Briar’s breath tickled as it moved across his chin. “And I’d like to kiss you, sweetheart.”
“Do it, then,” she whispered.
Tarr didn’t second-guess or ask twice. He moved slightly, sensing where Briar was right in front of him, his hand sliding up to cup her face on one side and hold her steady at the waist with the other.
His lips touched hers, and every magical, fantastic thing Tarr had imagined would happen when he kissed Briar came true.
Sparks and pops moved through his whole body, and she tasted like that cherry Chapstick that made her lips a little bit pink. She pulled in a sharp breath, and then her hands landed in his hair, his cowboy hat somewhere else, and all of Tarr’s focus went solely to kissing Briar—again and again and again.
nineteen
If Briar had known kissing Tarr would rock the earth off its axis, she would have done it on his birthday five days ago. Or maybe sooner. Maybe the very evening she’d met him, when she’d accused him of stealing Wiggins instead of figuring out how to get his lips on hers.
He kissed like the champion he was, and Briar went along for every moment of it.
She let her mind go blissfully blank and allowed every cell in her body to experience and feel the warmth of his hands in her hair and along the side of her face, to enjoy the softness of his beard against her skin, and the way he absolutely couldn’t seem to get enough of her. She definitely breathed him in through her nose and swallowed his very essence.
She had no idea how long they stood there kissing in his RV, but when he pulled away, everything inside her told her it had not been long enough.
Tarr’s shoulders rose as he breathed in, trying to catch his breath. “See,” he whispered. “It’s simply incredible, right?”
Briar wanted to agree, but she didn’t have time before his lips claimed hers again, and the best ride of her life started over.
Another weekend arrived, and with it, Mother Nature sent hail, followed quickly by snow, with the forecast calling for more of the same in the next few days leading up to Christmas. Bobbie Jo decided to move the goats out of the Goatel and into the arena ahead of her trip to Oklahoma to see her parents.
She and Tucker were flying to Tulsa, where they’d spend a week before returning to ring in the New Year here on the farm.
Tucker had signed two more rodeo stars—another barrel racer and a bull rider like Tarr. They’d both be coming to the farm and facilities in January. Briar had already looked them up, and she couldn’t complain that there would be more rodeo personalities here. This was what Tucker and Tarr did, and she’d begged God to let her stay on this farm.
She also wasn’t going to complain about moving the goats into the arena, though it would definitely be a big mess they’d have to clean up later. It would make feeding them easier and warmer, and Briar could admit she was looking forward to only doing the holiday schedule around the farm for the next couple of weeks.
Tarr wouldn’t train, and he and Ashton would focus on keeping the roads cleared and the rodeo animals fed, while Briar took care of Bobbie Jo’s goats and tended to any veterinary needs of the animals living here.
Though Wiggins was no herding dog, the goats didn’t seem to know that, and they followed one another in a steady stream from the front gate of the Goatel to the back door of the arena. It was simply because Bobbie Jo had gone that way, and Tucker, Tarr, and Ashton had made a human fence on one side while Briar and Wiggins manned the other.
When every last goat had been moved indoors, all of the humans went inside too, with Ashton securing the door behind them.
Briar helped Bobbie Jo feed the goats while the men peeled off and went into the stables. They’d moved some horses from their main stable to what they normally used for their rodeo stars, freeing up space in the barn for the goats.
Once they had been cared for, Briar started her rounds, dictating notes on each animal as she visited them.
Near the end of her daily assessment, she found Rosie in the walking circles, with both of her horses going round and round and a restless energy pouring off her.
“How are they doing?” she asked as she joined Rosie at the fence.
“Great,” Rosie said brightly, and she seemed so down-to-earth for being the new barrel racing champion of the world.
“Can I sit with you?” Briar asked.
“Absolutely.”
She didn’t need to move down on the fence, as there was plenty of room for Briar to climb up next to her, which she did.
“You were really great in Las Vegas,” Briar said.
Rosie’s entire persona puffed up at the compliment. “Thanks. My daddy says I should just own the success, and I try to, but it really was lucky that Leanna didn’t have a good ride.”
“Yeah…something about her horse?” Briar asked.
