He relaxed and went back to studying the horse that pranced rather frenetically inside the enclosure. “You’re the only person ever who can sneak up on me like that.”

He’d said as much to Erin before, and she still didn’t get how that could be. When he looked down at her, she said, “Other people must startle you. You can’t hear anyone approach.”

“No, but I feel them getting close to me. Same goes for animals.”

She gave him a wondering study. “You feel them? How can that be?”

“Beats me. I only know I can.”

Erin believed him. As far as she knew, he wasn’t given to lying. “That’s amazing.”

He shrugged. “It started when I was a little tyke. My grandpa overruled my mother and made me work with horses every day. At first I didn’t want to. I was frightened of them. Even more frightened than you are, because they’re dangerous animals if you aren’t careful around them, and not being able to hear put me at a disadvantage.” He glanced back at the horse before returning his attention to her face. “But my grandpa was right to insist on me doing chores out there. Somehow I developed my own fifth sense and knew when a horse was invading my space. Once I got over being scared, having to work with the horses became my favorite thing in the world. They didn’t care if I couldn’t hear. They didn’t care if I could talk. They just accepted me as I was. For me, that was wonderful.”

A lump rose in Erin’s throat. Wyatt had just shared something with her that came straight from his heart. “And you still love horses to this day.”

“I do. Don’t get me wrong. I’m cautious around them. You never know when one might swing its head and knock you flat or kick out from behind. It’s not because they’re mean. They’re just big. When a fly lands on them, they’ll swing their heads or kick at their bellies. If another horse gets too close, they’ll nail it with a hard kick. And you never know when that might happen. If you’re in the way, you could end up with a broken femur or even worse. Getting kicked in the head is no small thing, either.”

Erin realized this wasn’t idle conversation. He was imparting knowledge to her that he felt was important for her to know. “I’ll try to be very careful.”

“Do that, because you’re Slade’s niece, and he loves you. If you get hurt, I’ll feel like you do right now about Jenette. Like I didn’t warn you enough or teach you what you needed to know in order to stay safe. And unfortunately, I can’t cover all that in one afternoon.”

“Okay. I’m warned. And when you have time to tell me this or that, I’ll be a sponge, absorbing all the information.”

He smiled slightly. “Just don’t get stubborn on me, and you should be all right.”