by Ava Winters
“Yes, but he never won. For some reason, Mr. McAdams never sold him off. He’s a good horse. The McAdams uses Buster and Lady for riding horses for their guests. They’ve kept other horses that are retired from racing for the same reason.”
“Where are we going?” Amanda asked next.
“It’s a surprise,” was all Stefan would say.
Amanda thoroughly enjoyed the ride into the hills. They talked about nonessential things, but she felt like she was getting to know him better. The more they talked, the more she found that she liked him very much.
She sometimes caught Stefan watching her as they rode side by side. She didn’t know that her eyes were sparkling in the sunlight. She wasn’t aware that the sun shone through her dark hair, making it shine as strands, that had escaped from her chiffon, blew in the breeze. She didn’t know that Stefan was looking at her as if he was seeing her for the first time.
All she knew that it seemed like forever since she had felt so content to be who she really was, not a girl who flirted with every man she saw, but a young woman who was on the back of a mare, riding alongside this complex but wonderful man.
As they moved towards the hills, she discovered that what she thought were shrubs were really trees. At first, they grew far apart from each other, but they soon thickened and were closer together.
“It’s like there is a forest here,” Amanda breathed with amazement. “How can something like this grow in the middle of a Texas desert?”
“Texas has a vast array of these types of areas,” Stefan answered. “This is one of them.”
By this time, they began to ride along a small river, its water gurgling happily as it moved down into the valley.
“Where does this water go?”
“A large pond on the ranch. Mr. McAdams diverts most of it for use on the ranch. It’s made a few other ranchers around here upset at him since they don’t have access to the water.”
“I can imagine,” Amanda muttered. She was aware that water was a huge issue for Texas ranchers and small towns.
They rode in silence until the trees became too dense for the horses to move through.
“Let’s stop here,” Stefan suggested.
Amanda nodded and stopped Lady before sliding off her back. She tied Lady’s reins to a nearby tree, making sure to keep them loose enough that she could munch on the foliage. Stefan did the same with Buster.
Amanda immediately headed towards the river. She bent down and touched the water, and then pulled her hand away, surprised that it was so cold.
“The water comes from an underground spring.”
Amanda stood and tried not to jump when she realized that Stefan had stepped right behind her. She lost her balance and Stefan’s hands reached out to steady her.
“Whoa,” Stefan said softly. “Don’t want you to fall in.”
“Thanks,” Amanda said shakily as she moved to the side of him.
A sharp tingle had spread throughout her entire body when Stefan stopped her from falling into the water. She didn’t understand why she had reacted as she did when Stefan touched her. None of her feelings were making sense when it came to him. She had never had this type of a reaction when other men touched her before.
“I had the cook at the ranch pack us a lunch,” Stefan said. “Are you hungry?”
Amanda suddenly felt famished. “Yes.”
“I’ll get the food then.”
Amanda watched him for a moment while he went to Buster’s side and pulled out a wrapped bundle from the saddlebag. She looked away before he could see that she was watching him.
Instead, she tried to focus on the beauty around her. Grass grew along the banks of the river and there were even colorful wildflowers mixed in it. There was nothing like this place around Whispering Horse Ranch. She knew that if there was, she’d ride there all the time.
She wanted to share this place with Luisa. She knew that her friend would love it. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to ride a horse again on her own and she wondered how long it would take to walk here.
“Come over here,” Stefan called and Amanda turned her attention to him.
“This looks good,” Amanda said as she looked at the cheese, apples already sliced, buttered slices of bread, and oatmeal cookies.
Stefan patted a rock and waited until she sat before he made himself comfortable next to her.
The food tasted good and she enjoyed drinking some of the ice-cold water from the river. When they were done with their meal, Stefan stayed sitting where he was while Amanda explored on her own, being careful to not get too far from him. When she returned, she suddenly wanted to find out everything she could about him.
“Tell me how you ended up working on the Thunder Valley Ranch,” Amanda invited him.
Stefan shrugged. “I was working at a ranch in Kentucky. Mr. McAdams decided he wanted me on his ranch and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Amanda wasn’t surprised to hear this. Mr. McAdams probably did whatever he could to have the best people he could find work with his horses.
