Page 20 of Falling for Forever

“What?” Jason asked.

“Nothing.” He stood up. He had a date to plan.

CHAPTER TEN

Lydia hopped out of her truck, her mood ten times better than it had been. She’d gotten to a good place where it came to Chet. It had taken a while to get her perspective on course.

Yeah, okay, she’d probably slip up occasionally, but for now, she was ready to start out fresh again.

She grabbed her hat from the passenger seat and shut the door. Then she strode toward the barn. Chet and Jason weren’t anywhere in sight. That was fine. She was early. There was a lot of work they could do with Misty today, and after, she was thinking it might be fun to head out to Sweet Everything Bakery. She’d had a craving for those famous Black Forest brownies lately.

Maybe Chet would even come with her before he started working with another horse. That thought brought another giddy smile to her face. Today was going to be a good day. She was sure of it.

Inside the barn, several horses poked their heads out from their stalls at the sound of her approach. She made a beeline straight for Lola. Someone had moved her to be right next to Misty.

Ever the social butterfly, Lola was already waiting for her. She nudged Lydia’s shoulder then sniffed at her clothing. Lydia laughed. “Sorry, sweetie. I don’t have any treats for you today.” She rubbed along Lola’s nose and then glanced over to where Misty hovered right inside her own stall.

Her nostrils flared, but she didn’t make any move to come closer.

Lydia continued to coo to Lola. “It’s been a while since you’ve had a show. I wonder when Chet’s gonna get you signed up again.”

“She doesn’t have a rider at the moment.”

Lydia gasped and whirled around at Chet’s question.

He wore a deep blue T-shirt, faded Wranglers, and his usual boots. His eyes were shadowed beneath his hat, and the curve of his lips gave her heart a jolt. It was too easy to let her gaze trail over him and linger where she had no right to.

Chet moved closer and reached out to Lola. “If you decide to work with the kids, I’d happily send her out to the property for lessons. Seeing as she’s already trained, it might be easier to start with.”

“You’re not wrong.” Lydia nuzzled Lola, burying her face in the horse’s neck. When she turned so her eyes could meet Chet’s she smiled. His features were tight. His eyes, the line of his mouth, even the muscles in his jaw. He was bothered, and alarm bells rang in her ears.

After getting to such a good place personally, she wasn’t prepared to find him on edge. What happened to that smile from moments ago? “What’s wrong?”

He rocked from one foot to the other. Then he took off his hat and shoved his free hand into his hair. “I don’t know how to go about this.”

That didn’t sound good. So many scenarios ran through her head. There was no telling what he was about to say. Maybe he’d started dating someone, and his girlfriend wasn’t comfortable with how much time they spent together. Maybe he’d caught on that her affection toward him had changed, and it wasn’t exactly appropriate.

He wouldn’t tell her he didn’t want to be friends anymore, would he?

All the worst-case scenarios flared to life, and it was all she could do to hold Lola close as she waited for him to speak.

Chet’s nervous chuckle settled her a little, but not by much. When his blue eyes met hers, she knew. She couldn’t say how, but whatever was between them was about to change forever.

Blood rushed in her ears, and her palms turned clammy. It was all she could do to bite her tongue when all she wanted was to demand that he blurt out what was on his mind.

His hand went to the back of his neck then dropped as he straightened his shoulders. “Go out with me.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Go out with me, Lydia. On a date. Let me take you somewhere nice and spend time with me.”

Her eyes narrowed. It sounded as if he meant a date, but she was a born skeptic. This could very well be Chet asking her to hang out. There was only a sliver of logic that screamed at her to pull her head out of the sand. “Like a date?” she clarified.

He nodded, his nerves gone. “There’s no one I’d rather spend my time with than you. It’s about time we stop dancing around this.” He pointed a finger between the two of them. “Tell me you don’t feel this connection.”

Lydia couldn’t take her eyes off him. This was really happening. All she’d been holding back was rushing to the forefront. The most disconcerting part of all of this was that he was admitting to the same.

All the second-guessing and arguing with herself over whether she could read the connection between her and a man she was attracted to was fading away. There was no one she trusted more than Chet and if he wanted this, then she was willing to admit she did, too.