Beyond Chance (22 page)

“You doing okay over there, cowboy?” I
asked, grinning.

Aaron smiled and cracked his knuckles.
“Never been better. Thanks for checking.”

We led our horses out of the stable and
Geoff followed behind with his. My pulse quickened at the thought
of getting to ride Sasha this afternoon. It had been so long and I
was really looking forward to it.

Aaron handed Geoff the reins and jogged over
to where he’d left the food. He looked so excited about the day
he’d planned, it melted my heart. Aaron brought over the sack and
Geoff helped him secure it to Bruno’s saddle.

Bruno got a little restless and Aaron’s lips
pressed together and his face paled slightly. I could see his
anxiety level raise, and it was hard to suppress my laughter. Come
to find out my big, tough boyfriend was afraid of horses.

“I thought you said you’ve ridden before?” I
asked, smiling.

“Many times,” Aaron said.

“Could have fooled me,” I teased, checking
to make sure the cinch was snug and the buckles tightened. I
grabbed the reins with my left hand and lifted my leg, sinking the
toe of my shoe into the stirrup as I grabbed the cantle with my
right hand and swung my leg up and over the horse. I sat snuggly on
my horse and watched over Aaron as Geoff helped him into the
saddle. Geoff was holding the horse’s reins tightly while Aaron got
situated on Bruno. I watched Aaron slide himself in the saddle,
trying to get comfortable, and I chuckled slightly.

Geoff glanced at me and winked before giving
Aaron some last minute instructions. He handed over the reins and
nodded, asking if Aaron had any questions.

Aaron caught me watching him and grinned.
“It’s been a while.”

“I didn’t say a word.” I smiled.

Geoff mounted his horse quickly, and we
began following him away from the stable.

We couldn’t have asked for a better day to
ride. The temperature hovered around seventy degrees and there was
a slight breeze. Following behind Geoff, we rode through the
property, discovering a tiny but fertile vineyard and ruins, which
Geoff explained was once a small monastery.

As we rode deeper onto the property, the
surroundings became even more magical. The property was walled in
stone, but it stretched as far as the eye could see. Geoff steered
us to a clearing and stopped.

“I thought this might be a nice area for
your meal. It seems like you two are doing just fine on your own.”
Geoff glanced at Aaron for confirmation.

“I think we’ve got it,” Aaron replied,
glancing over at me and I nodded.

“You should be able to find your way back to
the stables. If all else fails, follow the stone wall and you’ll
eventually find where you need to be,” Geoff said. “There are tie
posts throughout the property if you want to take breaks.” He
pointed at a few behind us.

“Merci,” I said, unable to believe we’d
already been riding for over an hour.

Geoff gave a quick wave as his horse trotted
away, leaving Aaron and I alone. I dismounted and led Sasha to one
of the tie posts and tied her up. Aaron was having a bit of
difficulty turning Bruno around so I walked over and led Bruno to
one of the vacant posts.

“You got this?” I asked Aaron.

He nodded and began dismounting, but Bruno
was getting agitated and began the dance.

“Are you digging your toe into him?” I
asked, trying to calm Bruno.

Aaron repositioned and tried again, this
time dismounting perfectly if you counted tumbling backward as a
perfect dismount.

I couldn’t help but grin as I tied up Bruno
and rubbed his neck. I spun around to see Aaron watching me.

“You’re really in your element.”

“Who knew?” I laughed.

“How are you feeling? We can always head
back if you’re sore.”

I shook my head and laughed. “Surprisingly,
I’m not feeling it at all. I thought my muscles might revolt, but
everything feels really good. I think all the PT has helped
strengthen muscles I never thought about.”

“That’s good.” Aaron walked over and stood
next to me. He reached his hands into the sack that had been
strapped to Bruno.

“How about you. Are you getting sore?”

Aaron shook his head.

“You wouldn’t tell me if you were, would
you?” I narrowed my eyes and he laughed.

“We’ve only been riding for an hour. It’s
not like I’m an old man,” he teased as I grabbed the blanket that
was rolled behind the saddle.

I found a nice place to lay the blanket down
and spread our lunch out. I felt like we were worlds away from
civilization as I looked around the picturesque countryside.

“This is absolutely beautiful,” I whispered,
taking a seat on the blanket. “Thank you for planning this.”

Aaron sat next to me and stretched out his
legs. “I thought it would be a nice change.”

“It’s perfect.”

Aaron slid off his helmet and I did the
same, trying to fluff my hair. We sat in a silence for a few
minutes while we unpackaged the food. The silence was soothing with
only the horses making an occasional sound. I took a piece of bread
and placed some meat and cheese on top and leaned back on one arm.
Feeling the rays from the sun splash on my skin reenergized me.

“This is delicious,” I said, taking another
bite.

“I swear it wouldn’t taste like this in
Washington,” Aaron replied.

“Weird how that works. So how is everything
coming along?” I asked.

“Just as I thought it would. I’m still
debating about pulling out though.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t do that.
Tracy’s shenanigans are ridiculous, and I think that would feed
into whatever weird game she’s into. The best revenge is having a
successful show and us living happily ever after.”

Aaron grinned and his gaze intensified
sending a flutter of anticipation through me. “I think I can handle
that.”

Before I even had a chance to feign
objection, Aaron rolled me onto my back and began dusting kisses
along my neck. A shiver ran through me as I felt his body press
against mine, and his gaze darkened with longing as he brought his
lips to mine.

And that’s when I realized I’d been
mistaking the look in Aaron’s eyes ever since I met him. It hadn’t
been complete arrogance that rested behind his gaze. He’d spent his
entire adulthood safeguarding himself from others. He was guarded,
and I’d finally started to break through.

