“My daughter loves to ride.”
Ellie laughed. “I couldn’t tell.”
When Emily dismounted, Jack adjusted the stirrups, took her place in the saddle, and then reached for Daniel. “Are you ready, buddy?”
The moment Jack settled Daniel into the saddle in front of him, Ellie’s fear melted away. Jack had absolute mastery of the animal. More than that, Daniel was in heaven. He smiled and laughed, petting the horse and squealing with delight when Jack brought the mare to a lope.
Then it was Daisy’s turn. The sound of her laughter was precious to Ellie as Jack rode Baby Doe in circles through the soft sand. But when her turn was over, Daisy didn’t want to come down. She started crying when Jack handed her to Ellie.
“You’ll just have to come back and do it again sometime.” Jack looked straight into Ellie’s eyes. “You and the twins are welcome any time, Ellie. I mean that. After Dan’s death, we didn’t want to intrude. We knew Dan, but we didn’t have a relationship with you. Now we do.”
Ellie’s throat grew tight, warmth blossoming in her chest. “Thank you, Jack. And thanks for this.”
“You’re welcome.” He led the mare back the way they’d come. “Let me get Baby Doe back in her stall, and then we’ll take a sleigh ride out to see what the idiot menfolk are doing. I had one of my hands hook a pair of geldings to the sleigh. Do you want to help me with the reins, Miss Emily?”
* * *
Jesse tookthe slack out of the rope, his body tensed and ready. “Go!”
His body was snapped forward as Nate brought the horse to a gallop, snow flying beneath his skis, wind in his face. He couldn’t help but smile.
He turned to the right, made it through the first gate, then veered to the left, the horse pulling him up the six-foot jump and into the air. “Woohoo!”
He stuck the landing and swung to the right to catch the second gate, Nate urging the gelding to go faster.
The next jump was dead center.
He sailed up and over, catching air again.
Fuck, yeah.
He swung to the left and sailed through the last gate then veered hard to the right, rode up and over the third jump, another six-footer. He felt like he was flying.
He made the landing, then straightened himself up and let go of the rope with his right hand, aiming his arm like a spear to catch the three rings.
One. Two.
Damn it.
His fist punched the last ring off its hook, knocking it to the ground.
He skied to a stop and caught his breath, Nate riding back toward him.
“Hell.” Nate shook his head, smiling ear to ear. “You almost had it.”
“You know, even when you fuck it up, this is fun. It’s a lot like wakeboarding.”
“Yeah—except that you’re not landing in water when you fall.”
They took a break, drinking hot coffee from a thermos Nate had brought in the saddle bags. “So you and Ellie Meeks, huh?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t anything I planned.” He and Nate didn’t know each other well, but Jesse had to ask. “What’s it like being a dad?”
“It’s great. I love it. Megan is the best thing that ever happened to me, and the kids are right there with her.” He was quiet for a moment as if deciding whether to say more. “Megan had a rough life before I met her. Emily was four when we got together. I adopted Emily when Megan and I got married. I love that little girl like my own. She never knew a father before me. In every way that counts, Iamher father.”
“Wow. Yeah. That’s great.” It felt like a revelation to Jesse.
He’d always thought that his dad had beaten him because he wasn’t truly his son. Some part of him had accepted it as natural that a man couldn’t love children that weren’t his blood. But now thinking of his feelings for Daniel and Daisy—and considering what Nate had just told him—it seemed to him that his father had beaten him because the man was an asshole.