Chapter 5Westley rested his forehead against Hawthorne’s shoulder, inhaling the scent of horse, any lingering tension leaving his body. Under his right hand Hawthorne’s barrel rose and fell with each breath. It was here in the peace of the barn, wrapped in a cornucopia of barn fragrances—pine shavings, hay, leather, saddle soap, grain, and horses—that he felt grounded and at home. Not to say Nicolaj didn’t offer his own form of solace from the crazy world, there was just something about being around horses that fit like a puzzle.
It’s where he ran when his world got turned upside down as a kid. It was how he stayed connected to a mother he still loved and missed sorely.
“I told ya,” Shia said, tugging Westley from his thoughts before they grew too depressing. “Watching you two in the are
