Conflict of Heart

Chapter 6

The summer evening sky was filled with different hues of red, orange, yellow, and pink; the gentle breeze drifting through the trees warm and inviting. Rosa breathed in a deep lungful of the fresh air as she walked along the familiar path to Steele's paddock, splashes of mud speckling her riding boots from the steeplechase course she had just completed with Chester, who always loved to charge through the river. She had a few minutes before she had to wash up for supper and so decided to visit the temperamental equine.

To her surprise, when she arrived at the stallion's paddock, she found Ethan standing near him, watching him eat. What surprised her was the fact that the stallion was allowing Ethan so close to him, especially while he was eating. Granted there were still several feet between them and there was a split-pole fence dividing them, but it was still a massive achievement.

Rosa couldn't help but smile as she closed the distance between herself and them.

Trust Ethan to calm a tempest stallion. It has only been two weeks, and the horse was already making remarkable progress. She wouldn't be shocked if he was being ridden in another week.

"Hey," she called out as she approached them.

Ethan looked up from his position along the railing, his bronze gaze appearing streaked with honey against the setting sun. His breath hitched a little at the sight of her in her riding clothes, her long, dark strands fluttering behind her in the breeze, her kind smile directed at him.

He looked away quickly. "Good evening, Miss Rosa," he greeted, his voice sounding a little gruff to his ears.

Long since used to his formalness, Rosa sidled up next to him and rested her arms on the pole in much the same position as him. Her sapphire gaze moved over the stallion's strong form, watching him eat for a moment.

"He's looking good," she stated, taking note of the muscle that he had gained in the fortnight of him being on the estate. "How's he going?"

"He's coming along well. Managed to groom him today, and he stood quietly enough for that," Ethan supplied.

Rosa nodded as she looked up at him with a smile. "That's very good."

His tawny gaze met hers then, and Rosa felt her breath leave her lungs as her stomach twisted in pleasant knots. He was almost a head taller than her, but she never once minded that. His arm, muscled and tanned from his countless hours of working in the sun, was so close to hers that she could feel the heat his body emitted. It was a delicious warmth that almost had her scooting closer to him before she snapped back to her senses when her face flushed at the thought and quickly looked back at the stallion.

She stepped towards the horse as she spoke. "Hey, there, my boy. I hear you've settled in nicely, huh?"

The stallion paused eating his food, his dark eyes peering up at her as she took tentative steps towards him. But when she rested her hand on the pole right where his shoulder was, he pinned his ears to lie flat against the back of his head, suddenly spinning on his front legs.

"Rosa!"

The young woman barely had a chance to react before a large body blocked her view of the stallion striking the pole with both back hooves, thick arms coiling around her. A loud crack and snap of wood shattering just registered in her mind before Ethan's body suddenly rammed into hers, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Rosa squeaked in surprise when she felt Ethan's heavy body land on top of her, knocking the air out of her lungs as his entire weight crushed her into the soft grass. She closed her eyes instinctively as shards of wood scattered around them.