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Genevieve must have sensed it, because she hopped up and motioned for Sebastian to follow her. “Okay, we’re going to see Charisma now. I’ll come let you know when we’re going.”
“All right. Have fun,” her mom said.
“We will.”
Genevieve rushed ahead toward the exit, and Sebastian sped up to follow her.
They stepped out into the heat, and when they were clear of the house, she looked over at him.
“I am so sorry about my mom. She’s … opinionated. And I told you she thinks I need to lose some weight.”
“I caught that. And she couldn’t be more wrong.”
She smiled over at him. “Thanks.”
“She also gives me a hard time about not watching the news or reading the paper. I’m sorry, but I have a lot of stuff to worry about, and maybe I should be keeping up with the state of the world more, but by the time I’m done with work every day, I want to unplug and unwind, and turning on the news or reading her beloved newspaper is the last thing on my mind. Most of it is just too depressing.”
“So, she’s a news buff.”
“Obsessed with the news. Reads the paper religiously. They’ve had the Grand Rapids Press and The New York Times delivered out here in the boonies for years.”
He laughed at that. “That’s kind of impressive. It’s good to read and be in the know.”
“I know. I should be better. Do you watch the news?”
“Yes.”
“Read the paper?”
“Every day.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course you do.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re in public relations. You need to keep up with what’s going on in the world and in the area, right?”
He laughed. “And for general knowledge.”
She smiled over at him as they walked into one of the barns, and she led him past a few empty stalls to two on the end that contained horses.
“This is Buddy, Rhonda’s horse.” She patted him on the side of his shiny copper coat as she passed by on her way to the next stall. Her hand gracefully lifted to caress her horse’s reddish-brown face. “Hey, girl.”
The horse came forward, head over the gate, and nuzzled Genevieve’s cheek, which had her smiling, and Sebastian found her even more beautiful than he had before.
“This is Charisma,” she announced, then leaned closer to her horse and whispered, “What do you say, girl? Should we take Kurtis riding?”
Charisma whinnied.
“Do you ride?” she asked him.
He’d been riding horses since he was a little kid, but there was no way he was going to tell her that and miss out on her teaching him how. “A few times, but you can show me what to do.”
“Gladly.” She worked to get Charisma and Buddy all saddled up and ready to go, showing him what to do, then once they were on the horses, she gave him basic instructions on how to get the horse to move.
He listened intently, even though he already knew it all, and nodded with each thing she told him. Her voice was sweet and soothing and more than a little sexy. He could have sat there all day listening to her talk.
Genevieve began to direct Charisma toward a long lane that led along the edge of a cornfield. Sebastian followed on Buddy. It had been a while since he’d ridden. He and his siblings used to have horses of their own growing up, but they’d sold them as they all got older and into other activities. But still, he loved them. They were the most beautiful creatures in the world.