Page 66 of Back in the Saddle

‘Thank you,’ Gian said, massaging her right wrist.

Caroline noticed it looked quite swollen and red. ‘Gian, you shouldn’t be bringing me breakfast. Looks like you’re having a flare up?’ Caroline put the tray carefully on her bed.

Gian followed her and sat on top of the crumpled duvet.

‘May I?’ Caroline asked.

‘Sure.’ Gian extended her hand, letting Caroline examine both of her hands. As she moved her fingers from joint to joint, Gian grimaced in pain.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s fine. I took the meds, hopefully it’ll be better in a bit once they kick in.’

Gian looked deep in her own thoughts for a moment, and then she grinned, breaking up a piece of toast from the other plate. ‘No point in worrying. Where were you last night? You got back quite late.’

‘Eleven p.m. isn’t that late.’ She sipped her juice and tried not to look at Gian.

The wide grin and suggestive wink could only mean one thing. Feeling her cheeks go hot, she tried to put on an indifferent tone. ‘I went riding at Jackson’s Ranch. Then, I met up with a friend.’

‘Was it the horses or a certain cowboy that kept you so occupied?’

‘I mean …’ Caroline finished her juice and took another bite of food. She realised that, despite thinking it was wrong on the surface and feeling like she had to make up excuses, deep down she didn’t feel even a shadow of embarrassment. She smiled brilliantly at Gian. ‘I guess you could say it was both.’

‘Oh, I bet it was.Hey!’Gian laughed as Caroline swiftlyput the tray on the floor out of the way and hit her with a pillow. ‘No need to get so defensive. I get it. I mean, I’ve never actually seen him, but from what Anna said, he’s good looking. As far as my opinion on men goes.’ She shrugged.

‘Yeah …’ Caroline sat with her thoughts for a moment. ‘Can you please not say anything to Anna? I’ll talk to her myself, if there’s anything to tell. It isn’t really anything serious, just a bit of fun.’

Gian shot her an affronted look. ‘Of course. I won’t tell her if you don’t want me to.’ She smiled. ‘And has it been fun so far?’

‘It really has,’ Caroline said earnestly, biting back a grin. Over the past few weeks, she had grown a lot more comfortable around Gian. Between her clinical role and working on the trials, Anna spent a lot of time at the hospital, which often left Caroline and Gian to their own devices. They both seemed to have fallen into an easy camaraderie.

Gian chuckled and shook her head. ‘That’s good then. Anyway. Do you have any plans for today?’

‘No, no plans. I want to call my dad and Nora later, but I told them it’d be around three p.m. our time, so I’m free until then. What did you have in mind?’

‘I thought that if you’re so interested in cowboys now, we could visit the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.’

Caroline rolled her eyes but didn’t lose her smile. Gian said it in a light-hearted, joking way but she jumped out of bed and decided it sounded like a good idea.

‘Why not? I do want to see some local sights, after all. Let’s go play tourists. Well, you’ll play, I don’t need to.’

‘Wait. You’re telling me you’ve been here three months now and you haven’t been to that museum?’

Caroline shrugged. ‘I’m not big on museums. But if you want to go, I’ll make an exception.’ She winked at Gian.

Caroline waved goodbye, smiling with fondness at the camera. ‘Love you, Dad. Speak soon.’

Her father smiled back and a moment later the call ended.

She closed her laptop and reached for her phone. She hadn’t had a chance to speak with Erin since yesterday, when she got back from Hunter’s flat and noticed she was showing as online. She turned up the volume on the Bluetooth speaker, which was playing ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ from her playlist and started typing.

CAROLINE:I really want to sleep with Hunter.

ERIN:Well, good evening to you too. I could act surprised but we both know I’m not a good actress. What’s stopping you then? Seems like he’s even more keen than you are, from what you said.

She hesitated, typing a couple of letters and then pausing.

ERIN:Caroline. I can see you’re typing. Spill.