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My hands are in my pockets, trying to avoid being touched. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Holliday.” Before I can react, she pulls me into a hug. My body goes stiff, and I suck in my breath.
“First, we hug around here. Second, it’s Jen. None of this Mrs. Holliday stuff. So, you’re the new person everyone has been yammering about?” She turns to me as she talks to me with a bit of a country twang.
“Yeah, I guess.” I nod stiffly, shooting a sidelong glance to Ryker to help me. Before he can say anything, Jen pulls away.
“How do you like it out here? Beautiful, right? Where you from?” Jen starts rapid firing off questions, but I tune them out. My entire body feels like it’s on fire. I can’t remember the last time someone hugged me.
Ryker, sensing my apprehension, interrupts her, “Ma. Let’s not overwhelm her, please. I’m going to show her around. She needs work and a place to stay, so I thought I would give her this as an option.” Ryker comes and stands closer to me, his hand hovering on my lower back. He isn’t touching me, but I can feel the heat from his hand.
It’s a protective stance, one I appreciate. Already, Ryker understands I’m not ready to be touched. He doesn’t know why, but he’s aware of my boundary. But the hand hovering lets me know he’s there.
I need my boundaries more now than ever and especially with this man.
“Okay, okay. I’m gonna go put on some tea and get some food out. You show her around. Go.” She smiles and takes off back towards the house.
“Come on. Let me show you the horse stable.” We start walking past the main house when Ryker points in the direction of what I thought was another house.
“That’s a horse stable?” I stop walking and raise my eyebrows at him.
“Yup. Pretty nice one.” He cracks a smile at me and winks, making that clicking noise with his tongue. “They have that whole area behind there to run around in. They don’t go far, though. They’re pretty much used for riding around here on the ranch. So, they stay here in this.”
I give him a curious look. “That thing looks like a house. A really nice house.” This “horse stable” as he calls it is stunning. The light grey exterior, the beautiful rolling barn doors with glass windows. Oh, and it has a porch. A stunning, covered porch. These horses lived well.
Ryker laughs and walks me into the stable. My eyes immediately go to a beautiful black horse. I slowly walk up to the animal and stare at its beauty. It bows its head to me, and I pet it.
“She’s a beauty, isn’t she? Her name’s Amethyst, and she’s a Friesian.”
I gasp, turning to Ryker. “That’s my birthstone.” I turn back to her and smile. Her black coat shines, and she snorts as I pet her face. She’s regal looking.
“Hm. She isn’t usually this calm around people. Here, give her this.” Ryker hands me a carrot. I turn to Amethyst and feed it to her. She makes a happy whine as she eats, and I continue to pet her.
“She’s so calm,” I say as I run my hand over her snout.
“Amethyst isn’t normally like this.” Ryker tilts his head to the side as he looks back and forth between me and the horse. “She sometimes has a bit of an attitude.” Amethyst snorts at his remark, and it makes me laugh. “But she seems to have taken a liking to you.”
For a little while longer, we walk the stalls, and I get to meet the other horses. They are all so majestic, so strong.
“Come on. Let me show you the house. My house.” He swung his arm towards the opening and led us both out of the stables.
Ryker told me it was a little house. He lied. This house had to be at least fifteen hundred square feet. I had the idea that this was going to be one of those tiny houses or just a one-bedroom shack, but this was three tiny homes.
My steps falter the closer we get. The house is gray with a black front door and shutters. The porch extends end-to-end at the front of the house, and flower beds run along the bottom. A gravel driveway sits off to the left of the building, and a stone walkway leads to the front door. This house is amazing.
“Ryker, I can’t afford to stay here.” I shake my head and hold back the tears that are threatening to break through. We take the couple of steps onto the porch before Ryker unlocks the door.
“Did I ever mention rent, darlin’?” Ryker holds the door open, and we step inside.
“No, but I can’t live here for free. I can’t freeload off you. You don’t even know me. That just wouldn’t be right.” My body starts to shake as I take in my surroundings.
I can see pretty much every room in the house from just standing in the entryway, minus the bedrooms and the bathrooms. The kitchen catches my eye, and I immediately head over and run my hands over the white quartz countertops. The room is full of stainless-steel appliances, gray cabinets, and farmhouse fixtures like the deep porcelain sink. Dark wooden flooring meets my feet, and I smile.
It feels homely in here, not like a bachelor pad or college dorm. It feels comfortable, welcoming.
Ryker turns to me, and his eyes soften. “You’re not freeloading off anyone. You’d be working. Ranch or diner, you’d be working till you got on your feet.”
“Ryker, I just can’t. It’s not fair to you. This here is your domain, your home. I just can’t up and move in. You barely know me. I could be trouble.” I wrap my arms around me and shake my head.
“Oh, trust me, I know you’re trouble,” he teases. “But I want to help you out. Look, you need a place to stay for now, and it’s completely temporary.” He moved from his spot across the counter to stand in front of me. “Let me help.”