Briar turned to get her purse, because she didn’t go shopping very often, and she didn’t know what might catch her eye in the area around Yolks Up. She didn’t think Tarr would tell her she couldn’t go somewhere she wanted to, and she shouldered herpurse and turned back to find Tarr crouched down, lavishing love on Wiggins.
She smiled at the way he chuckled, at the way he loved her dog, at the memory of having those big, capable hands on her back and pressed against her side.
Something like happiness tickled through her, and she pulled in a breath. Tarr looked up, saw her, and straightened. “You okay, honey?”
She blinked, her normal coming back into focus. She may be going on a date with Tarr, but that didn’t mean they were dating. She might be able to let down her guard a little bit with him, but that didn’t mean he needed to know all her secrets. She could admire his good looks and strength, but that didn’t mean she trusted him.
But maybe you can.
“Briar?”
“I’m okay,” she said, shelving the thought for now. “I’m ready.” She put a smile on her face and expected Tarr to turn and leave her house. He hadn’t come very far inside, probably because he figured she’d glare him right back onto the porch.
Instead, he took the few steps to where she stood at the corner of the dining table and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. “You sure are pretty, Briar,” he murmured.
She had no idea how to respond to that, and thankfully, Tarr dropped his hand to hers and laced his fingers through hers. He turned then, and she walked with him, the heat from his hand coating her whole body in the much-needed warmth.
“Thank you,” she said when she stepped out of the house. Her manners had finally caught up to her, and she knew now how to respond to a cowboy calling her pretty.
Tarr stopped at the top of her steps and gazed up into the sky. “It looks and feels like snow.”
Briar checked the weather religiously in the winter, and she nodded. “Yeah, it’s supposed to start later this afternoon.”
He made a sound of disgust and looked over to her. Briar tried smiling at him again, and it didn’t feel so forced this time. “I think you look nice too, Tarr.”
He blinked at her, pure shock marching across his face. She scoffed, her irritation with him, the situation, and herself going from zero to sixty in less time than it took for her to breathe in. “You don’t have to look so surprised.”
“You’ve never given me a compliment before,” he said. “I’m allowed to be surprised about it.”
“As if you don’t know how devastatingly handsome you are.” She rolled her eyes, pulled her hand away, and started down her front steps.
“Devastatingly handsome?” Tarr coughed, and then his footsteps ran after her. “Briar, wait up.”
She did slow her step, which took her an extra moment, because she was used to giving in to her anger and letting it run her. But since her accident at the Goatel with the coyotes, she’d been trying to slow down, live more deliberately, and assess what she really wanted.
Tarr jogged in front of her and opened the passenger door, then turned back to her. “I checked the menu, and they have lots of non-egg options for you.”
Briar came to a complete stop, though she only had a couple of steps to go to reach him. “I—checked the menu too.”
The corners of his mouth tipped up. “What did you see that you wanted?”
Briar moved closer to him, hoping he’d casually lift his hand and encircle her in his arms. He’d done it before, and every move he made seemed so easy. She fiddled with the zipper at the bottom of his jacket, and he took his sweet Texas time putting his hand on her waist and sliding it around to her back.
She looked up at him. “I’m so tired, Tarr.”
Alarm crossed his expression. “We can get breakfast to go. Maybe bring it back here and eat in the cabin.” He raised his eyebrows as the question mark on what he’d said.
She shook her head. “I didn’t mean I don’t want to go.”
“What did you mean then?”
“Let’s just go,” she said, sudden embarrassment filling her from top to bottom.
“Hey, can we agree on something first?”
“It’s cold out here, Tarr.”
“Then you better agree fast.”
