Once she was done and back in her stall, Tommy gave her a chunk of hay and filled her water bucket. I patted her a few more times, but she was done with me, more interested in the food. I slid her stall door shut.
“It was nice to meet you, Mr. Cahill. I’ve got other work to do. But man, you’ve got a good horse there. She’s something special.”
He waved and loped off, his gangly form more coordinated than I expected with those limbs. I stared after him for a few seconds, then watched my horse eat for at least fifteen more minutes, before I went in search of Hawk.
I found him in the indoor arena, working a pretty red horse that had a white circle in the middle of its forehead. Hawk held one end of a very long rope in one hand and a whip in the other. But he didn’t use the whip like I expected, or had seen in movies and shit. No, he just kind of held it out, flicking it occasionally, always keeping it behind the horse. It took me a second to workout what he was doing, but it seemed like the whole point was just to keep the horse moving. The whip was not for causing pain or pushing.
Which, considering his comment earlier, made complete sense. And my estimation of the man rose even more. Which was quite the feat, since I already held him in high regard.
For his horse training skills anyway. His people skills needed work.
I rested my arms on the top rail, wanting to call out to him but not sure if that was a good idea. I didn’t want to spook or startle the horse, and if it was one of the rescues, that could be bad. Like the one Gemma had told me about earlier. When I thought of the abuse and mistreatment that animal had suffered, it made my blood boil. I knew people could be cruel. Evil, even. But I couldn’t fathom perpetuating that kind of behavior on an innocent animal who just wanted to please you.
“How’d it go?” Hawk’s voice broke into my thoughts, and I realized he’d moved a bit closer without me noticing. He was still working the horse in a circle, but now he occasionally glanced my way.
“Good. Really good. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
Hawk didn’t say anything for a bit. He’d focused back on the horse and seemed to ignore me. I wondered if he had even heard me, and half of me was pissed he’d asked a question and didn’t wait for the answer. The other half was glad he was so focused on the horse, because it showed how intent he was on his work.
“Let me finish with her first. Then I can give you some time.”
I nodded even though he wasn’t looking at me. “How long till you’re done?”
“As long as it takes,” was his immediate and somewhat short response.
I held in the sigh. “All right. I’ll wait.”
Another beat or two, then Hawk used his whip to point. I looked in that direction and saw a set of stairs leading to the loft. “You can wait in my office.”
“Thanks,” I said, and knowing I wasn’t going to get anything else out of him until he was done, I made my way in that direction.
Hawk’s office was cozy, with a makeshift coffee bar and a couch, but a little chaotic. There were papers everywhere, on his desk and on the small table. But I knew organized chaos when I saw it so I made sure not to touch anything. But that didn’t mean I didn’t look.
Sometimes I was nosy as fuck. It was my only character flaw.
Most of it looked like notes on horses. I know he used some sort of computer software to keep track of things because it had been part of the contract and I read it in the testimonials too. But it looked like Hawk made handwritten notes first and then put it in later. That sort of made sense, since I knew he was busy. I could imagine him jotting down thoughts between horses so he didn’t forget anything.
I wandered over to the little table and my eyes widened when I realized I was looking at blueprints. Ah, the aquatic facility he’d been talking about. I didn’t know enough about architecture, or equine therapy pools, to really understand what I was looking at, but I could tell it would be a big undertaking. And if it was really as beneficial as Hawk said it would be, I hoped they managed to build it sooner rather than later. Maybe they needed an additional benefactor? Hawk had said that was the reason he took me on, but I could invest more.
I pulled out my phone and shot a text to Marielle.
Pull research on horse shoeing benefits. Also equine hydrotherapy. As many resources as you can find.
I tucked my phone away, not waiting for her confirmation. I didn’t have to. I’d probably have it in my inbox by the end of business. She was efficient like that. Damn, but I really wished she’d been open to moving.
I was still studying the blueprints when I heard Hawk on the stairs. I turned just as he emerged, and his neutral expression turned into a scowl when he saw what I was looking at. It was his fault for sending me up here when he knew they were out. I had nothing to be ashamed of.
“Coffee?” he bit out, a bit gruffly.
“No, thanks. I wouldn’t say no to water, if you have it, though.”
Hawk huffed, reached into a mini fridge under the coffee bar, and tossed a bottle at me. I fumbled it, but didn’t drop it. I hadn’t been expecting him to throw it. I caught the slight smirk before he masked it.
“What can I do for you?” he asked, dropping into his desk chair and staring me down.
My mind immediately jumped toexactlywhat he could do for me, which was ridiculous. Just because I found him as attractive as he was irritating didn’t mean he returned it. I quickly mentally ran through all the reasons the attraction was inconvenient and ridiculous so I could get my mind on business.
“What’s your training schedule look like for Ramona?”
