One to Love Read online

  She shrugged. “Most guys think they can change me. They agree to the terms and then turn into bullies.”

  Jesse heard the still-fresh anger and weary disappointment. “Some women think they can change the man after the seduction is over. It turns into a project like spring cleaning.”

  She sucked her teeth and glared at him.

  He teased, “You didn’t want to hear the other side of the same issue?”

  “Not really. And I doubt any girlfriends changed a hair on your head.”

  “I’m stubborn like that.” Jesse could now admit that none of the women had stood a chance against his soccer career. They’d lost the battle before it had really begun.

  “You sound proud of that trait.”

  “And you’re proud of your independence.” He stated the obvious and admired her for it.

  “Yeah, very much so.”

  “Looks like we found one thing that we can agree on.”

  “Hmm.” The corner of her mouth tilted upward.

  “A first step,” Jesse declared. He liked the direction where they were headed. Settling deeper into the seat, he relaxed considerably. “Music?” His hand hovered over the radio dial.

  She nodded.

  He pushed in the power-on button, wondering what stations were on her top list. A soft jazz played before a singer’s soulful voice pushed away the tension. Not an expert on the top jazz singers, he didn’t have a clue who sang, but enjoyed it nevertheless. While Belinda continued with the quiet spell, Jesse sat back, tapping his fingers to the snappy beats, while looking out the rain-splattered window. When it was quiet like this, there was nothing to distract him from the soft scent of her perfume. It was a subtle mix that seductively issued an invitation for him to investigate the landing spots where the fragrance connected to her skin.

  A glance to his left revealed her chewing on her bottom lip. At least he wasn’t the only one suffering a case of the jitters. The constant movement of her mouth looked in need of a sedating touch along the pillowy curved bow. His hand twitched for the volunteer duty. And that’s what friends, intimate ones, who could read each other’s signals, would do. But that wasn’t the case here. The fact did disappoint. He doubted they would ever hit that upward slope to friendship, much less anything further.

  The rain finally eased to a soft mist. After their hour-and-a-half trek from city life and outlet malls, they had a long stretch of road to seemingly nowhere in front of them. A few horse and rider caution signs lined the road. Jesse heard the signal click on. Apparently they were turning right. A large brown sign came into view but too quickly for him to read. From the smooth asphalt, they turned onto a rocky dirt road that jostled them within an inch of their lives in the SUV.

  “Is this still the surprise? Or did you change your mind about kidnapping me?” Jesse had had enough of the ride-along.

  “We’re here.”

  Immediately after Belinda’s announcement, the narrow drive lined with large trees opened up to acres of cleared land.

  Jesse looked at the oversize archway with designs of galloping horses over an official entrance. Each bounce of the car had him gripping the door handle. He actually looked forward to getting out and placing his feet on unmoving ground. Compared to Belinda’s driving, his style would be a senior citizen on a Sunday drive. His teeth clicked together on the final bounce, as she stopped and put the car in Park.

  “This is Sunny Dale Riding Club.”

  Jesse peered out the window and swept his gaze over the width of the perimeter. A large stable with an enclosed riding ring took up most of the front area. Small buildings and a barn were on the far left. No one was in sight. In the distance, to the right, was a country home with its white picket fence. He noticed cars parked in front of the property. Still, all was quiet. Too quiet.

  “It’s an assisted riding program for children with special needs.” Belinda opened the door and hopped out.

  Jesse remained in place. Not only was he stiff from the long ride, but he was cautious about why they were at this place. Why did he need to be here?

  She faced him with her hands on her hips. He read her lips and got out of the SUV. Once again, she seemed to be laughing at him. He had to laugh at his own reluctance before he hopped out.

  “You know, if I didn’t see any signs of life, I would have done a dive roll.”

  “Are you always this suspicious?”

  “When a beautiful woman tells me to jump in her car and takes off for parts unknown...yeah, I’m suspicious.” He joined her. “For the record, I don’t like surprises,” he warned. Especially when the blindsiding promised to be an experience that poked at his heart and wound itself around his emotions.

  “Shh. Soak it in.”

  Jesse’s eyebrow popped up. What nirvana experience was she having? He wasn’t going to close his eyes. And he wasn’t going to lean back, close his eyes and inhale. While his nervousness held him back, it allowed him to openly observe Belinda for a few seconds. With her arms flung open as if she was on a mountaintop ready to belt out songs in a movie musical, her breasts were thrust up like delicious treats on a platter. Thinking that he’d have to snap his fingers in Belinda’s face to bring her back to earth, Jesse was glad to see the place suddenly come to life. The sudden appearance of people from various buildings felt like the beginning of a scaled-down flash mob. Maybe the change in the weather returned them to their activities. He took the opportunity to turn away and walked off the hard bulge that was damned inappropriate.

  “Hey, wait up.” This time, it was Belinda hurrying to catch up with him.

  “Figured I’d leave you to commune with nature.”

  “You should really take time to pause and enjoy life,” she admonished.

  “I’m definitely pausing. Not sure about the enjoyment part.”

  “Well, let’s see what we can do about that.” She slipped her arm through his and he almost tripped over a rock.

