When he saw Lucy again later, he wanted to be rested up and ready to face whatever emotions came his way. He had a feeling when he saw her in her environment outside of work, all those feelings from the other morning would come flooding back and he’d want her even more.
“This is the greatest day ever,” Emma declared.
Lucy held on tight as they rode on a trotting Hawkeye. With Emma in front of her, Lucy made sure the little girl was nestled perfectly against the pommel. Emma held on to the reins and steered the mare around the field. She was absolutely a natural.
“I think you are a better rider than I am,” Lucy stated.
When Noah came up beside them on Gunner, it took all of Lucy’s willpower not to focus on how sexy he looked on the back of her horse. She could easily see him on a ranch. With that wide black hat, his button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up over tanned forearms, perfectly fitted jeans, and dusty boots, the man epitomized a hunky cowboy.
And the fact he’d reached out to her and wanted to come over for a ride only made her heart skip another beat. She knew they were technically sneaking around. They’d kept up the pretense at work and had remained circumspect in public. She had to admit there was something so attractive and intriguing about keeping their relationship on the down low.
Lucy loved it even more that he’d brought Emma. His daughter was absolutely the most adorable little thing and so easy to please. Give the girl some cookies and a horse and she was happy.
“Looks like it’s going to rain soon,” Noah commented as he stared at the sky.
“We’ll go back soon,” she promised. “It’s such a beautiful evening with the mountains in the distance, the smell of fall in the air. I could stay out here all night.”
“Do you camp?” Emma asked, still holding tightly to the reins. “Daddy took me and Mommy once and it was fun.”
“I do love camping.” Lucy held on to Emma’s waist and glanced over to Noah. “This is the perfect time of year, too. I love being outside, but I don’t like to get too hot or too cold, especially when I’m trying to sleep.”
Noah’s brows rose beneath his dark hat. “I imagine if the nights got too cool you could find ways to stay warm.”
That heavy-lidded look he gave her sent shivers racing through her. The blatant flirting had hope filling that void she’d thought would be hollow forever. There was a light inside her, as silly as that sounded. But Noah was coming around and she found she was, too. The guilt wasn’t as strong as it had been last week. The fear was still there, but overpowering that now was a beacon of hope. Lucy opted to cling to that optimism, instead of trying to find reasons to let fear rule her life.
Between her psychology classes and her partnership in Helping Hands, Lucy had talked to many people over the past couple of years about compartmentalizing all your emotions. When there were negative feelings, they needed to be put behind anything positive. And right now, Lucy was going to cling to Noah and Emma. They were here now and they were all having a great time.
“My daddy is afraid of mice,” Emma said, turning to glance up at Lucy. “That one time we went camping, a mouse got in our tent. Mom screamed, I screamed, and Dad ran out of the tent.”
Lucy laughed as she shifted her focus to Noah. “Is that so? A little mouse had you running for your life?”
He simply shrugged. “We all have our fears,” he told her. “Those little things move so fast. I’m man enough to admit they creep me out.”
“Well, if it helps, I’m terrified of spiders,” Lucy confessed. “Anything with that many legs has to be created by the devil.”
“You know what I don’t like?” Emma asked. “Bees. I got stung once and then Daddy found out I was ’lergic. It scared me when he had to take me to the hospital.”
“Scared me, too, Sweet Pea.”
“That would be a good reason to not like bees,” Lucy agreed. “When did you get stung?”
“Right before we moved here,” Emma said. “My arm got puffy and red and then I couldn’t breathe very well.”
“I’m pretty sure I lost a few years off my life then,” Noah muttered.
Lucy couldn’t imagine how terrified Noah must’ve been. He’d been a widower and had found out the hard way that his daughter was allergic to bee stings.
The first fat drop of rain his Lucy’s nose. “Time to head back,” she told them as she helped Emma guide Hawkeye back to the barn. “We might get a little wet.”
By the time they reached the barn, they were all soaked. The rain was chilly and instantly cooled the evening down. She shivered as she dismounted and helped Emma down. She led the mare into the stable and Noah was right behind her with Gunner.
“You and Emma go on inside,” he told her. “I’ll tend to the horses.”
“There’s no reason for you to do that. You can take Emma on home and get dried off. I’ll take care of the horses.”
Noah stepped up to her, forcing Lucy to tip her head back. “Don’t argue with me,” he said in that low, commanding tone. “Take Emma inside and get warm. I’ve got this. Besides, I sort of miss this part of my life.”
Lucy hadn’t thought of things that way. He probably was missing working the ranch and tending the horses he’d always had. The void of his late wife wasn’t the only hole in his heart.
“I’ll make us some hot chocolate,” she told him as she reached for Emma’s hand. “How about we find some marshmallows to put on top?”
Emma nodded enthusiastically. “I want extra.”
Noah laughed. “Of course you do.”
Lucy picked up the toddler and hugged her tight. “Ready to race through the raindrops?”
“Ready!”
Lucy wrapped Emma tightly against her and tucked her beneath her chin as she ran toward the back porch. The rain came down in sheets now. By the time they got inside, Emma was trembling.
“Let’s get you warmed up.” Lucy eased the girl back and quickly realized she was crying. “Emma, what’s wrong?”
“Is it going to storm?” she asked through tears and sniffling.
Lucy sat Emma on the bar top and smoothed her wet hair away from her face. “You know what, if it does, we will be just fine.”
“But Daddy is still outside.” She sniffed. Her big blue eyes were red with tears.
“Right now it’s just raining,” Lucy explained. “We need rain. Did you know that’s what makes those beautiful trees change colors? It helps the grass to grow for the horses to eat, too. Rain isn’t a scary thing.”
“Have you been in a tornado?” Emma whispered. “It starts with rain. It’s loud and scary.”
Sweet Emma was terrified. Lucy wondered if she had flashbacks each time it rained, or what happened when it actually stormed. The poor child was suffering from a kind of PTSD brought on from the trauma of losing her mother. Did Noah realize his daughter suffered so?
“How about we stand at the window and watch your daddy?” Lucy suggested. “We can see him in the barn while he’s brushing the horses and putting the gear away. Then you can see that he’s okay.”
Lucy hoisted the girl onto her hip and stood at the wide kitchen window. It was difficult to see through the heavy rain, but the light in the barn helped.