“Aaron?”

“Yes, Nick?”

“I’ll finish Izzy’s tour.”

Aaron stiffened. “I don’t mind.”

“I know, but I’ll do it.”

“Izzy’s new. She’s nervous.”

“She’s also standing right here,” Izzy grumbled, appreciating that Aaron was trying to help, but hating the fact that they were talking about her as if she were a fern.

Nick didn’t say anything. Maybe he was making violent hand gestures or maybe he was just staring. She had no way of knowing. Seconds later, Aaron let go of her arm and stepped back.

“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “Izzy, whatever Nick says, what he really means is that he’s really happy to have you here and that he thinks you’re pretty.” He leaned toward her and dropped his voice to a whisper. “We’ll talk later.”

Then he was gone.

“Follow me,” Nick said and started walking.

Izzy started to point out, yet again, that she was blind, only to realize she could hear his boots on the hardwood floor. She took off after him, clipped her hip on the corner of a counter and stumbled over the threshold of a door.

They went outside. She saw the brighter light and felt the intense heat.

“You’ll be working in the barn,” Nick said, his dark shape moving in front of her. “Rita’s in charge. Do what she says. We have twelve horses that need to be cleaned up after, fed and groomed. That should keep you busy. When you’re more comfortable with your surroundings, you can start exercising them in the corrals. There’s a corporate retreat in a couple of weeks. When that happens, we all pitch in, including you.”

She waited until they passed into shade, then stopped and folded her arms over her chest. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you’re not going to tell me what to do. The only thing you’re going to do is take me back to my sister’s house, right now.”