Between the bucolic farmland and rustic
vineyard, the ride had felt like we were in a fantastical
wonderland. When we returned back to the house, I didn’t even think
about the trial. We’d had a wonderful dinner and night to
ourselves, and there wasn’t one moment that my mind wandered to the
mess back home. It wasn’t until this morning when I was awoken by
another nightmare. This time Derek had arrived at our house after
being found not guilty. I turned around to flee back inside but had
nowhere to run. His followers were inside my house waiting.

I must have said something in my sleep
because Aaron had woken me up and held me tightly until I calmed
down. I’d fallen back asleep in his arms, but when I woke up the
second time, he wasn’t in bed.

As I took in a deep breath I understood why
he wasn’t next to me. He was downstairs cooking breakfast. I
stretched under the covers once more and then climbed out of bed. I
walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, not wanting to scare
him away. I thought about brushing my hair and decided against it.
That was far too painful of a proposition before conditioner had a
chance to work its magic.

I debated about bringing my phone down to
have Aaron hook it up to the wireless and decided to take it with
me. I couldn’t hide from the trial forever. I let out a sigh and
reached for the phone. It dropped from my hands and landed on the
floor with a horrible thud. I picked it up and flipped it over to
see a cracked screen.

“Shoot.”

I twisted my lips in frustration and slipped
on a robe, tucking the broken phone in my pocket. Maybe it was a
sign. My stomach knotted at the thought of what my own destiny
might be trying to hide from me. I padded down the stairs slowly to
the smell of ham and eggs. The kitchen looked like an explosion
went off and I chuckled at the scene. There was a bowl with batter
dripping from the sides, a plate with a stack of burned toast,
steam arising from eggs on the stove, and ham sizzling on a burner.
It was quite the triumph.

“You always outdo yourself,” I whispered. “I
feel like the luckiest girlfriend in the world.”

Aaron laughed. “Well, I have a lot of making
up to do.”

“No, you don’t.”

His brow arched and he smiled.

“Maybe just a little.”

He laughed, bringing me closer into him, and
I rested my forehead against his chest as my fingers trailed down
his arms. He’d somehow managed to sneak in a shower between waking
up and making breakfast. He smelled of citrus soap and it made me
want to stay nestled in his arms.

“I’m just a nosey person, which seems to
translate into a nosey girlfriend.”

I felt Aaron’s body shudder as he chuckled.
“Not nosey, Brandy. You deserve to know everything about the man
you love. And you said it yesterday… to live happily ever after is
the best revenge.”

I took a step back and grinned. “Well, you
know me. I always like to set goals.”

“You look so damn sexy in that robe with
your hair all messed up,” Aaron nearly growled.

I laughed and narrowed my eyes at him.
“You’re scoring points left and right.”

He stirred the scrambled eggs a couple more
times and turned off the burners. “Wanna grab a couple of
plates?”

“Your wish is my command.” I grinned.

“Can I count on that always?” He wiggled his
brows and I groaned.

“I’m not that gullible.”

I handed him the plates, and he scooped some
eggs and sprinkled them on my plate, followed by a slab of ham. He
opened an oven and pulled out a plate of pancakes or crepes. I
wasn’t sure which they were, but they looked wonderful
regardless.

He slid two on my plate and handed it to me.
“There’s toast on the counter, but it might have seen better
days.”

“Looks and smells delicious.” I walked over
to the plate of toast and grabbed the top piece as Aaron filled his
plate up with eggs and ham. I poured some syrup on my pancake
crepes and walked into the dining room, feeling absolutely
spectacular. France and I really were becoming friends. I set my
plate on the table and took a seat.

Watching Aaron walk into the room made my
insides warm. There was something so sweet about him. I doubted
many saw it, but I was glad I did.

And then I noticed him try to sit and
giggled.

He took a seat, rather stiffly, and glanced
over at me. “What?”

“You’re just too cute.”

He rolled his eyes and took a bite of toast.
“Might want to skip the toast.” He reached for some water to
swallow down the burned bread.

I laughed and took a bite of the ham.
“Delicious. So how did Bruno treat you yesterday?”

“Doing fine. Great horse.” He quirked a brow
and, unwilling to concede, flashed a brilliant smile.

“You’re not sore at all?” I asked, taking
another bite of ham.

He shook his head. “Not sore at all.”

“Liar.”

“I’d tell you.”

“Sure you would.” I dropped my napkin on the
floor and glanced at him. “Do you mind picking that up for me.”

Aaron drew in a deep breath and reached
over, letting out a little groan as he snatched it from the floor
and handed it to me.

“Guess I was wrong.” I smiled and he
grinned, shaking his head. “You must not be sore at all.”

“You play so dirty.”

“Not me.” I grinned as we quietly ate and
enjoyed our breakfast together, and I thought about the coming
days. I really should see what was going on with the trial. There
was no such thing as a sealed deal when it came to the legal
system. No matter what I did or didn’t see, I promised myself not
to get my hopes up. One step at a time... Aaron’s voice broke me
out of my daze and I glanced at him.

“I really wish there was something I could
do to Derek to make it all end.”

My eyes locked on Aaron’s and I nodded.
“It’s hard to believe when there’s this much evidence against him a
conviction isn’t a sure thing.”

“Attempted murder is murder, if you ask me.
Just because he did a lousy job or made a mistake doesn’t mean the
guy isn’t a murderer.”

I let out a sigh and understood where Aaron
was coming from. It was frustrating. Someone wanted me dead, tried
to kill me, and yet there was a possibility that he could walk away
with not even a slap on his wrist.

“All I can do is hope that justice will be
served.” I pressed my lips together and thought about what that
actually meant. Was justice possible? I’d always be left with
reminders of that horrible day.