  “Let’s not,” he muttered, struggling against the desire to cover her hand, resting at the crook of his elbow, with his hand. This stroll was definitely not casual. His throat suddenly felt parched because the rest of his body had suddenly heated.

  Clueless to what she was doing to him, Belinda pointed out, “The ones in the green shirts and khaki pants are the employees.”

  The uniformed workers emerged from the buildings, chatting and goofing around. A handler holding the reins led a horse with its rider, who looked no more than ten years old, from the stable. The slow walk brought the trio closer to where Belinda and Jesse had paused to let them pass.

  “That horse is huge. Should that child be on there?” Jesse blurted. His last recollection of being this close to a horse was at a carnival for the pony rides. He’d gotten close and decided that it wasn’t worth it. The horse had snorted at him and shifted its weight. One look at the hooves and he’d doubled down on his decision.

  “The horse is trained for this. Although the child might be nervous, they are introduced to each other gradually.”

  The handler kept a close eye on the child. And so did Jesse. He didn’t consider himself hero material, but he’d be willing to make a save if necessary.

  On his face, the young boy wore a mix of nervousness and occasional bursts of sheer joy that erupted into hearty giggles. His attention stayed glued on the back of the horse with quick shifts of his eyes to the handler when she softly instructed him. They entered the riding ring.

  Only then did he and Belinda move toward the fence to continue watching. Belinda no longer held his arm. She was enraptured with the trio’s measured progress around the ring. “See how the counselor communicates with the horse and the child.”

  Jesse nodded. It was amazing how gently the horse walked, as if aware how important it was for its rider to be confident.

  “Patience
and reinforcement are needed.”

  When the handler raised her hand for a high five, Jesse wanted in on the celebration. The boy looked over at them. Jesse offered a thumbs-up. The boy grinned, answering with his own thumbs-up.

  “That’s nice of you,” Belinda remarked.

  “He did a good job, that’s all.” Jesse had to admit that this child and his progress had snagged his attention. He cared. That didn’t bother him, except the swiftness to that destination point.

  “There’s another riding ring on the farther side. Let’s go take a look.”

  Jesse didn’t resist. He wanted to see more of the program. Nothing around here was from his world—horses, the rural outdoors and more horses. Here, hope was the powerful motivator. He imagined every visit and hour these children spent on conditioning or strengthening therapy with the horses was a step on a long emotional journey.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m impressed.”

  “The first time that I saw the program, I was moved, too.” She paused. “I’m always amazed.”

  Jesse heard the hitch in her voice. “I had no idea of places like this. I guess I never had to know.”

  “Yes, usually something personal or tragic makes us aware.”

  Jesse understood that more than ever. Diego’s accusation had burrowed deep in his conscience. Only his injury had brought him home. The experience also opened his eyes to what he’d missed while being away, but also the pain he’d caused because of his decisions. Everyone needed a haven for their souls to heal.

  He took a step back, unused to the trickle of questioning emotions that threatened to grow into a swell. Uncomfortable with the depth of his feelings, he blew out an exasperated breath.

  “Why are we here? I get whatever point you’re trying to make.”

  “Bear with me. I’m not playing games, not playing with emotions.”

  “You’re about to teach me a lesson,” Jesse summarized. No matter how attractive and fierce Belinda Toussaint was, this mind game was screwing with him. And he didn’t like it one bit.

  “Life is one big classroom,” she remarked.

  “Now she’s quoting like a guru.” He accepted the hard nudge to his arm.

  “Good afternoon, welcome to Sunny Dale,” a woman greeted. Wide, friendly smiles welcomed them as they approached. She was one half of a middle-aged couple who’d come out from a nearby building. They were not in the green-and-khaki uniform worn by the employees. Instead, they were dressed casually, but their combined demeanor said they were in charge.

  “Hi.” Jesse responded first, since the woman focused on him.

  He noticed that the couple had their arms securely around each other’s waist.

  “Isabella. Dimitri. Good to see you again.” Belinda stepped in with her greeting.

  “Belinda, my dear,” Isabella responded.

  Jesse watched the dramatic hug and kiss on each cheek. His shoulder tensed when Dimitri added an extra kiss and then slid his hands up and down Belinda’s arms. The three were definitely friends. And their quick catch-up on each other’s health and well-being left him as the odd one out.

  “This is Jesse Santiago,” Belinda introduced him. “I wanted him to see firsthand what a therapeutic riding program looked like. Converting the masses, one person at a time.”

  He nodded, not sure why he had to meet these people. No conversion was necessary. He didn’t have to be swayed to do the job.

  “I was worried about the rainstorm, that you wouldn’t have been able to walk the grounds and get a full experience of the place.” Isabella motioned for them to follow her to the stable. “You also came at a good time because we have two teens in the middle of their sessions.”

  “Jesse and I were admiring the two kids in the riding ring.”

  Belinda made it sound like they were a couple. Of course, it could be that he wanted them to be a couple. If that was the case in his fantasy, he wouldn’t pick this place as the first date. He’d want to spend the time in a cozy setting, staring into her eyes, sharing only the best parts of himself.

