Ex-Factor (Diamond Girls) (16 page)

I pressed my lips together and willed away the sorrow as I gave the front door a good, hard knock.

My hands felt sweaty, and I fidgeted in place, fumbling with my school bag and looking down at my feet as I waited.

The door flew open with a whoosh, the smell of fresh-baked cookies wafting out from inside, torturing my already starved stomach.

My gaze shot upward in surprise, and I came face to face with a beautiful woman with long brown hair and caramel eyes. She couldn’t have been more than forty years old, and sported a tall, thin frame, gentle curves, and the same dark coloring as Bodie. She was absolutely lovely, and I knew right away she had to be his mother.

I opened my mouth to introduce myself, and was quickly cut off.

“Well hello, dear. Nev, right?”

I nodded, surprised the lovely woman not only knew who I was, but was expecting me.

She ushered me into the house with a warm smile and gently closed the door behind me. If I thought the outside of the home was impressive, the inside was absolutely breathtaking. Deep cherry hardwood spanned the length of the floor, crawled up the length of the banister, and accentuated every piece of wooden furniture. In contrast to the dark flooring, the décor was done up in cheery shades of cream and red, with green plants peeking out from every corner and crevice. I was afraid to touch anything, much less sit down, for fear I might leave a fingerprint.

A series of photographs decorated the mantel above the hearth, some black and white, some colored, all of Bodie and a girl who I assumed was Bodie’s deceased sister, Haley. Petite, with long dark hair like Bodie and his mother’s, she’d been blessed with a set of high cheekbones, a heart shaped mouth, and eyes the size of Texas. Good looks obviously ran in the family, and Haley had been nothing short of stunning.

“I’m Bodie’s mother, Sarah. It’s so nice to meet you. Bodie’s had nothing but good things to say about you.”

Her statement caught me totally off guard, and I tore my eyes from the line of family photos. He had? Been talking about me, I mean? I’d done nothing but talk about Bodie since our amazing night last night, but I was shocked to hear he’d mentioned me at all. Up until our time at the dance, I’d been positive he hated me. And really, did guys talk about girls the way girls talked about guys? Unless the conversations revolved around sex, I didn’t think so. Bodie was continually surprising me. Maybe my initial reaction about him had been right. Maybe he did have feelings for me. Time would tell.

I cast her an embarrassed smile and managed to squeak out a weak sounding, “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“Please forgive me for not being able to chat with you longer, sweetie. I’m in the middle of baking some goodies for a charity event. Go ahead and set your bag down, and follow me into the kitchen. I’ll give you a glass of lemonade you can take outside to Bodie. He’s almost done with his lesson.” She turned on her heel then, and scurried toward a large archway at the back of the room.

Feeling more than a little awkward, but unwilling to stand in the entryway like a bumbling idiot, I stashed my bag near a fancy looking coat rack, and quietly followed Sarah.

Her kitchen was almost the size of Aunt Trish’s entire house. The cupboards and décor matched the rest of the house, but what drew my attention was the massive refrigerator that sank into the wall and the enormous Wolfe range. Copper pots and pans hung from a large rack over a center island, complete with a sink and a built in drink cooler.

Swanky.
The word kept repeating itself in my head, over and over again. I was so out of my element.

The counters were covered with racks of cooling cookies of all different kinds. Chocolate chip, sugar, oatmeal raisin. I looked around, half expecting to see a team of pastry chefs running around at high speed, what with the massive amount of treats lining the counter, and was surprised to see only Sarah. Mama had risen early that morning in order to pump out the explosion of sugary goodness lining the countertops.

“Please excuse the mess. I know it looks like a bomb went off in here,” she called out over her shoulder as she rifled through a cupboard. She pulled out two glasses and breezed over to the refrigerator, quickly pouring two glasses of lemonade.

With a wink and a smile, she rounded the center island and handed me the ice-filled refreshments. “Here you go, sweetie. Bodie will be thirsty after standing in the sun for two hours, and I’m sure you must be parched after the long drive out here.” She ushered me to the giant sliding glass door at the back of the room. “Bodie’s working in the outdoor arena today. He should be finishing up in the next five minutes or so. If you follow the path just off the deck, you’ll see the covered arena to your left and the open outdoor arena to the right. You’ll have no trouble spotting him.”