“Do you like it here?”
“What’s not to like?” Stefan asked. “I actually have quite a bit of freedom to train as I see fit. As long as the horses end up good racers, Mr. McAdams lets me do things as I wish.”
Amanda knew that her father didn’t let Luisa’s father have that kind of freedom. He liked to control every aspect of the care and training of the horses, from the day they were purchased to the day they could no longer race. He even managed their breeding program step by step. To Amanda, this was the best way to run a Thoroughbred ranch.
“What about Ian?”
“What about him?” Stefan asked, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
“What does Ian do? From what I have seen, he does as much as you do.”
“He does.” Stefan nodded. “He enjoys having his hands on every horse’s training schedule, but he also trusts my judgment.”
“That’s good,” Amanda responded. “What about your family? Are they in Kentucky?”
And just like that, Stefan seemed to shut down. Amanda immediately regretted asking him that question, but she wanted to get to know him better. Wasn’t that one of the questions people liked to ask someone when they didn’t know that person very well?
“No,” was all Stefan said. A few seconds later, he stood up. “We had better head back. I have lots to do this afternoon.”
Amanda didn’t say anything. She helped him gather up the leftovers of their meal and then swung onto the back of Lady on her own. They rode back to the ranch in almost complete silence.
By the time they arrived, she felt frustrated. So Stefan didn’t want to talk about his family. All he needed to do was say so. Why the sudden punishment of silence? She felt like things had been going very well until she asked that question.
She directed Lady to the exact place they’d left from and slid from her back. She kept Lady’s reins in her hands and then turned to him, determined to not let him see how disappointed and frustrated she felt.
“Thank you for the ride and showing me the forest in those hills,” she said formally. “I’ll take care of Lady.”
Stefan shook his head and a groom immediately took the reins from her. “John will take care of the horses.”
“Oh,” Amanda said, surprised that Stefan wasn’t expecting her to take care of the mare. Her father always insisted that she care of any horse she rode at her own ranch. “Well, thanks again.”
She turned to leave when Stefan touched her arm. She turned around, wondering what he wanted.
“Thanks for coming with me,” Stefan said gruffly.
Amanda nodded and then began to walk towards the house. She couldn’t help but give a small laugh of delight. Even though the outing had ended abruptly, he had let her know with his last words that he had enjoyed spending time with her.
***
Stefan wanted to groan out loud as Luisa moved quickly away from him, as if she couldn
’t get away from him fast enough. He had enjoyed his time with her, and he discovered that he was surprised at that fact.
He had thought that taking her on a ride would make him stop thinking about her so much. Instead, he knew that the opposite had happened. She had been pleasant company and he had loved her reaction to the forest in the hills.
She seemed to like to chatter, and he loved listening to her as she commented on the different birds, colors of flowers, and buzzing bees. Her voice seemed to calm something deep in his soul. Then she asked about his family and he froze.
That subject was the last thing he wanted to talk about. He didn’t want to think about that part of his life, which he had done everything he could to forget.
He had grown up in an orphanage, dropped off when he was a baby.
When he was eight, he had been taken in by a family who lived in Kentucky and owned a horse ranch, although they didn’t train and breed Thoroughbreds. Instead, the family raised riding horses. They also trained horses to pull buggies and wagons. He had developed his love for horses even though the environment he lived in wasn’t ideal.
He had been taken in by the family just so they had a free hand that they didn’t need to pay, and they worked him hard. They had never formally adopted him.
Then he met Elaine Johnson when he was twenty years old. Her father had owned a prestigious Thoroughbred ranch and immediately recognized Stefan’s gift with horses.
He had offered Stefan a job as a stable hand and he had immediately taken it. The family that had taken him in had been livid. They had insisted he refuse the job offer or he'd have to leave. That had been an easy decision for him since he had never felt like they were his family.
Stefan had walked away without looking back.
Elaine had then got it into her head that he would be the perfect husband for her. Stefan was flattered that such a beautiful woman was interested in him and fell madly in love. Eventually, they became engaged, with her parents’ blessing. Life seemed to be what he had always wanted. He had a job that he loved and a beautiful woman who loved him.
Until Elaine broke the news to him that she’d rather marry someone else; someone who had more money than he did and could give her the life she felt she deserved.
