44. Best parts of the country

FORTY-FOUR

#6 Sweet conversashuns and kisses by the pond

I'd never been on a horse before. No surprise there, considering I had grown up in a place where the only horses were either ridden by cops or carried tourists around Central Park. Neither of these things had any appeal for the average teenager and certainly weren't things I could ever afford. So horses always seemed like one of those mythical creatures that were only accessible to the very rich or people who lived out in the middle of nowhere.

Nathan's family seemed like both, even though they weren't that far from the city. The vast expanse of their property made it feel like you were miles and miles from any civilization. And I supposed, in a way, we were. Fifteen hundred acres, Nathan told me, roughly converted to two and a half square miles. We could walk all day if we wanted to and never meet another soul.

For the time being, Lillian and Radford seemed content to pretend their son's porn star girlfriend didn't exist. After visiting Isla, we shared a dinner in their fancy dining room, where neither of them even acknowledged my presence. Breakfast of coffee and toast the following morning was equally stunted.

I, for one, found I didn't really care. In an ideal world, would I want my boyfriend's parents to love me?

Sure.

Did I need or even expect that to be the case?

Never.

I was here for Nathan. And if that meant my support existed by doing PT in our bedroom while he tried to negotiate Isla's guardianship, I was just fine with that. What I wasn't all right with was the idea of his mother berating him when I wasn't around. Or being manipulated by other family members. I knew what that felt like all too well. There was just no way I was going to let him go through this by himself.

The following morning, after sharing an awkward breakfast with his parents, Nathan took me out to the stables, about a ten-minute walk from the main house.

The stables matched the traditional architecture of the house but were constructed from a much smaller building that housed livestock when Huntwell was still a working farm. In the early part of the twentieth century, Nathan's great-grandfather had apparently gotten the bug to race horses after the Preakness Stakes started in Baltimore. He was part of the contingent that began the steeplechase races in Fauquier County.

"Supposedly, he didn't think flat races should get all the attention," Nathan said as we walked.

I had no idea what that was, and so I spent the rest of the walk listening to Nathan nerd out about the differences between flat racing and steeple chasing, thoroughbreds versus other kinds of horses, and a bunch of other things I could barely understand because I was too lulled by the music of his deep, sonorous voice.

"I'm actually not much of an expert," Nathan said as we finally got to the stables.

"Could have fooled me," I said with a grin before I popped up to kiss his cheek. "I think I should call you my personal professor instead of doctor. You can teach me anytime."

Nathan smiled, not quite able to hide his blush.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the prodigal son," called a voice from the other end of the stable.

We turned to find Spencer Hunt emerging from one of the stalls, looking more like a dirty stable boy than the youngest son of some of the wealthiest people in the country. If it weren't for the absurd glow of his golden hair and brilliant white of his teeth, I might have thought he was just another staff member. But he still had that gleam about him that only seemed to come from extreme wealth, I was starting to see.

"I'm only prodigal if I've done terrible things." Nathan stiffly accepted his brother's handshake, but not without obvious suspicion. "You weren't at dinner last night."

Spencer shook his head. "I only got back this morning. Kip ran the Preakness last night, so I stayed over in Baltimore."

As if on cue, the head of an enormous black horse poked over the door of the stall next to me and nosed into my shoulder.

I jumped with a shriek, right into Nathan's arms. My boyfriend, however, wasn't quite able to keep a straight face.

"Kip, that wasn't very nice to the pretty lady," Spencer said as he strode over to the horse and rubbed its large nose.

The horse chuffed like it was laughing and eyed me with more intelligence than I would have imagined.

"Don't race horses have weird names like Sunday Blues or Toothpaste Miracle?" I asked. Even I'd seen Secretariat.

"Oh, sure," Spencer replied with a grin. "Technically, this guy's formal name is Christy Climbing, but we call him Kip for luck." He rolled his eyes. "It was Mom's turn to name."

"Rose breed?" Nathan guessed.

