“Here, let me help you,” Callan’s deep voice offered from behind me.

I turned, coming face to face with him, the Tupperware touching both our chests. “Thank you.”

He set a hand under the bottom one, his fingers grazing mine as he grabbed them from me, our eyes latched onto each other. The hazel of his irises was so rich, with flecks of amber and gold exploding around his pupils. It was like a galaxy, and I was lost in it.

“My mama brought these for you,” Avery interrupted.

I swallowed as Callan cleared his throat, both our gazes dropping to Avery beside us. “Well, for everyone,” I corrected.

“Were you her taste tester?” he asked Avery.

She nodded, her hair bouncing over her shoulders. “I always am.”

“And what’s the verdict?”

“Dee-licious,” she answered with confidence.

The corner of Callan’s mouth ticked up. “That’s what I like to hear.”

He headed inside the barn, Avery skipping beside him as I followed. After setting the pastries down on a table by the tack room, he turned to her with his hands on his hips. “You remember everything from our last lesson?”

“I listened super close so I would,” Avery confirmed.

“Do you remember what the first step is?” he asked her, raising a brow.

She nodded. “Halter!”

He flashed a smile and nodded his head in the direction of the hooks. “Why don’t you go grab one and meet me by Red’s stall?”

“Can I pick the color?” 

He dropped his hands to his sides. “Of course you can. Any color you want.”

She hurried to the hooks as Callan faced me.

“Do you want me to bring one of these over to the volunteers?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “Bailey will take care of it.”

“I’ll take care of what?” Bailey questioned from down the aisle, his head poking out from a stall that was propped open with a wheelbarrow in the entrance. “Hey, Sage!”

I waved. “Hey, Bailey.”

Callan looked over his shoulder at him. “When you’re done, can you bring one of these containers over to the rescue barn?” Each of the three barns served its purpose here on the ranch, as I’d come to learn during our last visit. The green barn was for rescues, the white barn for personal horses, and the red barn for quarantine intakes. Whenever they brought home new horses, they separated them for a period of time before mixing them with the others to be sure they weren’t sick. I knew that part because Avery liked to talk everyone’s ears off in the cafe, especially about horses. She was always asking questions about the rescue.

“Sure can,” Bailey said before ducking back into the stall to continue his chores.

Callan’s gaze moved back to where Avery was standing moments ago, but now she’d disappeared. “Guess she beat us over there.”

He began walking down the aisle and I fell in step beside him as we headed for Red’s stall. Avery was already there, patting Red’s nose where he had his muzzle stuck out of the little window.

“You don’t have to bring them again if it’s too much trouble,” Callan said as we walked, his spurs clanking with each step.

“It’s okay. I like baking.”

“If it’s ever too much work, don’t feel bad skipping a day, okay?”

My eyes fell to the matts under our feet. “You think I have too much on my plate.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

He stopped, his hand slightly closing around my elbow to get me to pause before he dropped it. “I don’t know you very well, Sage, but I think you’re doing great. Hell, I could never raise a child on my own.”

I crossed my arms. “How do you know I’m alone?”

“Well, I just—I thought—” he stuttered.

I let out a sigh, dropping my arms. “I’m sorry. I’m not meaning to be rude.” My hand came up to my necklace on instinct. “I’m really appreciative of what you’re doing for Avery.”

“It’s not just for her.”

My brows furrowed as my fingers paused on the charm. “What?”

His hand grabbed at the back of his neck as he gave me a sympathetic look. “It just seems like you could use a break.”

“Everyone can use a break, Callan, but you don’t need to be the one to give it to me. You don’t owe me anything.” Ugh, what was my problem? He was being so nice, and I was being a total bitch. I should just take what he was offering and appreciate it. 

“I know.” He dropped his hand. “But if you’ll let me, I’d like to try. At least for an hour during her lessons.”

I pursed my lips together, glancing over at Avery, then back to Callan. “Okay.”

I didn’t want people to see me as incapable of handling Avery on my own, but why was I getting defensive over someone offering to give me a much-needed break? There was no crime in taking a step back from your child for an hour.

“If you want to go up to the house, you can. Or stay down here. Whichever. But she’s in good hands.”

By the way he said it, he meant it. “I know. Thank you.”

“We’ll be done in an hour.” Callan took a second longer to study me, then turned to head for Avery, immediately falling into his casual, cool self with her. 

After watching them put the halter on Red, I headed back out to my car to grab my romance novel from the center console. Closing the door, I looked around to find a place to read and settled on the chair sitting by the white barn. Instead of leaving it where it was, I picked it up and moved it closer to the pasture so I could look out at the horses grazing in the field as I got lost in the pages of my book.

An hour wasn’t bad.

This was nice.

I feared I could get used to it.