Breaking Through

Chapter 12

12

Gui

When I had come to Hannah’s ranch, I would never have guessed I would find Hilary there. And, to be honest, I was quite glad I did.

Then, when I entered the stable and saw her standing there in jeans, a plaid shirt, and cowboy boots … damn, she looked so, so hot. The jeans seemed molded around her ass, and the shirt was fitted enough that I could make out her thin waist and her full boobs. I felt a new heat wave wash over me, going low, low, low.

After her shock at seeing me here had passed, and she agreed to let me help her, I leaned on the doorframe of Belle’s stall. Slowly, Hilary walked back and halted on the other side of the doorframe, careful not to lean on it, though.

With her green eyes wide, Hilary stared at the mare across the door from us. Belle, though, was as calm and quiet as ever.

“So.” I crossed my arms. “You’re afraid of horses.” She only nodded. “And I thought you didn’t like them because of the smell.”

One corner of her lips tugged up and she rolled her eyes at me. “That too.”

I chuckled. “Why are you afraid of horses?”

She remained silent while staring at Belle for so long that I thought she wouldn’t tell me. “You see, Hannah has loved horses since she was a few months old, and by the time she was four, she was riding ponies by herself. So, right after I was born, my father pushed me toward horses, expecting me to be like Hannah. But I never liked them, not really. They were big and scary and smelly.” Hilary scrunched her nose, and I realized she was too cute like that. “But my father kept pushing, so finally at four, I gave in and told him I would ride with him. He brought his most prized stallion out and, even though I was shaking so hard, he put me up on the back of the horse. He was going to come up with me, but I think, I don’t know, that the horse felt my fear and he reared up. I fell and hit my head. I don’t remember much, but my mother always says I was knocked out and the horse almost trampled me.” She closed her eyes for a minute, taking in a long breath. “I was taken to the hospital and had to stay in observation for two days.” Her hands were shaking. I fought the urge to reach over and take her hands in mine. “After that, my father kept on pushing me, and of course, he said I couldn’t give up this easily, but my mother sided with me and helped me with the arguments. After a couple of years, he just stopped trying.”

“I’m sorry,” was the only thing I could think to say.

She shrugged, but her hands were still shaking. “It was a long time ago.”

I frowned. “It might have been, but if you add riding horses to your list, that means you’re not really over it. Haven’t you ever thought about trying again?”

She huffed. “My life is surrounded by horses. My house, Hannah’s ranch, the club, now you guys. Of course I’ve thought about it, but … have you looked at them?” She gestured toward Belle. “Look how tall they are, how thick their thighs are, and those hooves.” She inhaled sharply. “They scare the hell out of me,” she confessed in a low voice.

This time I did reach out and held her hand in mine. With wide eyes, she stared at our hands. “It’s okay, Hil.” I squeezed her hand. “We’ll get you through it. I promise that I’ll help you get through your fears, and you’ll be riding a horse like a champ.”

She smiled and tugged her hand free of mine. “Thanks, Gui.”

I did a mock bow and tipped an invisible hat. “You’re welcome, ma’am.” That earned me a wider smile and it took my breath away. Damn, I had to make her smile more often.

Mirroring me, she leaned on the doorframe and crossed her arms, hiding her still shaking hands. She stared at me with those big green eyes, a little amusement shining in them. “And what are you doing at Hannah’s ranch on a Friday afternoon? Didn’t you have practice or something?”

“Bom …” I ran a hand through my hair. “I pretended my shoulder was hurting so I could get out of practice early, so I could come here and steal one of Leo’s shirts.”

Her delicate brows shot up. “Why?”

“It’s a surprise the guys and I are planning for him for the bachelor party.”

“Wow, you guys are already thinking of the bachelor party. And why one of his shirts?”

“We’re going to have it bedazzled. He’ll have to wear it during the bachelor party.”

Her smile widened again, and I swore I could feel my heart beating faster in my chest. “I’ll need to see pictures of that.”

I chuckled. “I promised we’ll take several and I’ll show them all to you.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” She tucked her hair behind her ear before looking at Belle again. “So, what do we do about this?”

“We take it slow.”

“And that means?”

“That means that you just spent several minutes leaned against the door of a stall, only a few feet from a horse, and you did quite well.” Her eyes turned back to me, and they were full of wonder. “I think we’re done for today, but we should already schedule our next meeting.”

“Meeting,” she muttered.

“Unfortunately, I can’t meet often because of my practice and game schedule.”

“And now I’m working full days too,” she said.

“Yeah, so, how about next Thursday?”

She seemed to think about it for a moment. “Yeah, I guess that will do.”

I grinned. “It’s a date, then.” And this time, I meant it.