"Make friends while I go get my horse ready."
He stared at the horse as if it was a dragon and he the feeble knight that had no idea how he got there.
Elinor, like an evil witch instead of an angel, grabbed his hand—and he lost all sense of thought once more. It was an experience he'd never felt before. Not even Lucy, during the good days, could rob him of all thought with just a touch.
A second later and he realized Elinor was making his hand stroke the horse's cheek.
"Pet him like this. That's how you make friends."
She smiled like she was encouraging a small kid. But his mind was still centered on the fact that she held his hand. It wasn't even in a romantic way, but for some reason, it made him want to pull her in and kiss her.
But the spell broke when she abruptly let go as if annoyed. "Just keep petting him until I come back." She turned away, heading for the room with the saddles.
He opened his mouth to stop her, but nothing came out. What was he supposed to say, anyway? Remain by his side so that Lucy could tear her apart?
His feet, however, had their own mind and started after Elinor as if determined to put him in the right spot and hope his brain had come up with something good in the meantime. Unfortunately, his hands still held the reins and when they tightened, the big, bored horse refused to budge, causing Edward to stumble backwards.
He glared at the horse, both annoyed and grateful for its heavy presence. After a second, he rubbed his face.
He was losing his mind. The more he stayed with Elinor, the more he thought she might be able to survive Lucy. But that didn't negate the fact that Lucy always won. She might lose a little battle here and there, but the overall war was already hers.
Besides, his mother and sister were already circling around her family like vultures. The more he stayed with her, the more pain he caused. She needed to be with someone else who could actually keep her from harm.
And that, sadly, was not him.
As if his thought had stirred the fates, Elinor emerged from the saddle room with a very tall, muscular man with tousled brown hair and the saddle perched on his shoulder with ease. Despite the business casual clothing he wore, the man seemed born to be a cowboy. And he strode behind Elinor without a care in the world.
Two thoughts shot through Edward's mind: Why was a handsome man in the barn and why was he following Elinor?
Chapter 14
An answer popped up. The handsome stranger could be working there and it was possible he was an old friend of Elinor's. Her family had been coming up here for ages, after all.
Worse, what if, in Edward's quest to help Elinor, he had managed to re-ignite some old romance between the two?
A sensible part of him told him to be glad, but the larger insensible part wished the overly tall cowboy would stumble and fall flat on his face.
Instead, the cowboy slung the saddle on Elinor's horse and buckled it up with ease, then turned to Elinor like a dutiful knight. "Need help getting on?"
Edward took a step forward, not wanting that man's hands around his Elinor. But he was still connected to the bored horse via the reigns and it jerked its head backwards, ruining Edward's moment of enraged jealousy.
Which turned out to be a good thing since Elinor politely turned him down. At least Elinor treated all men the same: at a friend's distance.
The cowboy, obviously undisturbed by Elinor's dismal, glanced at Edward. "What about you? Need help?"
The last thing he needed was to look like an idiot in front of the suave cowboy. "I can figure it out."
The man gave a short wave. "All right." He then tipped his head at Elinor as if he had a cowboy hat on, then strutted out of the barn like he owned the place. Worse, Elinor stared after him as if wishing he'd stayed.
"Who was that?" the words were out of his mouth before his brain registered them.
She jerked as if she'd completely forgotten he existed—a fact that soured his mood even more.
"I'm not sure." She led her horse toward Edward, her eyes straying to the exit. "Probably an old worker."
Neither statement made him feel better. "He didn't seem that old." Irritated, he faced his horse. Judging by every cowboy movie he had seen, getting on a horse should be easy. Without another thought besides hoping to impress Elinor, he propped his left foot into the stirrup and heaved his body onto the horse. To his utter shock, it worked and he found himself staring down at a surprised—and impressed!—Elinor.
She blinked up at him. "I thought you'd never ridden a horse?"
If he was like the mysterious cowboy, he'd have a flippant remark. Unfortunately, Edward wasn't brimming with witty replies so he resorted to his usual tactic: honesty.
"I didn't know that would work so well."
The beast below him inhaled, expanding its ribcage, and Edward shifted awkwardly, not really liking the feeling. Trying to cover his uneasiness, he added, "I just followed what I'd seen in movies and, well, it worked."
She grinned and he couldn't help grinning back. Until he realized he'd missed a golden opportunity to help her up onto her horse, allowing him to wrap his arms around her for a short moment. Stupid pride.
"Do you need help?" He asked anyway. He'd managed to get on the horse once. He could probably do it again.
But she shook her head. "Thanks, but," she swept herself into the saddle, "I've seen the movies, too."
He laughed. Of course, she would have a witty reply. "I think you've had some practice, though."
She grinned, her eyes alight with a teasing glint. "Only a decade. Nothing big."
He laughed again. "Well, I can match you in that decade of movie watching."
"Really? A whole decade of cowboy movies?"
"My dad's fault. He loved the age of the cowboys, the wild west, and the notion of building anew on the frontier. He has a whole section in his library dedicated to the Western genre." It was weird to talk about his father in a normal way as if his death hadn't completely ruined the life he had lived.
