what?”
“You keep looking at me,” I said. “I was just wondering why.”
He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again, seemingly fumbling for words. “I was just monitoring how you’re doing on Nelly,” he eventually said.
I knew that wasn’t it, or all of it. But I wasn’t going to push it. Everyone at Havenwood seemed to have their quirks, and I supposed this man was no exception. We rode along in silence for a while, until Mrs. Sinclair turned and called out to us. “I’m just going on ahead a few paces, dear ones!”
“Now, listen, lassie,” Drew began, but she circled around us and cut him off.
“I’m not the one in this riding party who needs your watchful eye, I’m afraid,” she said, winking at me.
“It has been a long time since I last rode, but I think I’m getting the hang of it,” I said, holding tight to the horn on the saddle. “I’ll be fine.”
Her eyes danced. “I know you will, my dear. Nelly won’t go faster than a whisper and you seem to have taken to her quite well. The problem is poor Sebastian wants to stretch his legs.”
“Why do I have the feeling you set this whole thing up?” Drew said, taking off his sunglasses and squinting at her.
“
Moi?
” She laughed. “Never! I’ll take the dogs with me and meet you at the edge of town. Who knows, maybe we’ll go wild and get a cappuccino. Or a glass of wine!”
“But—” Drew protested.
“Nonsense. I’ve got the dogs. If we come upon anything that frightens Sebastian, the girls will take care of it. Right, girls?”
She didn’t wait for a response. She was off at a trot, the dogs leading the way. It was quite a sight, Mrs. Sinclair in her cowboy getup, surrounded by a posse of giant malamutes.
I turned to Drew and grinned. “You can’t make this stuff up.”
He chuckled. “Oh, Julia, just you wait.”
“You don’t have to babysit me back here, you know,” I said, clutching the reins and trying to look more confident than I felt. “If you’re worried about her—”
He held up a hand to cut me off. “It’s a game we play, she and I,” he said, smirking. “I protest, she goes right on ahead and doeswhatever it is she wants. We both know she will. But I’ve got to make a good show of it.”
As I watched Mrs. Sinclair loping off into the distance, I was beginning to see what he meant.
“Besides, she’s a better horsewoman than she is a driver, I’ll tell you that.”
“A driver?” I asked.
“You do not want to be anywhere in the vicinity when that woman decides she’s going to get behind the wheel of a car. Trust me on that.”
We lapsed into silence again, broken every once in a while by Drew giving me gentle instruction and pointers. The horses made their way up and down a steep embankment, and we found ourselves in a field of rolling hills. I could see Lake Superior glittering in the distance and a town perched on its edge.
“This is the golf course,” Drew said.
This surprised me. “You’ve got a golf course here?”
“We’re not all wilderness, all the time here, lassie. We have refinements. Besides, a Scotsman founded this town. Of course it’s going to have a golf course.”
I laughed. “Cappuccino, a golf course—what’s next, a yoga studio?”
“Wednesday afternoons in the high school gym.”
“Okay, so my expectations are duly squashed.” I chuckled. “I understood that we were in the middle of nowhere.”
“ ‘Nowhere’ is a relative term,” he said. “By Chicago standards, it’s nowhere. But for me, it’s got everything I need.”
So, he had been informed I was from Chicago, too. I wondered what else Adrian had told him about me. “And what do you need, apart from cappuccinos, yoga, and golf?”
“In addition to all of this”—he gestured widely at the landscape—“which for me is nearly everything, there are a couple of fantastic restaurants serving local fare that I love, my favorite watering holein the entire
“You keep looking at me,” I said. “I was just wondering why.”
He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again, seemingly fumbling for words. “I was just monitoring how you’re doing on Nelly,” he eventually said.
I knew that wasn’t it, or all of it. But I wasn’t going to push it. Everyone at Havenwood seemed to have their quirks, and I supposed this man was no exception. We rode along in silence for a while, until Mrs. Sinclair turned and called out to us. “I’m just going on ahead a few paces, dear ones!”
“Now, listen, lassie,” Drew began, but she circled around us and cut him off.
“I’m not the one in this riding party who needs your watchful eye, I’m afraid,” she said, winking at me.
“It has been a long time since I last rode, but I think I’m getting the hang of it,” I said, holding tight to the horn on the saddle. “I’ll be fine.”
Her eyes danced. “I know you will, my dear. Nelly won’t go faster than a whisper and you seem to have taken to her quite well. The problem is poor Sebastian wants to stretch his legs.”
“Why do I have the feeling you set this whole thing up?” Drew said, taking off his sunglasses and squinting at her.
“
Moi?
” She laughed. “Never! I’ll take the dogs with me and meet you at the edge of town. Who knows, maybe we’ll go wild and get a cappuccino. Or a glass of wine!”
“But—” Drew protested.
“Nonsense. I’ve got the dogs. If we come upon anything that frightens Sebastian, the girls will take care of it. Right, girls?”
She didn’t wait for a response. She was off at a trot, the dogs leading the way. It was quite a sight, Mrs. Sinclair in her cowboy getup, surrounded by a posse of giant malamutes.
I turned to Drew and grinned. “You can’t make this stuff up.”
He chuckled. “Oh, Julia, just you wait.”
“You don’t have to babysit me back here, you know,” I said, clutching the reins and trying to look more confident than I felt. “If you’re worried about her—”
He held up a hand to cut me off. “It’s a game we play, she and I,” he said, smirking. “I protest, she goes right on ahead and doeswhatever it is she wants. We both know she will. But I’ve got to make a good show of it.”
As I watched Mrs. Sinclair loping off into the distance, I was beginning to see what he meant.
“Besides, she’s a better horsewoman than she is a driver, I’ll tell you that.”
“A driver?” I asked.
“You do not want to be anywhere in the vicinity when that woman decides she’s going to get behind the wheel of a car. Trust me on that.”
We lapsed into silence again, broken every once in a while by Drew giving me gentle instruction and pointers. The horses made their way up and down a steep embankment, and we found ourselves in a field of rolling hills. I could see Lake Superior glittering in the distance and a town perched on its edge.
“This is the golf course,” Drew said.
This surprised me. “You’ve got a golf course here?”
“We’re not all wilderness, all the time here, lassie. We have refinements. Besides, a Scotsman founded this town. Of course it’s going to have a golf course.”
I laughed. “Cappuccino, a golf course—what’s next, a yoga studio?”
“Wednesday afternoons in the high school gym.”
“Okay, so my expectations are duly squashed.” I chuckled. “I understood that we were in the middle of nowhere.”
“ ‘Nowhere’ is a relative term,” he said. “By Chicago standards, it’s nowhere. But for me, it’s got everything I need.”
So, he had been informed I was from Chicago, too. I wondered what else Adrian had told him about me. “And what do you need, apart from cappuccinos, yoga, and golf?”
“In addition to all of this”—he gestured widely at the landscape—“which for me is nearly everything, there are a couple of fantastic restaurants serving local fare that I love, my favorite watering holein the entire
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