"And they say you don't remember where you came from," Spencer joked. "With a name like that, it's no surprise he came in fourth. But he's got a brother coming up next year that I think will make a real run at the Derby. You'll see."

"The Derby?" Nathan asked. "Really?"

"As in Kentucky?" I chimed in.

Spencer nodded with obvious glee. I was starting to see what Nathan meant when he said he wasn't the real expert in the family. While it was clear that horses were an interest for Nathan, something he missed about his old life, I could tell in all of five minutes that they were a true passion for his youngest brother. Just as I couldn't imagine Nathan doing anything but being a surgeon, it was plain that Spencer Hunt didn't belong anywhere else but the stables.

Which only made it that much sadder that they had parents who couldn't see their sons' real worth. So few people in the world had true callings. The Hunts were fortunate enough to have raised two of them.

"Can we saddle up Gus?" Nathan asked. "I'd like to take Joni out, but she's never ridden. He's mellow and big enough for two, don't you think?"

Kip shook his big head at Spencer, who just wrestled with him a moment.

"Calm down, you big bully. You'll get some exercise today too." Then he turned to us and looked me over. "You go on with Nathan—he'll set you up with boots and a helmet. I'll have one of the grooms put a tandem on Gus and meet you out front."

Twenty minutes later, I was kitted out with a black velvet riding helmet and knee-high boots yanked over my knees, sitting atop a truly enormous black horse, and clutching the reins for dear life. I'd needed a boost just to get my foot into the stirrup, and now I felt like I was sitting on top of a skyscraper.

In one easy movement, Nathan swung up behind me, causing me to yelp.

The horse barely seemed to notice, though I was happy when Nathan reached around me to grab the reins. The horse snorted, but didn't seem to care otherwise.

"It would be better if you could refrain from screaming," Nathan's deep voice rumbled into my ear. "Gus is unlikely to throw anyone, but it's a long fall. I like you without broken bones."

I tried to turn to leer at him but was too scared to fall off. "You don't need your own horse?"

"Gus is a Shire Horse," Nathan said. "They can carry almost five hundred pounds."

"Sounds like a necessity in a family full of giant men," I agreed.

He slid one hand securely around my waist and pulled me back against him so I was nestled between his firm thighs. Though my body calmed, my heartbeat sped up a bit as his finger teased the undersides of my breasts.

"Besides," he said. "I'm happy here for now."

Then he gave the horse a gentle kick, and we were off.

It was a beautiful day for riding. Nathan took us through a meadow of wild grass, then through a wooded area to cool off. We passed through a glen dotted with foxgloves and buttercups before reaching the edge of a small pond. There we stopped beneath the broad, low-hanging branches of a massive oak tree.

Nathan dismounted with the ease of a practiced rider, then reached up to catch me by the waist. I was glad for it. On solid ground, perhaps I was relatively graceful, but I had a feeling those stirrups would be the death of me.

Gus seemed content to be tethered to the tree and graze at its base. Nathan fed him an apple from his jacket pocket, then removed a picnic blanket and some food from the panniers attached to the saddle. I walked out to the pond, removed my helmet, and perched on a small boulder to sunbathe for a minute.

"What are you doing over there?" Nathan called. "You look like you're melting."

I grinned at him from my rock. "Oh, I'm definitely melting. It's hot as balls out here, especially in these boots. But it feels damn good after a long, cold winter."

Nathan frowned as he set out some sandwiches. "Testicles are actually about two degrees lower than the rest of the body, you know. Most people carry the most heat in their brains, hearts, and livers. So, really, that saying should be something like ‘hot as a liver.' Though I suppose it doesn't have the same appeal."

"Why's that?" I asked as I turned back to the sunlight.

"People seem to enjoy describing various things in terms of genitalia. Especially the weather, for some reason."

I giggled. "True. Like, ‘I'm freezing my ass off.'"

I turned to see Nathan nodding as he walked over to me. "Exactly. I honestly don't think that is even physically possible."

"Ooooh, I got another. ‘Colder than a witch's tit!' My sister Lea loves to say that one when she's grouchy."