Elinor cocked her head. "And yet he never showed you a horse?"
He chuckled. "Well, I guess horses weren't the main reason for his interest."
"That's too bad." She clucked at her horse and it plodded toward the exit. "We could have gone racing."
"We could still race." He clucked as well, but his horse just sniffed the ground. He tapped his heels into the horse's sides like he'd seen in the movies, but the horse didn't budge.
"You'll have to give him a good kick," Elinor offered.
Images of the horse rearing and sending him flying to the floor abounded in his head. "I wouldn't want to spook him."
She laughed. "He's too lazy to spook. Trust me, it will take a lot to convince him to move forward."
He eyed her for a moment and she just grinned as if knowing he wasn't going to believe her. Deciding to prove his point—and hoping he wouldn't live to regret it—he gave the horse a hard kick.
The horse's head rose from the ground, its ears pointing back at him as if they were glaring eyes, and then the horse moved one step forward.
"Wow, you were right. He doesn't spook easily." It took several kicks before he managed to get out into the barn.
"Still interested in that race?" Elinor asked, calmly waiting outside on her obedient horse.
"I think I'll be a gentleman and let you win."
She laughed and he couldn't help smiling. They meandered down a short trail, moving at a snail's pace since his horse had more interest in munching on anything grass-like than moving forward, but Elinor didn't seem to mind, enlightening him of stories of her time at the horse farm.
"Was it a shock to arrive and find new owners?" Edward asked.
"Not really. We didn't interact with the old owner as much as we do with the current one. He was too busy trying to keep his farm running. I think he only allowed us on the horses because my father was basically the only thing that was keeping this place afloat."
"And Harv worked he
re?"
"For a short while. Star had moved back in with her parents when she left the navy and Harv needed a job while he tried to convince her to marry him."
"She didn't like that he had a limp?"
"No, she didn't like that he was a player."
Edward raised his eyebrows. "With a limp?"
Elinor eyed him. "Not all girls freak out over an imperfection like a limp."
"Ah, sorry. The women I'm forced to meet seem very intent on perfection."
"Forced to?"
He had little desire to describe his life before Elinor. "So, Harv was a player with a limp."
"He didn't always have the limp. Star and he met before he got wounded. Harv claims getting hurt was his wake-up call. He realized he didn't like the life he had been living and wanted to turn it around."
Edward knew that feeling. Unfortunately, he didn't have an option to turn it around.
"And he turned this into a therapy place."
"Yes." She gazed at the trees as if they held happy secrets. "I think it's a wonderful idea."
He stared at the trees, failing to find those secrets. "Do many people come?"
"I believe so. He has built several bunkhouses about the property. I would guess he could house at least fifty people if he wanted."
Fifty was a good amount, but the land could easily hold more.
"Where does he advertise? Or is it by word-of-mouth?"
She lifted an eyebrow. "You're trying to optimize this place, aren't you?"
He paused before realizing she was right. "It's, uh, a bit of a habit, I'm afraid."
"Well, a word of caution: I'm not sure Harv will appreciate your help as much as I have."
The latter part caught his interest more than the first. "You've liked my help?" He knew she didn't resent it, but she'd never thanked him for the help.
"Why wouldn't I? You have an amazing business sense and can optimize anything. If you had helped me earlier, I bet Norland would have begun rivaling my father's main businesses."
He breathed in deeply as if he could suck in her words and let them permanently lodge inside. Somehow, she always made him feel so much better about himself. As if he had more to offer than he ever thought.
Wanting to do the same for her, he said, "It helped that you had built a solid base to start with. You're just as good at business as I am." She was better, actually. He could do numbers, but she could do people. Together, they'd make an amazing pair. But that was a dream he couldn't dwell on.
"You still helped Norland a lot," she continued, once again trying to out-compliment him. "And..." She suddenly stopped.
He stared at her in surprise. "And?"
She took a breath as if fortifying herself. "I was hoping you'd help me keep Norland."
Norland. He'd completely forgotten to tell her the good news. Except, her phrasing seemed odd. "You didn't want to sell Norland?"
"It was Fanny's idea," she said in a rush," And I know I don't have the money to buy it for what it's worth but I could pay it in installments. You know the business; you know it would generate enough revenue. I just need time. Do you think we could come to some sort of agreement?"
He stared at her, realizing everything he had tried to make her happy had done the exact opposite.
"Elinor, I'm sorry." He glared at the reins in his hands, wishing this conversation had happened last week. "I had no idea you didn't want to sell. We already have a buyer and contracts were signed yesterday. If I had known," he looked at her, "I would have stalled the process."
The devastated look on her face matched how he felt. Why hadn't she told him? He had thought they were friends. Or maybe she had never seen him as a friend. He was a brother to Fanny. Maybe the reason she was always so polite was because she only saw him as an extension of his sister.
Elinor shook herself, the devastation changing to sunny bravery as if she was attempting to morph the huge obstacle into a stepping stone. "Who bought it?"
