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“Eli?” Beth asked when he still hadn’t turned away from the horse.

“Right,” he answered, coming back to himself and pivoting to face her. “I’ll walk you through using the hoof pick,” he told her. “Show you where to stand to stay safe in case something spooks her and she kicks. Then we’ll get to currying and using the body brush. While you’re finishing up with the mane and tail, I’ll grab a bucket of warm water, some sponges, and some mane and tail conditioner if we have any.”

Beth’s mouth fell open. “You’re messing with me, right?”

Eli took his hat off his head and dropped it onto hers. Then he kissed her on the cheek.

“I think after the past couple of weeks, you know me well enough to know I’m not really into messing with people.”

“But—” she started.

“But you’ve never ridden, and she hasn’t had a rider since before her accident. She may trust you to take her on a little walk, but I can’t just toss you up on her. You’ve had a couple of moments in and outside the stall, but this is where you really get to know her and where she gets to know you. You two make it through the next hour or two unscathed? Then it’s time to saddle up.”

Chapter 13

Beth was sweating, and her jeans were soaked with the water Midnight shook off when she wrung the giant sponge out on her mane. Twice. Once to wet it to apply the conditioner and once to do the same to rinse it out.

According to Google, which she consulted after Midnight kept protesting the water, most horses don’t mind water at all but some are not fans. Looked like she’d gotten one of the latter.

She squinted under the brim of Eli’s cowboy hat, the sun high and bright now. He’d disappeared as soon as she’d listened to his short tutorial and gotten the hang of the hoof pick. To spite him for his bait and switch, she refused the stool he brought her to sit on and opted to squat instead. Despite being permitted to bear weight on her injury, her ankle ached, as did every other muscle in her body from stretching to reach Midnight’s upper mane—the horse was tall—and squatting to deal with the lower extremities. Beth had contorted her body in ways she never had before, and regardless of the shape she thought she was in from continued barre exercises, she hurt. Everywhere.

Yeah, she sure showed him.

“I don’t think he has any intention of ever letting us ride. Do you, girl?”

Midnight snorted as Beth brushed the final wet snarl from her mane.

“Yeah,” Beth continued, raising her voice as she caught a glimpse of a figure approaching from the gate. “I totally agree he’s being a self-righteous know-it-all who doesn’t care how much we need this.”

She felt Eli stride up behind her as she dropped the brush back into the bucket of grooming supplies.

“I’m guessing you’re not interested in something cold to drink then,” he teased over her shoulder. “Wouldn’t want to seem like a know-it-all assuming you might be a little parched.”

Beth straightened and swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling like cotton.

She hesitated for a millisecond, but her thirst won out, and she whirled on him, almost knocking the mason jar out of his hand.

Lemonade sloshed over the lip of the jar. Beth licked her lips and reached for it, but Eli brought it to his own mouth instead.

Beth’s jaw dropped, and Eli barked out a laugh.

“Oh, so you do want—” he started, but Beth’s greedy hands snatched the jar out of his grasp. To Eli’s credit, he didn’t actually resist.

She guzzled the entire jar, not stopping to breathe for fear he might snatch it right back and finish it off.

When she finished, she found him pulling a huge chunk of carrot out of his pocket and offering it to Midnight. The mare accepted and gently took it from his palm.

“She trusts me more now that she saw you take the lemonade.” He was still facing the horse as he spoke, stroking the white star between her eyes, the spot Beth was starting to think was her favorite. “Of course, she has better manners.”

Beth scoffed. “Look at me, Eli! I’m hot, I’m a mess, I hurt everywhere, and you promised me I’d ride. But instead, you put me to work.” She whimpered, actual tears filling her eyes.

He did look at her, brow furrowed as he sized her up.

“A horse should always be groomed before and after a ride. It’s good for her coat and for the relationship between her and her rider.”

Beth’s throat tightened. “So if I do ride, I have to do this all over again when we’re done?”

The corner of Eli’s mouth twitched, but other than that, his expression remained impassive. “Well, yeah,” he said. “But for most folks, it only takes about ten or twenty minutes, which is good because some horses like a good roll in the dirt after a long ride. It’s like getting a full body scratch. But then it’s up to the rider to brush all that dirt out. You’ll get the hang of it. The sponge bath and mane conditioning can be cut down to just once a week, but I wanted you to get a feel for the whole process.”