Page 36 of Redemption in the Dark (The Righteous 5)
“Come on in. The ladies are all very nice.” She slipped through the fence, and Wolf held out his hand to her. “Don’t let them push you around for these.”
She looked down at her hand as he opened his, and a few sugar cubes dropped into her palm.
“These are a little get-to-know-you peace offering.”
Holding out one of the small white cubes to the mare closest to her, the pretty golden horse gently lapped the cube off her hand. “This color is called palomino, right,” she asked as she ran her hand down the silky neck.
“No, she’s a buckskin. See how her mane and tail are black, and her body is golden or blonde? That’s a buckskin, but it was a good guess. A palomino has white or blonde hair and the same goldish colored body.”
“I always get them confused. She’s beautiful,” she said, offering the pretty mare another cube.
“That she is. She’s our prized broodmare. Her foals reach upwards of fifty grand.”
Maeve’s mouth fell open. “For a baby horse? Holy heck does she actually birth the foals made of gold?” The foal came around, and she giggled as the little nose poked her in the butt.
“Hey, little guy,” she whispered as she turned to face the foal sniffing her. It was opening and closing his mouth. “Why is he doing that?”
“That is Sadie’s Wild Fancy, and she says she wants to be friends. But she’s also saying that she accepts you as the higher ranking female.” Maeve looked up at Wolf and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “I’m serious. It’s horse speak, for she knows she’s a baby and is submitting.”
Maeve bent over slowly and felt more alive than she could ever remember as the amazingly soft nose rubbed against her own. “She’s adorable. I love her.”
“She really is. I’m sad that she was sold before she was born. She’s the kind of filly I’d love to keep, but sadly her new owners will pick her up in a couple of months.” Wolf gave her a small smirk. “How would you like to go for a Four-Wheeler ride? I need to check the fences and thought we could go together.”
She tilted her head, giving him a saucy smirk. “If you wanted to be that close again, you don’t need the Four-Wheeler excuse.”
He shook his head but laughed. “I actually meant you get your own, but nice try.”
She shrugged. “A girl has to try.”
There was something so peaceful about watching the horses wander off when they realized that there were no more treats.
“Bye, Fancy,” she said and pet the little foal’s neck before it took off after the group.
“We better get going. It’s going to take all the daylight that’s left to check the fences.” Wolf easily slid through the fence, and she followed his lead.
“Living here suits you. The wide-open land and the animals, it matches you.”
“Did you just call me an animal?”
She gave Wolf a soft punch in the arm. “You are named after one, but no, of course not. You seem so at ease, and…like this place just fits you. I’ve never been anywhere that fit me. I don’t think I fit in anywhere. Maybe I never will.”
“You just haven’t found your place yet. Who knows, maybe the wilderness is exactly where you belong,” he said, teasing her, but she couldn’t stop the little spark of hope that he might mean this particular wilderness with him.
Her heart warmed at the thought that maybe he was the one that could help her—that he could be the one that finally felt like more than just a hot quickie. That maybe, just maybe, she’d find the home she longed for here with him.
It was dumb to hope to get her hopes up, but the match had been lit, and it was glowing in the darkness that normally coated her mind.
“While you were asleep, I grabbed some clothes that might fit you better than that very intriguing outfit.”
“It’s my skater look,” she said without missing a beat, and they both laughed.
She wanted to say more, to say thank you, or something profound, but the man made her brain go to mush. She looked into those heady eyes and couldn’t form a sentence. She might as well put a finger to her lips and strum them up and down, making the burble, burble, burble,’ sound, for it would make more sense than what was in her head.
Taking the bag from Wolf, she made her way into the bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a long sleeve plaid blouse. She smiled at her reflection. Making her way out to the kitchen, Wolf was packing a cooler.
“I grabbed some provisions this morning as well, so we don’t have to have beans for meals. I’m sure that will excite you.”
“You were busy.” She shamelessly stared at his hard ass in his tight jeans as she walked up behind him. She wanted to reach out and grab that ass to see if it was as firm as it looked. “Anything I can do?”
