Wasn't he trying to do the same thing?
She left several silver quarters on the counter. More than enough to pay for the small piece of leather and the few rivets she'd taken.
When they left, she used her pins to lock the door back as it had been, and then they hurried back to the livery.
Domino snorted in impatience, and Adam had to rein him in as Breanna saddled her gelding and checked and re-checked the stirrups.
I'm not some simpering miss.
His brain was still working. Still clicking around, trying to make a connection that would throw the tumblers again.
He'd asked for her trust. Demanded it. But had he really given her any reason to trust him? He'd kept himself from her. He'd kept Reggie out of their conversations. He didn’t want her to know about his brother not because he was ashamed of him but because he was ashamed of himself, of the part he’d played in Reggie’s accident.
He didn't like talking about Reggie. It hurt to think of that day.
If he had to open himself up to Breanna to win her, would it be worth it? Could it do it?
9
Adam had never passed a more miserable day. He'd barely been able to string together the words to describe it. And he'd edited out much of the misery.
His muscles had finally stopped aching. Either that, or he'd become numb to it.
It had drizzled on them for hours upon hours. He was wet through, and now he knew the true meaning of the wordchafe.
Breanna had been quiet and pensive, not her usual boisterous self. He didn't think she'd smiled once all day.
He hadn't meant to stifle her.
He was chilled to the bone by the time they'd cooled out the horses. They'd stopped for the night in another small town. This one had two liveries, and the cowboys were split between them.
Ten more cowboys had dropped out of the race. Breanna had been right. Their competition was dwindling.
Now the two of them tucked their horses into stalls right next to each other.
Breanna turned to him, expression drawn. "I'm going to bunk down in here tonight. There's plenty of room in the stall." She exhaled abruptly, almost like a laugh. "Will you... stay with me?"
Sleep on an itchy bed of straw and end up smelling like manure in the morning? "I'll stay."
She smiled at him them, but it was only a shadow of her true Breanna smile.
"Do you really think one of them will try to sabotage you again?"
She shrugged. "I'm more worried about the horses than anything else."
Of course she would be.
The stable master frowned on them when he came to douse the lanterns a bit later. A couple of dollars in his palm greased their way, and he left them in darkness soon after. Breanna in her stall and Adam in his. Each with their saddle blankets to keep them warm.
It took long moments for Adam's eyes to adjust to the darkness. His horse loomed large in the small space. How exactly did Breanna plan to sleep in that stall?
"I'm a little afraid he's going to trample me," Adam said. With only the two of them and the animals, there was no need to raise his voice.
"He knows you're there," came her voice from the darkness. "You'll be grateful for his warmth before morning."
Would he? He settled into the back corner of the stall with his legs stretched out before him. In other stalls around them, horses moved around and slowly settled until it was quiet.
He'd witnessed how quickly she fell asleep. He wouldn't have much time to say this...