"But why witches?" Nathan wondered, though he was chuckling now.

"Why tits?" I asked right back.

We were both laughing outright now, and it felt so good. I thought he couldn't get any sexier. I really did. But turns out that a happy, laughing Nathan was like serious, mysterious Nathan on steroids. About ten times hotter than the sun. Blazing.

There wasn't enough levity in Nathan's life, I realized. And maybe not in mine either. At that moment, I knew I'd make butt and boob jokes every single day if I could hear him laugh like that. I just wanted to make him happy. Like, by some miracle, he wanted for me.

Suddenly, I was swept off the rock like a princess and carried back to the picnic.

"This is so…country," I said as I set my helmet on the ground and took a piece of watermelon from the basket. "I can see why you miss it."

Nathan sank next to me and started fixing himself a sizable but healthy lunch on a paper plate. "If my life could be like this most of the time, I wouldn't have left," he said honestly. "But I'm glad I did." Our eyes met over a bowl of potato salad. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have met you."

I leaned over a plate of cold chicken and pressed a kiss to his lips. Neither of us hurried to stop it. There was no reason to, here on our own.

Until my stomach rumbled, anyway.

I laughed. "Better take care of that first."

Nathan agreed and started to dig into his food.

"Isla would probably like it here," I said. "With the horses and everything. Don't you think?"

Nathan was quiet for a long time. "I've thought that many times." He took a bite of salad, chewed, and swallowed before answering. "Equine therapy has been one of her primary methods for years. It's how she came to love horses so much." His eyes seemed to glow when he thought about it. "She wants to be a veterinarian."

I nodded. "What all would she need to do?"

"College first, of course. She's smart enough, like I said, but it's more a question if she can deal with the discomfort of working through a basic degree in something like zoology before she can study what she wants. She has a few more years to work on that." He looked out toward the pond. "My parents think she should leave next year. Go back to North Carolina, where Lindsay's family lives."

I frowned. "I didn't know she had any existing family."

"She doesn't," Nathan said shortly. "Lindsay's mother ran off when she was maybe fifteen. And her dad is still in prison for larceny. Isla's closest blood relatives are some second cousins who live in an RV somewhere near Charlotte. I'm her only real family."

"So your parents would just…abandon her?" I had a hard time believing it, even for Lillian and Radford.

"No," Nathan said. "They want to have her moved to a state-run facility that teaches people like Isla how to work. They think her idea of being a veterinarian is a pipe dream, and she'd be better off learning how to bag groceries or pack boxes."

"That's terrible," I replied. "And that's just to force you to come home?"

"To my parents, Isla is the reason they lost me in the first place," Nathan said. "I suspect they'll never forgive her for it. They certainly wouldn't take her into their home."

"Then maybe living here isn't the best thing for her," I agreed. "Are there stables maybe closer to New York where she could work? Do you think she could make that kind of transition?"

Nathan stole a quick glance at me with an adorably sweet smile that made my heart glow. "I've actually been looking at properties in Westchester for some time now," he said. "There's one near New Rochelle that has a small stable on it. I could afford it if I sold some of my Huntwell stock. It's the sort of place where I think she would be happy."

It was too easy to imagine that dream with him. A place where he could continue his own calling and also take care of Isla. And maybe a place where I might fit too.

"Why didn't you become her guardian in the first place?" I wondered.

"I was considered too young," Nathan said. "I tried, but my parents offered, and the state allowed it, likely because my father knows enough judges on the Fourth Circuit to influence any court in North Carolina. At the time, it seemed like the right decision."

I nodded. How could he have known at just twenty-one that his parents were already manipulating him and Isla like chess pieces, putting them into position so that they would be able to maintain control over their eldest son for the rest of his life.

But he didn't need to be a pawn anymore. On top of being a grown man, Nathan was an incredibly accomplished one. He had, in effect, been Isla's guardian for much longer than he realized.

"So, how can we demonstrate that you're the one who should be in charge?" I asked. "Do we get a lawyer? Do we hire a private investigator? Do we need to gather documentation?

