“Yeah, he sure is,” Rosie said. She finished sending off the picture and looked up at Briar.
She nodded down to her phone. “Would you send that to me too, please? I mean,you’rethe celebrity between the two of us, and I’d like to have it to show my friends that I know the barrel racing champion of the world.”
Rosie’s face turned red, and she shook her head. “I don’t feel like a celebrity.”
“Well, stick around the rodeo a little longer,” Briar said. “And you will.”
With that, she ducked through the rungs in the fence. “I’ll get Snowdrop and meet you back at the stables.”
“Wait,” Rosie said. “I don’t have your number.”
Briar turned back to her and recited it, her heart glowing with happiness in the same way that Rosie’s face took on a new light.
“All right, I’m sending it,” Rosie said, and Briar’s phone vibrated in her back pocket.
She helped Rosie put her horses away, and then she continued down the line, checking every animal and making notes until she got to Gemini. It had been a week since hisaccident, and Briar stepped into the stall with him to check his hoof.
“How you doing, buddy?” she asked.
Gemini was definitely one of the more vocal horses, and he actually snuffled at her as if to say,Oh, I’m still alive,in his best horsey-Eeyore-voice.
“I’ve got to look at your foot,” she said, and she positioned a farrier stool so Gemini could rest his knee joint on it while she gripped his hoof between her thighs.
“It’s looking good,” she said, noting that the bandage she’d put on yesterday contained no blood spots today. “I don’t even think you need a bandage anymore, bud.”
The tiny cut had healed up nicely and seemed to have a pretty healthy scab on it. Gemini hadn’t given her too much trouble when she re-bandaged it, and he hadn’t had any pain pills since the morning after the wind had blown the door into the barn.
They’d finally fixed that only last night, as it had caused more structural damage than Tarr and Ashton could do themselves. They’d hired a foundation specialist to come out, and he jacked up the barn and held it in place while they removed the compromised wood and replaced it. The barn door had to be rebuilt and replaced with all new hinges, and it now bore a much beefier lock than it had before.
Briar finished up her rounds and went into her office to transcribe her dictation. She’d only taken one step inside when she realized someone already sat at her desk.
The scent of Tarr’s cologne hit her nose next, and she blinked at him—sitting there with his feet up on her desk and his hands clasped behind his head.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Waiting for you,” he drawled, that sexy smile on his face. “I saw you talking to Rosie.”
“Yeah,” she said. “And Gemini is looking great.”
“Great.” Tarr got to his feet and reached for her hand. He pulled her further into the office and used the toe of his boot to nudge the door closed.
She grinned up at him as she twined her fingers behind his neck. “What are youreallydoing in here, cowboy?”
“I told you,” he said. “I was waiting for you.”
“I’ve got work to do,” she said.
“Hmm. It can wait.” He lowered his head to kiss her, and Briar certainly wasn’t going to complain about that. He’d come over to her cabin every night that week, and when she’d said she could come to the RV, he claimed her couch was more comfortable.
He kissed her for several blissful moments, and then he pulled away. “Briar, honey?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been trying to guess at what would make Christmas amazing for you, and I finally admitted to myself that I’m not good at guessing. I just need you to tell me: how can I make Christmas amazing for you this year?”
Briar kept her eyes closed and tucked herself against Tarr’s chest. “We’re going out to Mike and Gertie’s farm, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, but honey, that’s just a meal. I’m talking gifts, tree decorating, and Christmas Eve dinner. Do you want to go out? Do you want me to make something? Can I get you new boots, a vacuum, one of those espresso machines?”