The entire scenario made Stefan promise himself that he would never trust beautiful rich women.
But Luisa wasn’t rich, although she was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever interacted with. He didn’t understand why she seemed interested in him.
He knew that he had offended her by refusing to answer her questions about his family, but what should have he said? That he was an orphan and the family that had taken him in had only done so for a free worker, and had never cared enough to officially adopt him? He was very embarrassed about his background. What woman would want him, an orphan who was rejected not only by his birth parents but by the family which had taken him in? He rarely talked about his past.
Ian was his closest friend and even he didn’t know his full story.
“Do you want me to take care of Buster, too?” John asked, jerking Stefan back to the present.
He started to shake his head but instead nodded. “Yes. I need to get back to work. I’ve wasted enough time today.”
John took the reins of both horses and began to lead them towards the barn for horses that were only used for riding. As Stefan headed towards the racing track, he turned and looked at Luisa again.
He could barely see her disappear into the house. He would make sure he made it to dinner on time that evening. He did regret the way he’d reacted to her questions and vowed to make it up to her that evening.
But now he needed to focus on why he was even on Thunder Valley Ranch in the first place.
Chapter 16
When they had been at Thunder Valley Ranch for two weeks, Amanda was pleased to finally find Luisa in their room, much earlier than usual.
She had been wanting to talk to Luisa for a few days now, but their schedules weren’t allowing a heart-to-heart talk. She had been doing her best to change how she acted around Luisa, but she hadn’t had many chances to do so since her friend seemed to always be doing something else.
She could only hope that Luisa wasn’t totally bored and was enjoying her time on Thunder Valley Ranch at least a little.
She knew that they needed to talk about their future plans about switching identities. She needed to make sure that Luisa was still fine with the idea, at least for the next little while.
Amanda had expected Stefan to continue to avoid her after their trip to the forest, which he had shown her in the hills, but instead, he’d begun to talk to her more.
When she was around the horse barn, he greeted her and seemed pleased to see her. One time he even allowed her to try to touch Gladiator again, under his supervision. The horse had tossed his head at Amanda’s touch and she immediately pulled her hand away, but at least he hadn’t bitten her.
Stefan showed up for almost every meal and sometimes they talked afterward. Amanda’s feelings for him were growing, and she wanted a few more days to see if they would lead to anything.
Now, to Luisa, Amanda announced dramatically, “We may have a problem.” Then she shook her head playfully. “No, we do have a problem.”
“What are you talking about?” Luisa asked curiously.
Amanda took a deep breath. “I think I might be falling in love with Stefan.”
“Might be?”
A concerned look crossed Luisa’s face and Amanda immediately knew what her friend was thinking about. “I know what you are going to say. That I like all men and flirt with any man who shows even a remote interest in me.”
“That is what I was going to say,” Luisa said dryly.
“But this is different. Stefan is different from all the other men that I’ve gotten to know.” She looked at Luisa. “This time it’s different,” she repeated.
“I have picked up that you are spending quite a bit of time in the horse barn,” Luisa stated.
“Yes, and we just went for a ride into the nearby hills a few days ago. The cook even made him a picnic to bring,” Amanda. She continued to tell her friend what they had been doing together. As she talked, she noticed that Luisa had become very quiet.
She suddenly realized that she was, again, acting selfish. Why couldn’t she remember her plans to change? To think about others around her before she thought of herself? She quickly stopped talking about her time with Stefan and asked her own question.
“How have you been doing? I am sorry that you have had to spend so much time with boring Ian.”
Suddenly she noticed Luisa’s face flush a deep crimson and her friend wouldn’t even look at her. She instantly began to understand what Luisa wasn’t saying.
“You are falling for Ian,” Amanda stated slowly. She began to feel very concerned for Luisa.
Luisa slowly nodded her head. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did.” She looked at Amanda. “Ian isn’t anything like how you described him to be four years ago.”
“What do you mean?”
“He is not a bore. He is a gentleman and treats me with great respect. He is interested in what I have to say. We have been spending quite a bit of time together.”
“But what about his father?” Amanda asked. She could still remember how Ian had done everything that his father had wanted.
