Page 11 of Everyone Loved Her
“Beth,” he greeted her, stepping into her view.
She startled as she was halfway out of the truck. “Jeez!” Beth glared at him, though there was something else there in her expression…
“You okay?” he asked carefully. “You look shaken up.”
She continued to shoot him daggers, her face unusually pale—but maybe it was just the artificial lights. “That’s what happens when someone pops out of nowhere in the middle of the night.”
He gestured back to the glowing arena lights. “I don’t think I popped out of nowhere. You should’ve seen me coming. There ain’t no darkness with those mega lights. Your dad had ‘em installed so I could work the younger horses at night.”
Beth’s lips twitched downward. “That was nice of him. I bet they were expensive.”
“He got them secondhand, but yeah.” Blaze could see the scrutiny on her face, and while he didn’t understand it completely, he did wonder about the financial shape of the Youngs. He had heard rumors about Peter and some poor decisions he had made after his son passed away…
And sometimes those kinds of decisions can lead to a lifetime of damage.
“Anyway,” Beth’s voice brought him back to the conversation. “I’m going to bed now, so have a great night.”
He frowned. “You wanna see the newest prospect?”
She shifted onto her heels, looking worse for wear in the moment. “I don’t know… You can show me tomorrow. It’s been a long night.”
“Yeah, so come see your dad’s favorite from the three-year-old string. You might want to keep him for yourself.” Blaze knew that he might’ve been overstepping bounds, but honestly, it would’ve been nice for Beth to take some kind of interest in what her mom had left. Maybe then, the woman would consider staying, instead of abandoning her only family…
“I really would like to go to bed,” Beth’s voice grew sharp, the lines around her green eyes deepening. “It’s late. You can show me tomorrow.”
He sighed. “Okay. Get some rest then. Hope you’re doing okay.”
“I’ll never be okay when I’m here,” she muttered under her breath as she slammed the door of the pickup. Blaze watched her closely, noting that her hands trembled at her sides as she stalked off toward the back porch of the old farmhouse.
What happened to you, Beth?Blaze ran his tongue along his bottom, chapped lip, watching the woman as she climbed the steps. He sunk back into the shadows of the open barn door, sothat he could continue to observe. Beth didn’t enter the house right away, instead turning to peer out where Blaze and she had just chatted.
But she couldn’t see him. He knew that.
Beth turned her gaze then to the arena, and dropped her head to her hands. She leaned against the porch railing, resting against her elbows. Blaze continued to watch her like that, wondering what was running through her mind. Where had she been tonight?
And why was she so shaken up? Was it just the grief? Or had something else happened?
He scrutinized her for a few moments longer and then gave it up, slipping back around to the arena. It wasn’t his business what Beth did with her life, but itwasin his nature to be paranoid. He had experienced his own amount of grief and trouble over the years. In fact, if the people in Rustdale knew half of his checkered past…
Well, he probably wouldn’t be so warmly accepted.
“You sweet on Beth?” Jasper called out as Blaze easily scaled the pipe fence, taking a seat on the top rail.
Blaze shook his head. “Nope.” He did, however, glance back toward the house to see if she’d heard the kid make such an asinine statement.
But she wasn’t there anymore.
“She’s gotten prettier with age,” Jasper continued, riding up and stopping a couple of feet from Blaze. The horse panted from a hard session, and Blaze yawned, rubbing his eyes once more.
“I don’t have an interest in Beth Young,” Blaze reiterated as he dropped his hands to the cool pipe, wrapping his strongfingers around it. “She’s the owner’s daughter. Never a good idea to get involved with them. Trust me.”
Jasper shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. Never had the chance, but Beth Young is somethin’. She’s all messed up in the head though—that’s what my brother says. But hey, ain’t the prettiest ones always a little crazy?”
“Hmm. I don’t know your brother.” Blaze dug into his shirt pocket, pulling out a can of Copenhagen. He didn’t dip often, but when he got tired or stressed, he slipped into old habits. He fished out a finger full and shoved it into his lower lip, wiping the remnants onto his jeans.
“You do know my brother,” Jasper said, just as Colton rode up to join them. “My half-brother is Ty Miller. He graduated a couple years before Beth—with Sam and Garrett.”
“Yeah, Ty is weirdo,” Colton, the youngest of the hands, fresh out of high school, burst into laughter. “No offense.”