  From behind, Dimitri leaned in between Jesse’s and Belinda’s faces. “Doing this will change your lives. It does help to have each other because it will be a lot of work. We were worried when it seemed like this was a project that you were going to do on your own.”

  Jesse didn’t want to be the one to pop the balloon that he wasn’t with Belinda. And he had no idea what they were all talking about.

  “It’s still just me,” Belinda clarified. “These are my mentors,” she explained to Jesse.

  “Oh.” Isabella’s look accused him of falling short.

  “Can you give us a minute?” Belinda raised a finger in the air. Silence descended.

  The couple moved off to tend to one of their horses.

  Jesse couldn’t take it any longer. “What’s going on? I feel as though I’m on a field trip...involuntarily. Not that your company is unpleasant.” He exhaled. “But all of this feels a bit over the top.” He looked over his shoulder at Isabella and Dimitri. “And they feel like time-share salespeople.” He folded his arms and stared off at the corner of the room.

  “Shh. They are kindhearted. Flamboyant, maybe.” She stepped into his line of vision. “They’ve helped me every step of the way, once that initial spark of the idea formed. When Tawny said that you were in the office, I had no plans other than to meet you and talk.” She mirrored his folded arms stance. “Then I had a change of heart. I figured you’d be game, long enough for me to bring you here.” She relaxed her arms. “I wanted to show you a thriving horse-assisted therapy program because this is what I want to re-create on a smaller scale. Baby steps, you know. You see, I don’t think that you understood what I was doing. What I’m trying to create.”

  “Why does that matter? Why do I have to understand? I agree that it’s noble—you’ll get no argument from me.” Jesse didn’t share that his father had given him no real insight on what Belinda wanted to accomplish. When he arrived on site, he’d expected reports about damage on the roof, maybe a wall that had rotted and needed fresh planks. Nothing close to what he was seeing here. “Why would you want to do this?”

  “Still judging me?”

  He shook his head, then slowly nodded. “Yeah, I guess I am. You’ve got Meadows Media as a primary career choice... Sorry.” His hand grazed her cheek to accompany the apology.

  But Belinda shrugged away from his apology and touch. Her mouth tightened into a straight line full of disapproval. Her shoulders were squared, rigid ready for a fight; her dark brown eyes were squinted tightly, their laser-like precision targeting him.

  “Maritza Carnegie is why I’m doing this. She is a dear friend whose injuries required additional care after the surgeries. What she endured inspired me to become a physical therapist. Then I read about the increased research on, and documented benefits of, equine therapy. So I decided to continue with this avenue of rehabilitation. In a nutshell, that’s why I’m doing this.”

  Once again, he’d pissed her off. Yet all he wanted to do was to kiss those full soft lips until he melted away her anger.

  “Dimitri, Isabella, we’re ready.” Belinda’s upbeat voice didn’t match her cold regard for him.

  He stepped aside as she joined the weirdly happy couple. They certainly lucked out with Belinda’s breezy smile and warmhearted small talk. On the other hand, his attempts to be friendly kept getting him stuck in solitary confinement. Damn it. He never had a problem casting his own spell on women, showing them a good time, having himself a good time. Why couldn’t it be easy with this woman? Why was she different?

  “I know that I can sound like a jackass,” he leaned in and whispered.

  Her head turn practically snapped at his comment. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. He considered that a b
lessing since she wasn’t going to be complimenting him. Her obvious shock distracted her enough for her to stumble. He reached out to steady her. His hand lingered longer than necessary on her hip. He wanted to pull her back toward him. Wanted to press his pelvis against her backside. Instead, he slowly dropped his hand and let his heart pound out the adrenaline rush.

  He continued whispering in her ear as they walked behind the couple who were explaining every detail and nook of the stable. “I wasn’t knocking the project. Just trying to understand why.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “The whys always matter. Disclosure is like opening a window to the soul.” Jesse let her be and stepped up toward Dimitri and Isabella to listen to their presentation. He glanced at her. She watched him with a guarded look. Maybe Belinda had her private reasons and ambitions.

  “Through this door, we will head into the stables. Here are our horses. We have eight, but only four are used with clients.” Isabella stepped aside, while Dimitri held open the door for their entrance.

  “The other horses?” Jesse entered the stable with the group. Yep, the horse smell that he’d complained about hit his nostrils. No one else seemed to mind.

  “The other horses are used for grooming and tending exercises. Not every client can physically ride. Some may be too afraid to deal with these beautiful creatures.” Isabella stroked the nose of a horse that poked its head out for attention.

  “Are the horses trained here?” Jesse continued walking through the stable. His expertise on horses stalled at zero.

  The horses were indeed beautiful creatures with coats that shone under the natural light. As the four of them walked between the stalls, the horses dropped their heads and then flipped their noses up. Isabella made kissing sounds which excited them and resulted in more head tosses. As she talked and stroked their jaws, the horses responded with definite interest.

  Dimitri opened one of the stalls and walked in to where a large, jet-black horse overwhelmed the space. The horse curled its upper lip.

  “Not to worry,” Dimitri remarked. “Thunder is happy to see us.”