Arena?
I didn’t share her enthusiasm regarding my ability to locate her son. My internal GPS was faulty on a good day, and when faced with a serious case of nerves and a strange new environment, it tended to conk out altogether. Too bad she didn’t have a color-coded map like the one Livvie had given me on my first day of school.

The deck was large and covered in plants, a large pergola shading the area from the blistering sun. Two sets of steps, one on the right, one on the left, led to different areas of the enormous backyard. To the left lay a small walkway that led to what looked like a lush grotto. Gigantic rocks surrounded a gorgeous swimming pool, a trickling waterfall cascading down on the far side from between the rocks.

To the right of the deck lay another pathway that split in two directions. The path forward ran into a private tennis court. To the right, the path led out to the stables, barn, and arenas. I veered right.

While Bodie’s house had been relatively quiet and peaceful, the stable area was anything but. People bustled and milled around, all moving quickly and with purpose. Wranglers and boots seemed to be the choice fashion around these parts, and I was again thankful Livvie had insisted I wear jeans and sneakers. The grounds were immaculate and well taken care of, but there was no pavement, which meant the dirt beneath my shoes would eventually coat everything. Especially if the wind picked up.

A few older-looking cowboy types nodded and tipped their hats toward me as I made my way to the outdoor arena, and I couldn’t help feeling as though I’d slipped back in time to a place where manners were everything and men treated their women-folk with respect. I’d never been around a real cowboy before, and was surprised to find I had an instant liking for them. A hard workin’ man in jeans and boots was damn hot.

Hands a tad achy from the super-chilled lemonade I carried, I moseyed over to the metal railing circling the outdoor arena and let my gaze wander over a small group of kids on horseback, each accompanied by an adult on foot. The children were ending some type of lesson, and upon further inspection I noticed that each of the kids had a disability.

I spotted Bodie at the far end of the arena, walking beside a little girl with Down Syndrome. He smiled and chatted with the little girl, and waved at me when he happened to look my way.

My chest squeezed, full of emotion, and I raised a glass in return. I shook my head, once again shocked into silence by my handsome new friend. Never in a million years did I picture Bodie Scott teaching children—much less children with disabilities—to ride. It proved how little I really knew about him. A problem I planned on remedying as quickly as possible.

I rounded the arena and made my way over to the stables where Bodie and the rest of the class had exited. Bodie was helping the little girl off of her horse as I approached.

“Good job today, Gracie. Give me some knuckles.” He held up his fist, and the little blond girl promptly jabbed her knuckles against his and giggled.

“I love Bullet.” She pointed to the horse she’d just dismounted. One of the stable hands was leading him away, much to the little girl’s dismay. “I want to play with him some more, Bodie. Can he come home with me?”

I smiled, overcome with how precious and downright adorable Gracie was. Her blue eyes shone with complete adoration for both Bodie and the large bay horse. Her blond hair was pulled back in a short ponytail that peeked out from beneath the baby pink safety helmet she wore.

“Aww, Bullet loves you too, Gracie, but he’s a little tired and a whole lot hungry right now. How about we feed him and let him rest, and you come back and play with him next week?”

Gracie gave Bodie a big nod, then leapt into his arms, treating him to a fierce hug. His eyes met mine for a brief second; his smile filled with warmth and tenderness for the little girl as he lifted her off her feet and squeezed her back.

“Okay, then,” he said, handing the still smiling Gracie over to her waiting mother. “See you next time, princess. Don’t forget to bring a carrot. Bullet loves ‘em.”

Gracie’s eyes grew large, and she nodded her head in excitement as her mom pulled her toward the exit.

“Here,” I said, handing Bodie a glass of lemonade. “Your mom thought you might be thirsty.” A thin sheen of sweat covered his sun-kissed face, and he downed the glass in one large gulp.

“My mom was right,” he said with a low chuckle. He wiped his forehead with the hem of his standard black tee, revealing a swath of smooth skin over hard, chiseled abs. His jeans rode low on his hips, the prominent “V” you see on bodybuilders and super muscular guys carving a path from his waist down to his…

“Nev?”

“Huh?” The lusty trance I’d been floating in broke, and I stared at Bodie, horror stricken, while he eyed me with amusement.

