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“Yes,” Gaston replied.

Zachary came up next to me, patting Starlight’s mane as well. I felt myself breaking out in a sweat even though I was certain the temperature had actually cooled off a bit since I arrived. When our arms accidentally touched, I felt even hotter. Yeah, a cold shower wouldn’t be bad... even if it came in the form of rain.

“I’ll call Felicia, and she and I will take the horses in.” He eyed the two of us. “Actually, how comfortable are you two herding horses?”

“I can lead Starlight in,” I said.

“That’ll work,” Gaston said. “Zachary, you could take two.”

I liked seeing Gaston in action. He was confident but led with a soft authority, which I always preferred.

“I can take two as well,” I offered.

“Let’s not stress Starlight too much. He isn’t used to the group yet.”

“I’ll take good care of him.” He was right about that.

Gaston was leading four horses himself. I looked back and noticed the others were simply following us. That was interesting.

Starlight leaned into me more with each round of thunder, seeking comfort. I patted him, whispering quietly, “It’s okay, Starlight. Just a thunderstorm.” I was certain he’d lived through quite a few in his lifetime, but this being a new place, it was probably unsettling for him.

Once we got the horses inside, the thunder intensified, then we heard the unmistakable sound of rain hitting the roof.Tap, tap, tap, tap.

“As I said, that weatherman should be fired,” Gaston grumbled.

Zachary started to laugh, looking at me conspiratorially before we brought each horse to their place. I liked how Gaston spoke as if there was just one universal weatherman.

“All right. We’ll just leave them all in here,” Gaston said.

“Should we feed them?” I asked.

He put his hands on his hips. “I’m going to bring some hay later on. Was supposed to do it earlier and forgot, and I don’t have enough to feed all of them.”

I wanted to spend some more time in here. I wasn’t ready for whatever came next, which surely included more time with Zachary... and without horses between us as a buffer.

“Right, you two. I’ll give you blankets for cover, and we can make a run to the house. Felicia started cooking some hearty stew this morning. We’d love to have you both for dinner.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” I said. “Although, we could talk more shop,” I corrected myself, realizing that this was as good as an opportunity as any.

“I’m good with stew,” Zachary said. He was looking at me with amusement in his eyes. Why? Even more perplexing was my body’s reaction. It was practically simmering.

Oh Lord.

Gaston gave us each a huge blanket. I wasn’t certain it was really necessary—until he opened the door. My God, it was pouring.

“We’ll get wet anyway,” I said.

“We’ll manage. We’ve had worse,” Zachary added. He glanced at me again, and this time I did start laughing. The memory of us in that river wasn’t something I was going to forget anytime soon.

The main house was quite a distance away, and the ground was already damp. We were sloshing around with every step. Even though the day had been hot, the rain was icy. I decided on the spot that I didn’t like cold rain, and it did not equal a cold shower.

The second we stepped inside the house, I used a blanket to dry myself and caught Zachary’s eye. He swallowed hard, his eyes fixated on a point below my neck.

I looked down at myself. I was wearing a bra without padding, and my nipples had decided to perk up and say hi. I tried to cover myself with the blanket as much as possible, but I was simmering yet again despite being utterly cold on the outside. I didn’t dare meet Zachary’s eyes.

“You should lose that blanket. It’s only going to make you feel colder.”

He was right, of course. I dropped the blanket in the same spot Gaston and Zachary had left theirs, then crossed my arms over my chest.