as if sensing the energy in the air, and Jade reached to soothe her. Her heart thundered against her rib cage. “You surprised me. I thought I was alone.” Taking in a measured breath, she kept her cool for her animals. If she got too rattled, they would sense it and act out. Part of her therapy was teaching her horses that calm was okay. They didn’t need to be ready to perform at a moment’s notice anymore.
“You were talking to that horse in a way I’ve never seen before,” Declan said.
“You’re from Texas,” Jade said. Most of the people she knew loved horses: Mac and Thorne and her nephew, Cody, especially.
An uninterpretable emotion passed over Declan’s face. “I was born here. But I spent a good portion of my life in Louisiana.”
Jade mentally kicked herself. She had heard from Edith that Declan had been in foster care in New Orleans. Not knowing him well enough to pry, she didn’t ask how he had come to be in another state. She didn’t appreciate when people asked her invasive questions. Much of her childhood was filled with dark, twisted memories she hated recalling. “I love all my horses.” Stick to a topic she was comfortable with.
“How many do you have?” he asked, taking a couple of steps toward her.
She would give anything to have something more to do with her hands, to keep busy. “Eight. Which is max capacity for us. I just sold a horse last month.” Nine had been near impossible; only with Flint so close to finishing his rehabilitation had it been possible.
Declan tucked his hands in his pockets. He looked at the rows of stalls. “More room than for eight.”
Talking about her big plans made her nervous, almost as if admitting her pie-in-the-sky dream would get her laughed at. Her mother had laughed at her. Her teachers had expected her to fail. After her father died, only Mac had believed in her. Without him, she wouldn’t have had the courage to open Hill Country Farm. “I have room to grow, but I need additional staff to make that possible. Right now, I’m the only full-time employee. My brother, nephew and Mac pitch in from time to time, and I have a few part-time employees and volunteers, but the horses rely almost solely on me.” She was babbling. He didn’t need to know every detail of her business. Asking for his advice would be harder if he thought she was spacey.
“I’ve heard good things about this place,” Declan said.
A pleasant surprise and her pride touched up a notch. “People are talking about Hill Country?” Or maybe Edith or River had mentioned something.
“Shadow Creek is a small town. Doesn’t everyone talk about everyone else?” Declan asked.
He grinned and his smile felled her. Gorgeous and charming, he was sweeping her off her feet without lifting a finger. They had known each other a short time, yet she was drawn to him. “No one seems to know much about you,” Jade said. She regretted the implication that she had been asking around about him. She wasn’t exactly, only about La Bonne Vie. But she was curious about him now. She was hungry for more knowledge about the mysterious Declan Sinclair.
“There’s not much to know,” Declan said.
“I doubt that very much,” Jade said. In addition to his interesting real estate purchase, he was wealthy and good-looking and likely had experiences and interests to share.
“I can tell you my big secret,” Declan said.
Interest brought her a few steps closer. Confiding in her during their first real conversation, he must feel the pull too. “I’m a great secret keeper.” An understatement. Desperate to be brought into his confidence, she waited.
“I’m married to my job. My calendar is booked and I’m rarely sitting around, but it’s almost all related to work. So while I know there have been rumors about me and what I do and where I go, it’s all about my job.”
“All real estate, all the time?” she asked, not truly believing that was the whole story and wondering how La Bonne Vie fit into his plans.
He nodded. “The most interesting thing to happen to me today was meeting you and talking with you. I’ve seen you around town, but tonight you look especially beautiful. Maybe it’s how you look when you talk to your horses. There’s something so entrancing about it,” Declan said.
The reflection of her love for her horses must radiate from her every pore. She lived and breathed her work, much like he did. “Then I guess that’s something we have in common. My work is my everything too.”
But Jade did feel beautiful as Declan looked at her, and it had been a long time since she had felt this giddy with a man. She was happy she had taken the time to have her hair styled at Marie’s Salon and Spa and she had worn the dress Claudia had helped her select. Declan’s attention was flattering and the admiration she saw in his eyes as he looked at her stables made her proud.
The stables had been her design. Each stall was intended to be safe and comfortable. The wood was a lighter color, sanded and polished with materials safe for the horses. She had a place for the hay and food to be stored and prevented from rotting. Overhead, the loft held additional supplies. She had extra chaps, protective helmets and riding boots close to the hose bib for easier cleaning. Bibs and saddles, blanket bags, feeders, measuring scoops, extra water buckets and brushes had their places in an alcove of bins and hooks. Muck carts and cleaning buckets were ready; the ones she had used that morning were clean and drying across the way.
“You sound like me. All work and no play,” Declan said.
A man who looked and dressed like Declan, with those smoldering eyes and fit physique, had to date society women. He likely had his pick of companions when he wanted one. But maybe that was what he was telling her; he was only interested in brief affairs. Jade shook off the thought. She was overanalyzing, a bad habit she had picked up from trying to read her mother’s moods to know when to avoid her.
Jade kept her tone carefully casual. “Anytime you want to get away from your job and spend time here, you’re welcome. There’s plenty to do.”
Declan studied her and Jade found herself loving how he looked at her. Attention from men sometimes confused her and she wasn’t sure what they wanted from her. She wished she hadn’t had a totally manipulative psychopath as a mother. Though Livia had been great at tricking men into doing what she wanted, Jade wasn’t eager to use those methods and follow in her footsteps. She often wondered if she would unintentionally do just that, so she was careful not to coerce people. It had become almost instinct to speak what she wanted plainly and honestly.
“I may do that. This is a great place and the work you’re doing is good for the community. A positive endeavor,” Declan said.
Unlike her mother’s “endeavors,” which had been dark and twisted. “You’d have to dress differently.”
He glanced down at his suit. “You’re wearing a dress. Is a suit that much more overdressed?”
She laughed. “I don’t wear dresses most workdays.”
“You could start a new trend and look great doing it,” Declan said.
His compliment brought color to her cheeks. “If it fetched money to the cause, I’d do anything,” Jade said. Almost anything shy of illegal dealings to raise funds. Jade hadn’t meant to mention money, but it was on her mind. Working with charitable organizations to fund the horses’ care and veterinary bills were her top