He swiped a thumb across his mouth and shook his head as he smiled. “I asked if you’d like me to show you around. But, uh, you seemed a bit preoccupied.” He raised a playful brow and stared down at me with a devilish smirk.

Eager to escape the embarrassing awkwardness of the situation, I gave him an enthusiastic nod, lifted my glass and said, “Lead the way.”

We wandered over to the covered arena, where an older woman dressed in Wranglers and a fierce looking cowboy hat was holding a private riding lesson with a tween girl who was also dressed in a hat and boots. The large gray and white mare the girl sat atop circled the instructor in a slow cantor.

I raised a brow and glanced over my shoulder at Bodie. “Where’s your hat?” He was the only person, besides me, without one.

He grinned and slapped a hand against the metal railing circling the large training pen. “It’s inside. I can’t wear it when I’m working with Gracie. She gets too preoccupied with it and doesn’t pay attention to the lesson.”

“I see,” I said as I followed him over to the stables. The scent of dirt, hay, and manure filled the area, and I must have been making a face, because Bodie chuckled at me.

“You get used to the smell. I don’t even notice it anymore.”

The stables were huge and housed what looked to be at least twenty horses, some chestnut, some bay, and a particularly stunning black stallion at the far end.

He excused himself for a moment and jogged over to an older man who stood outside one of the horse stalls, feeding a large brown mare something from his hand. The two carried on a brief conversation, and Bodie quickly returned, holding two large carrots.

“Have you ever ridden before?”

I shook my head as we made our way toward the beautiful black horse at the end of the row.

“Have you been around horses at all?”

Again, I shook my head. My pulse kicked up a notch, fearful of where the conversation was headed. I’d never been within ten feet of a horse, much less ridden on the back of one. Furthermore, while I found them majestic and beautiful from afar, up close they were large and terrifying. I prayed to God he wasn’t planning on putting me up on one of them. I tended to make a fool of myself doing normal, everyday things. Put me on the back of a two thousand pound animal, and I was bound to make an ass of myself somehow.

Sensing our approach, the enormous black horse moved to the front of his stall and stuck his head over the enclosure.

Bodie reached up, completely at ease with the hulking animal, and ran his hand down the side of its face. “That’s my good boy.” He continued to pet the horse for several moments, speaking to it like it was his best friend. “Nev. I’d like you to meet Zephyr.”

I stood, frozen in place, and waved at the horse like an idiot. There was no way I was moving closer. I felt plenty safe and comfortable right where I was, thank you very much.

Bodie rolled his eyes at me. “Seriously, Nev? I’ve heard talk about you. I know you’re a gymnast. You propel your body into the air at mock speed and do all kinds of crazy tricks. That shit is way scarier than this horse. Now get your ass over here.” He grabbed me by the wrist and gave a gentle tug. A satisfied grin drew up the corner of his mouth when I stood alongside him, face mere inches from Zephyr’s. He took the glass I’d been carrying around and set it on a nearby shelf along with the empty one he’d set down earlier.

My heart hammered inside my chest, and my mouth felt like it was full of cotton. Sensing my unease, Bodie laced our fingers together, eyes never leaving mine. “Do you trust me?”

I swallowed hard and gave him a small nod, wary of the large horse, but certain he would never let anything bad happen to me.

Fingers entwined, he raised our hands and gently placed them atop Zephyr’s head between his ears.

“Oh,” I said with a surprised gasp and smiled. “He’s so soft and smooth.” The breath I’d been holding came out in a gentle whoosh, and the tension in my body eased at once.

The horse lowered its head and brushed against our hands as if to say, “Keep it up, buddy. Who said you could stop?” I giggled as Bodie trailed our hands alongside the horse’s face.

Bodie released my hand and dug the carrots out of his back pocket, snapping the orange vegetables into several small pieces. “You want to feed him?”

Before I realized what I was doing, I nodded yes and held out my hand, eagerly accepting several large chunks of carrot.

“Hold your hand up, palm flat, like this,” he said, demonstrating for me. Zephyr snatched up the crisp veggies greedily and gave a small snort indicating he was ready for more. “Okay. Now it’s your turn,” Bodie said with a smile.