"The Churchills. They're a really good corporation," he added, hoping that might help. "And they love online ventures. Your people will really like working with them, I promise."
Her brave smile seemed to die as if that was the last thing she wanted to hear. He leaned forward, wishing he could grab her hand, to ensure she understood that he really had tried to keep her Norland safe. "I made sure none of your workers would be laid off during the transition. They also have the choice to switch over or walk away with a generous package. I knew how much you cared about them so I—I wanted you to not have to worry about them. I made sure they were taken care of." His grand speech, once sounding so heroic, came out like a pathetic sigh.
She, on the other hand, just smiled. "Thank you. That's very kind." Kind and polite. She was putting him at a distance again.
He glared at his reins for a long moment.
"When did you want to buy Norland?" He had to know how long she hadn't trusted him.
"From the beginning."
Her response was like a knife slicing into his heart. So, she had never trusted him. Why could he never read people properly? He switched his glare to her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" Why couldn't people be honest and just tell him how they felt instead of forcing him to guess?
"I-I didn't know how you'd act. You were Fanny's brother and I...I didn't know you yet."
Well, at least he had guessed the motivation correctly. "Okay, I can see your hesitation but," he rubbed his face in frustration, "you gave me no clue." He glared at the horse's ears. "And here I was, thinking I'd make you so happy with the terms I negotiated for your workers."
"It's okay. It was a farfetched dream from the beginning."
He glanced at her. "You're trying to turn this into a stepping stone, aren't you?"
She flushed. "I'm afraid it's a bit of a habit."
"What will you do without it?" He really hoped she had a backup plan. Something that would make him feel better.
However, she just shrugged. "Get a different job, I guess. Unless the new business will take me on as a manager?"
Another stab to the heart. Fanny had made it clear none of the Dashwoods would be involved with the businesses and since Elinor had never said a word, he had assumed she hadn't opposed the terms. "I'm sorry, one of Fan—their stipulations—" he corrected, trying to make it sound like it was the new owner's fault and not his sister, "was for the none of the current management to be carried over. It's a standard procedure for the Churchills." Which was perfectly true. "She doesn't like being challenged."
She was silent for a moment, but then her brave smile graced her lips. "I'm happy to hear you made such good terms for my workers. They'll want to throw you a thank-you party."
He cringed at the thought. "That's not necessary. I, uh, don't do well at parties." They'd all view him as the bad guy, anyway.
"We'll put up a cut-out of you in the foyer, then."
He stared at her, stunned. And then a laugh bubbled out of him. "That would probably be the best party I ever attended then."
She joined in his laugh, the tension melting away. Only with Elinor could he dash all her dreams, break her heart and yet, have her not hold a grudge against him. Why was this woman so perfect? Even their conversation fell into silly topics of city-living versus the countryside. And, of course, he agreed with every one of her opinions.
"Riding was fun," he said after Elinor finished putting the horses away. "I can see why your father would encourage you all to learn how to ride."
She grinned at him. "Just wait until you learn how to gallop. You'd never want to be off of a horse then."
He smiled. "Sounds like a challenge. We should have to do another outing out here to see if it's true." Except he couldn't come again. For her own safety, he had to disappear from her life after this.
With a heavy sigh, he turned the conversation to where her family should be. It was time to end this dream and go home.
* * *
There was at least one piece of solace that Edw
ard could take with him. The youngest sister, Maggie, had flourished. Gone was the blanket, revealing an adorable ten-year-old with bright eyes and an easy smile. She was exactly how Edward would have imagined Elinor would be at that age.
However, that easy smile turned into tears when it was announced they had to leave. Star did her best to cheer up the little girl, but she sat as sullen as Marianne did in the back, both obviously unhappy to return to their reality. Edward felt the exact same but didn't dare show it. He knew Elinor would try to help and that was exactly what he was trying to avoid.
Instead, he popped in the audiobook and thankfully, it distracted everyone from their grumpy thoughts. Edward made a mental note to apologize to Jess for doubting she couldn't write a good story.
But all that fell apart when his phone rang. Since it was connected to the car's system, the call paused the story to announce that his sister was calling.
There was no way he was going to chat with his sister while the entire Dashwood family listened, so he declined the call with a push of a button on the steering wheel.
"She'll leave a message," was all he said before resuming the audiobook.
Unfortunately, Fanny wasn't in the mood to leave a message since the car once again announced she was calling. Hoping she'd take the hint, he declined the call once more, but either it was an emergency or she was furious, she called again. Knowing she'd keep calling until he either turned off the phone or answered, Edward decided to risk taking the call.
"Sorry," he said out loud to the Dashwoods, "I'll just take it real quick. Something important must have happened." If luck was with him, he could endure whatever Fanny had to say without her realizing he was with the Dashwoods.
"Where are you?" Were the first words Fanny shot over the line.
"Driving."
"You're supposed to be on a plane."
"That's not until Monday, Fanny."
Smitten With Sense: A Modern Sense And Sensibility Retelling (Pemberley Estates Book 4) Page 11