Nathan looked up from his chicken, appearing a bit amused. "How do you know about all of those things?"

"I do have a lawyer for a brother. Some of that stuff had to wear off over the years." I tapped my lip. "I remember him talking to Frankie about what might happen if Xavier ever came back into the picture after my niece was born. Frankie got lucky—when Xavier did find out, he wanted to be with Frankie more than he was mad at her for keeping their daughter a secret. But if they went sour, Mattie always told her that she should have lots of documentation of her parenting in case things went south. So that if Xavier suddenly decided he wanted custody, there wouldn't be a case for it."

Nathan looked thoughtful. "I have some documentation. Mostly emails between my parents and me. Things they might write off as suggestions, but were actually directions that I was giving them about Isla's care. I was the one that found Ferndale in the first place. I'm actually the one who pays for it too."

"See," I said eagerly. "That's half the battle."

Nathan leaned back against the trunk of the oak and sighed. "I think the idea of a battle is the problem, Joni. My parents would love to fight because it keeps me involved, and they would bury something like that in court for as long as it takes." He shook his head. "It's better to play their game for a bit. Make them think I'm here to stay for a while. Then maybe they'll give up on using Isla as a pawn, so when she's eighteen, I can quietly transfer guardianship to me."

We finished lunch, then laid back on the blanket together, hand in hand while we stared up at the oak leaves rustling in the wind. It occurred to me just how very much I loved this man.

Here was a person who was always so unabashedly himself but whose sense of justice was so deeply ingrained that he was willing to sacrifice nearly everything to do what he believed was right. The fact that he believed me a part of that quest made me feel better about myself too. It wasn't just Nathan's faith in me that made me love him, though. It was the way that faith turned me into a better person as well. It made me believe that, as a team, we could do anything.

If we only had the guts to try.

I turned over and found his eyes closed, long lashes casting shadows over his cheekbones. Slowly, I crept up and kissed him. He startled, but then returned the kiss almost as quickly.

When he opened his eyes, there was a bit more peace there.

I would have given anything to make it permanent.

"What's that look?" he wondered as he brushed a bit of hair from my face.

I pushed myself up and crawled on top of him so I could straddle his waist. He watched me curiously, then with no little interest as I slowly removed my top, then my bra so that I was now topless.

"Amazement," I told him. "Shock I could ever find myself in a place like this. With someone like you."

No one had ever looked at me like he did. Not just with interest, but with awe. Like I really was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Truly a masterpiece in every way possible.

Nathan's hands moved up my thighs, over my stomach and waist, then cupped my breasts so he could brush his thumbs gently over my nipples. He watched reverently as they pebbled under his touch, then sat up in a sudden movement that made every muscle in his torso flex under his shirt, which I quickly removed for him.

We sat there, skin to skin, holding each other for a moment. Then Nathan's head dipped so he could take one nipple into his mouth, pulling it as far in as he possibly could.

I tipped my head back, enjoying the rays of the sun and the feeling of that heated mouth on my breast. He moved to the other, and I quivered under his touch, the rest of me suddenly dying for the same kind of attention.

He released the nipple with a pop, then laid back down to look at his handiwork, where he had left two perfectly shaped hickeys just above each of my nipples.

It should have disgusted me, but it only turned me on.

"Are those out of love too?" I asked with a cheeky grin.

Nathan's hands slipped up around my back so that he could pull me back down to him for another kiss.

"You said you wanted to be marked," he told me before lightly biting my lip. "And I just want to make you happy."

Then, in a sudden movement, he flipped me onto my back, eliciting a shriek from me.

"Hush," he said as he started to remove my pants. "You'll startle Gus, and then we could be stuck out here forever."

It didn't seem to affect the big horse at all, who also didn't notice when Nathan and I were both naked on the blanket, bodies twined together under the sun and the leaves.

"Joni," Nathan murmured as his hands drew up and down my thighs, gaze roving over all of me like he was memorizing every shape I had.

"Show me more about life on the farm, Dr. Hunt," I said as he settled between my legs. "Mark me again."