She headed to the barn and found Kade there. He stood in front of a stall, arms folded across the top of the stall door, chin resting on his fisted hands.
He looked...forlorn. Deflated. Utterly defeated. Pippa wanted to run to him, throw her arms around his waist and hug him until the stuffing came out, as her grandmother used to say. But her feet remained encased in emotional concrete.
“Go away, Pippa.”
He hadn’t looked up, but of course he’d know she was here. He always seemed attuned to his surroundings. There was no heat in his voice so she didn’t move.
“Do you want to talk about...” She couldn’t tell him she knew. He’d have to share that on his own. “About whatever has you upset?”
“No.” He swiped his ball cap off his head and tunneled fingers through his thick, black hair but refused to look in her direction. “Just...leave me the hell alone.”
“Don’t curse at me. And I’m not leaving. You owe me lunch.” She made a show of looking at her watch before glancing up at him, a smug expression firmly in place before she winked. “Though at this point, it is closer to suppertime.”
Kade turned his head and her heart broke a little at the utter devastation etched on his face. His brown eyes were shadowed by a soul-deep pain. She moved then, walking toward him like she would a skittish horse. She stopped short of touching him, choosing instead to lean on the stall door in a mirror image of his posture when she’d arrived.
The yearling colt inside the stall whickered. Barron’s Imperial Pride, Imp for short. “He’s growing fast.” Imp was Kade’s crowning accomplishment and a safe topic.
“Yeah. Too bad I won’t watch him grow up.”
Or not. Pippa had to get Kade to tell her everything because this dancing around what she knew without tripping up was hard. She leaned a little closer to him, accidentally brushing her arm against his. “You can talk to me, Kade. Always. You know that, right?” He didn’t say anything so she tried again. “We’re friends, Kade. Friends help friends. I can see you’re upset. Won’t you tell me what happened today?”
He shook his head and the next words out of his mouth stabbed her heart.
“What makes you think we’re friends?” Kade jammed the cap back on his head and glowered at her.
She flashed him what she hoped was a sweet smile before nudging his biceps with her shoulder. “I did drive all the way up here after you blew me off for lunch. Only a friend would do that.” She considered her next words carefully. “Even if you don’t want to tell me what’s got you upset, I still think you need a friend right now, and I just happen to be here all handy and stuff.”
She tilted her head to look up at him. “Besides, you’re a growing boy,” she said. “You need to eat. I’ll even cook, provided you have something in the fridge.”
* * *
Pippa wasn’t going to leave him be, and part of him didn’t want to be alone. “I’m not fit for company, Pippa.”
“Yeah, and?” She grinned at him, totally unrepentant for intruding on his solitude.
Kade settled at her words and that surprised him. He didn’t want company of any sort, but if he had to have some, Pippa would do. Seeing her at Cash’s wedding, he’d remembered her from college, from when he’d catch her sitting on the fence mooning over him. He hadn’t wanted a girlfriend then. He didn’t want one now, especially not someone like Pippa. She should be with someone rich, like a Barron—He cut off that thought. Technically, he was a Barron, or could be.
He started to decline her offer but she was smiling all cute and sunny at him. Her long blond hair was caught up in a ponytail and the sprinkling of freckles across her nose went perfectly with her blue eyes. The quintessential girl next door.
It was just an early dinner. Between friends. And she was right. He needed to eat.
“C’mon, then.” His voice was gruff as he ushered her out.
They exited the barn and Dusty, the ranch mutt, galloped toward them. He leaped up on Pippa and would have taken her to the ground had Kade not braced her with his body, one arm automatically going around her waist. He stiffened, fending off the dog with a terse command, then tensed more as Pippa pressed back against him. She shouldn’t feel this good in his arms.
After releasing her, he kept his hands jammed in his pockets as they walked up the road to the house he’d called home since the day he’d arrived as the newly hired ranch manager. The place reminded him of the houses found on cattle and sheep stations in Australia. A wide porch wrapped around all four sides and the metal roof gleamed dully beneath the bright afternoon sun.
Pippa stumbled and he automatically caught her arm to steady her. “Pip? You okay?”
Her face had paled and she was squinting against the sun. Lips pressed together, she shook her head. “Migraine coming. Been fighting it all day.”
He scooped her up into his arms without thinking. His mother suffered debilitating migraines and he knew what to do. “Keep your eyes closed until I can get you inside.”
Lengthening his stride, Kade quickly got her into his dim living room. He set her on the couch and hunkered down on his heels. “What can I do to help?”
She reached blindly for him so he snagged her hand with his own. “I have meds in my purse. In the Highlander.”
He pulled his hand away from hers reluctantly. “Keys?”
“Not locked.”
“Be right back.” Kade resisted the sudden urge to brush his knuckles over her cheek as he rose and headed outside. He returned moments later, her purse in hand. He didn’t like the wince on her face as light spilled in from the open door.
“Sorry about not fixing dinner for you.”
He brushed her apology away. “Not a problem. It’s more important for you to lie down. I’m going to carry you into my bedroom, okay? It’s darker in there.”
She nodded so he lifted and cradled her. After she was settled, had taken her medication along with a long drink of water, she held his hand as he sat on the edge of the bed with her.
“I’ll go away so you can rest.”
“Don’t. Please. I like the sound of your voice.” A little smile teased the corners of her mouth and she patted the bed beside her. “And a girl likes to be fussed over. I’ll be okay in a little while. I caught this migraine early.” She offered him a tentative smile and a scrunched-up nose. “Besides, it feels a little weird being in your bedroom all by myself.”
Concerned about her, Kade acquiesced. He stretched out beside her and moments later, she’d curled into him, her head on his chest. Was it wrong that lying here with her felt so right? Even so, he didn’t want to talk about his situation, especially not to Pippa. He liked her more than he should, and liked her idea for a horse therapy program. He’d considered asking her out but figured she wouldn’t be interested. Still, she was easy to be around. Too easy.
“Are you going to talk to
