Chapter Four

Kenton followed me into the house.  He was silent as he’d walked with us from the reserve trail to the stable, watched us untack and brush down the horses, and then put them out to pasture.  Even so, I could tell that a lecture was hovering just below the surface of his quiet demeanor and that he was itching to give it to me.

The smug look on Amelia’s face as she lazily followed Cindy up the stairs to Cindy’s room made my blood boil to the point I hardly heard Kenton’s request that I join him on the patio.  He had to ask me a second time before I responded by leading the way.

He’d barely closed the sliding door behind him before I spoke.  “If you’re going to yell at me about riding my horse in the reserve, please don’t.  I’m a grown woman and have the right to ride wherever I choose.  Today, I chose the reserve.”

“Even if it meant danger for you?”

“We would have been fine if Amelia hadn’t gotten all high and mighty and challenged Michael,”  I complained. 

I knew that he was aware of the riff between Amelia and me, but I didn’t think he quite understood the intensity or extent of it.  Maybe if he could grasp how badly she behaved in general, he’d take pity on me and find a way to send her packing.

“Do you really believe that?” he asked.

I had, until he asked me. The tone in his voice made me rethink how safe Cindy and I really would have been.  Even so, I refused to relent and admit that I was wrong.

“I allowed that bitch vampire to join us because I thought she’d make us safer.  Instead, she almost created a war.  I won’t let her ride with us again.”

Kenton closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Then, I’ll ride with you.”

I looked at him with surprise. “I didn’t know that you rode.”

“I only ride Maximillian,” he said in a firm tone.

“Is that your horse?”

Kenton nodded. “He’s a stallion, which is why I haven’t brought him around.”

“Oh, because of Daisy,” I mused.

“Because of Roger,” he said.  When I looked bewildered, he added, “Roger was gelded late, which is part of the reason he’s such a handful.  Surely you’ve noticed his heightened aggression when Daisy is in heat.”

“I guess I have,” I admitted, “but I didn’t put the two together.  I just thought he was in a mood.”

“It’s never easy to put two stallions together.  Since Roger thinks he’s still a stud, I’ve refrained from brining Maximillian around.”  He walked up to me and cupped my face in his hands.  “I’ve watched you manage Roger under extreme circumstances.  I believe that you can handle Roger if he decides not to accept Maximillian.”

My eyes went wide. “What if they fight?  I don’t want Roger fighting another stallion.  He could get seriously wounded.”

“As could Maximillian,” Kenton sighed, “but I see no other option.  If you insist on riding in the woods, I insist on riding with you.”

“Can’t you just ride Peter?”  I practically begged.

“Peter wouldn’t appreciate my being on his back. Plus, my sweet, he’s not fast enough, should we have trouble with the wolves and are a distance from the house.  Neither is Daisy, for that matter.  You were putting Cindy in danger by taking her so deep into the reserve.  She’s too young a vampire to understand how to fight like one.  She needs time with Amelia to learn.  If you insist on riding the reserve with Daisy and Peter, please take into consideration the trails and their relevance to your home so that you can reach the open field quickly.  The wolves won’t harm you out in the open.  They’re too cowardly for that.”

“I thought that they were fierce,” I mused.

“Anything they can do on a small scale, they do in a way that would allow them to deny it. The open field wouldn’t provide the anonymity they’d desire,” he explained.

“I’m sorry,” I said as the realization of the impact my thoughtlessness could have had on us set in.  “I promise not to go so far into the reserve without you again.”

He kissed me long and passionately.  It was exactly what I needed to help rebalance me and take away the feeling that something very bad was about to happen.