it, though?”
After the ride, a staff member on a golf cart took the guests back to the resort while I stayed behind, intent on helping Zara with the horses.
If I was around her for more than a few fleeting minutes, I figured I could smooth out the feelings twisted up inside me.
She raised a brow, noticing me lingering. “I’m good here.”
“I know you are. Thought I’d lend a hand anyway.”
Turning from her horse, she faced me. “All right. I’m not going to fight you. You want to help me do my job, have at it.”
She handed me Dusty’s reins without ceremony, already turning back to loosen her own cinch.
“Can you walk her out first?” she asked over her shoulder. “She sweated more than usual.”
I did as told, leading Dusty in a slow circle through the packed dirt, the late afternoon sun warming my back.
When I brought Dusty back, Zara was brushing down her horse. She’d hung her hat on a hook, and beads of sweat dotted her creaseless forehead. Soft music played from a nearby speaker, and every once in a while, Zara’s lips moved with the lyrics.
I loosened Dusty’s girth and slid the saddle free, muscles remembering the weight. It felt good to be doing this work. Real in a way my days usually weren’t. The leather creaked. The air smelled like sweat and hay and sun.
When the silence stretched on and on and on, I decided it was up to me to break it. After all, I’d been the one to start it.
“You were good out there.”
She paused, brush hovering. “At the ride?”
“Leading,” I corrected. “Everyone listened to you. Even the nervous guy with a thousand questions.”
The corner of her mouth lifted. “He relaxed once he realized Ranger wasn’t plotting his demise.”
“I noticed.”
She set the brush down and leaned her forearms on the fence, watching one of the ranch hands lead a horse toward the wash station.
“How are you, Cormac?” she asked.
“I’m all right. It’s been a pretty good day.” I moved into her line of sight, hitching my hip on a low gate. Her gaze trailed over me, her brow furrowing. “How about you, Zara? How are you?”
Her chest rose and fell with a deep pull of breath. “It’s been a pretty good day for me too. All week has. I’m happy to be here.”
“Good. That’s good.” My pulse thudded in my throat. Why was I nervous? I didn’t get nervous. “So coming here was the right move then.”
“I think so.” Her eyes landed on me and stayed for a while before straying back to her horse. “I might be running away. I haven’t decided yet.”
“When will you know?”
“I’m not sure it matters. I’m here, so whether I’m running away or ‘resetting,’ as my dad says, the result’s the same, you know?” She paused, flicking her gaze at me. “Well…you probably don’t know. You’ve always been pretty sure of what you want.”
“That’s not true.” My fingers dug into my knees hard enough to bruise. “I’m still figuring a lot out.”
“Job-wise…”
“Yeah.” My chin lifted. “My job is the one sure thing.”
“You like it?”
