“You sure? You’ve got the death grip on the reins.”
“Yeah, fine.” Another awkward laugh. “Just…talk to me.”
When I glance over at him, I don’t hide my scowl. “About what?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “But talking would probably take my mind off the fact that I’m riding on the back of a thousand-pound beast that could probably kill me if she wanted to.”
“Are you always this dramatic?”
“Is it really dramatic if it’s true?”
“It’s highly unlikely that Chessy would kill you,” I say, exhaling an exasperated breath.
“But you’re saying there’s a chance, though?”
“Sure, but I think there’s a much larger possibility that your piece of shit car would kill you before my horse would.”
Ash’s gaze snaps to mine once more, and it’s the first time since he got on Chessy that he hasn’t looked terrified. “Hey, don’t talk about my car like that! We’ve gotten through some tough times together.”
“Yeah, I can tell,” I mutter under my breath.
There’s a brief moment of silence, but it doesn’t last long before Ash asks, “How long has this place been in your family?”
“Several generations.”
“Do you enjoy what you do?”
“I suppose.”
“Do you just have the one sibling?”
“Yup.”
Ash chuckles. “Man of many words.”
I look at him out of the corner of my eye, lips pursed. He’s entirely too fucking chatty. After I take him along the trail and back to the barn, I show him how to put everything away. In all honesty, he probably won’t take the horses out all that often—Cassie rarely did—but like I told him before, it’s a helpful skill to have.
“Is Tucker coming home with us?” he asks as we head back to my truck.
I shake my head. “No, my dad’s taking him out to dinner with one of his buddies. He’ll drop him off later.”
“Seems like Tucker’s got a great relationship with his grandpa. That must be nice.”
“It is.” I nod as I start the ignition. Before I can leave, my phone buzzes, alerting me to a notification.
Violet: How’s it going? Ash settling in okay? You guys getting along?
Setting the phone in the cupholder, I decide to respond to that later.
“Are you guys all pretty close, then?” Ash asks, clearly intent on making small talk happen today.
“Yeah. I mean, we all work together daily, so it’s kind of hard not to be.”
“That’s really cool.”
Glancing over at him quickly, he’s wearing a goofy smile.
“Are you not close with your parents?”
