“I’m already on my way. Wanna tell me what’s going on?”
In the time it takes for her to waver between telling me and not, my mind reels with possibilities. And unless she’s lying about being okay, none of them seem plausible.
Thrown from the horse?Nah.
Fell off?Nah.
“I’m…scared,” she finally answers.
“Scared? Of what?” I chuckle under my breath, heart pounding as my horse flies through the open air.
She tries to laugh it off with me, but it comes out awkward and laced with sadness. “Riding.”
Shit. That was definitely not the answer I anticipated from her, of all people. Blair Hart scared of riding? The girl who jumped on the back of a horse at thirteen without a single trace of fear in her eyes? Who was running barrels only weeks later, letting the wind stream through her long hair, smiling like she’d never felt more alive?
But I don’t say that. I know better.
“That’s okay, baby. I’ll be right there. And I’ll get you home.”
I push my mare even harder, and my heart beats in time with the clap of her hooves over well-packed soil. Less than ten minutes later, I’m crossing through the tree line and leaping out of the saddle before I’ve even gotten to her. She looks up at me from where she’s cross-legged on the grass, rolling a blade of grass between her fingers, and smiles meekly.
“Bear.” I hustle across soft dirt and drop to my knees next to her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Despite the red eyes and tear-stained cheeks which indicate otherwise, she nods. “Yeah. I just feel really stupid.”
“There’s nothing to feel stupid about.” I pull her into my lap. My palms hold steady on either side of her face, her hair dances around our faces in the wind, and I kiss her, sweeping my tongue across her bottom lip. She opens her mouth with a relaxed sigh, looping her arms around my neck.
“I do, though. I was doing perfectly fine until we got caught up in the storm, and Sandy was starting to get a little spooked—”
“Sandy?” I interrupt. “Who the hell is Sandy?”
“I didn’t know what your horse’s name was, so I was calling him Sandy. It felt weird not to have a name for him.” She gestures toward a horse…not my horse, that’s for damn sure.
“Don’t know who the hell that is, but he’s not my horse.” I laugh. “Blair Hart, you’re a horse thief.”
Her wide eyes bounce between the buckskin and me. “Iassumed paddock six was the sixth one moving away from the barn, but there wasn’t a buckskin there. So I grabbed one from the paddock closest to the barn.”
“Oh, shit. I’m a moron.” My palm slaps to my forehead. “We did some shuffling because Jackson got in some new horses for training. My buckskin’s in…actually,shit, I don’t even remember where Austin moved him.”
She gawks at me. “You weretryingto kill me, weren’t you?”
“You caught me. I wanted to murder off my future wife.” Fuck, does that word feel good rolling off my tongue. “This must be the gelding the McKinney Ranch down in Fox Ridge sent over. I don’t think Jackson’s even been on him yet, so clearly you’ve still got some riding skill up your sleeve.”
I jokingly reach for her shirtsleeve, pulling it away from her arm so I can peek up it. Anything to earn the slimmest smile from my girl.
“Stop.” Her lips lift into a half-smile, and her fingers rap against mine. “I got in my head and…well, I wanted you.”
My heart’s real close to bursting from my chest. Stroking her head and using the weight of my arm to pull her against me, I say, “I’m here, baby. You want to try riding with me? Or I can call Austin and see if he’ll drive a truck up here. Tell me what you want me to do.”
Blair hesitates for a moment. “Um…I think I can ride.”
“I don’t want to push you.”
She shakes her head, interlacing our fingers and holding them tight in her lap. “You’ll be right beside me?”
“Nope, gonna take off at a gallop. Make you eat my dust.” I kiss the top of her head. “I’ll berightnext to you. Hell, we can even share a horse, if it’ll make you feel better.”
The attempt at a glare she gives me is more adorable than threatening. “Youwouldditch me, jerk.”
