“I did.”
“I didn’t think you would.” She rubbed her nose and glanced away. “Not really.”
“I wanted the answers you promised me.”
Her shoulders sagged a bit. “Fair enough.”
“You okay?”
“Fine,” she said, the lie evident. She met his hard stare, but her gaze lacked the emotion that had filled it only moments before. “Great.”
“Liar.”
“Prove it.”
“You promised to answer any question I asked if I hauled my bedbound backside down here. I did, so hold up your end of the bargain.”
Her short bark of laughter could have shattered glass. “Sure. Let’s get right to that.”
“I’ll ask again, Kenzie, and don’t feed me some line of bull. Are you okay?”
“I’ve been better and I’ve been worse.” She shifted her gaze to the stark white landscape, squinting as the sun reflected off the smooth surface of the snow. “This morning was full of surprises.”
Michael.
He should have realized discussing her brother’s loss would leave her a little raw. “Look, about that. I’m truly sorry.”
She offered him a shallow smile. “Sure. Thanks.”
Setting that aside because he wasn’t sure what to do with it, he couldn’t help but poke at her a little. “So which is it? Are you fired, or you moving up the food chain here at the Covington family dude ranch?”
She started to answer only to stop, clear her throat and start again. “Did you actually say, ‘I’ll not only keep you’?” she deadpanned. “With lines like that, it’s a wonder you Covington men aren’t single forever. ‘I’ll not only keep you...’ Idiot.”
He laughed, the sound stirring the horses and bringing large heads over stall doors. Except for Gizmo. Kenzie had left his stall open as she worked. Now the grullo stud nudged her aside as gently as a twelve-hundred-pound animal could and made straight for Ty.
He had dreaded this moment for months now, truly facing Gizmo again with nothing between them. Heart pounding brutishly and with no finesse whatsoever, Ty fought to ignore it all—the heart that beat too hard, the sweat itching between his temple and hat band, the giant animal he’d loved from birth, the way his neck ached a bit without his brace, the woman watching it all.
The horse stopped in front of him, those pale, long-lashed eyes considering Ty with wisdom far too vast for a horse. He nodded his head in short, slow movements, a silent demand of sorts.
Ty raised a trembling hand toward Gizmo.
The horse stepped into the touch. Dropping his head, Gizmo pressed his broad forehead into Ty’s chest and let loose a sigh of heartrending contentment.
Ty swallowed repeatedly, trying to force down the emotion that flooded his throat, alternately squeezing it tight and filling it so full he couldn’t breathe. His eyes burned. Damn if he’d cry, though. The only tears he’d shed over this whole thing had been shed in private, and he wasn’t going public at this point. No way.
Instead, he gritted his teeth and raised both hands, resting one on each side of Gizmo’s face. “Brought you something.”
The horse didn’t move.
He leaned in closer. “Candy.”
Gizmo raised his head and then, without warning, reached out and pulled Ty’s hat off his head. With a toss worthy of a California beach bum spinning a Frisbee out over the sand, the horse launched Ty’s hat to the side before beginning to mouth the pocket on his shirt.
Ty felt it happen before he could control it. He burst out laughing. Digging out the Blow Pop, he unwrapped it, used his pocketknife to snip the stem and offered the confection to the horse.
Gizmo snatched it up, bit down and grunted, nostrils flaring. Flicking his tail, he chewed and chewed, the crunching unnaturally loud. Then the treat was gone and he was nosing at Ty with more intent.
“One more, you giant addict, but then I’m cutting you off.” Ty pulled out a jumbo-size Tootsie Roll, unwrapped it and broke it into three pieces. He fed them to Gizmo one at a time.