"That's him. His son runs the ranch operations now. They board horses, breed a few lines, offer riding lessons in the summer. Good people. They take excellent care of the animals and I trust them completely with my horses."
We reach Snowfall's stall—a spacious box with fresh hay already laid out, a water trough filled and clean, the smell of horse and leather and grain filling the air.
Grayson dismounts first with fluid, athletic grace, swinging his leg over Snowfall's back and landing on the ground with barely a sound despite his size and the fact that he's still shirtless in December.Which should be illegal.Or at least require some kind of warning label.
Then he turns back to face me, reaching up with one hand extended, looking up at me with those honey-hazel eyes that catch the fading golden sunlight and seem to glow from within.
He looks like something from a romance novel cover. Shirtless cowboy rancher reaching up to help his Omega down from a white horse. If this were a book, this would be the scene on the cover. This would be the moment readers dog-ear the page.
I put my free hand in his—the other still clutching my phone with the live stream running and probably broadcasting every embarrassing second of this—and he helps me down with such effortless ease it's like I weigh absolutely nothing at all. Like I'm made of feathers and air instead of flesh and bone.
He takes my entire weight as my feet touch solid ground, his hands spanning my waist to keep me steady until I find my balance on legs that feel like they've forgotten how to support a human body.
My legs feel like jelly.
Actually, worse than jelly.
Like overcooked noodles.
Everything is shaking—my thighs, my calves, my knees threatening to buckle. The adrenaline is starting to wear off and I'm realizing exactly how wild and intense that entire experience was, how fast we were moving, how completely I trusted Grayson to keep me safe.
"Did you have fun?" Grayson asks, his voice warm like honey and his hands still steadying me at the waist, his golden skin glowing in the sunset light.
I nod so swiftly and enthusiastically my vision blurs slightly from the motion.
"Yes! Oh my god, yes! That was phenomenal! That was incredible! That was the most amazing, thrilling, exhilarating thing I've ever done in my entire twenty-five years of existence! I've never felt so alive! I want to do it again! Can we do it again tomorrow?!"
His smile widens into something genuine and pleased and almost proud.
"Good. I'm really glad you enjoyed it. That's exactly what I was hoping for."
Then he leans in—slowly enough that I could pull away if I wanted to but quickly enough that I don't have time to overthink it—and presses a kiss to my cheek. Soft and warm and lingering just long enough to make my brain completely short-circuit and all coherent thought evaporate like water on hot asphalt.
"You did so good, Reverie," he murmurs against my skin, his breath warm. "Natural rider. You trusted Snowfall, me, and you just went for it. I'm genuinely impressed. Most people freeze up their first time."
I blush so hard I'm probably glowing red like a stoplight.
My entire face feels like it's on fire despite the December cold nipping at my exposed skin.
He kissed my cheek. He praised me. He called me a natural rider. I'm going to combust.
I'm going to spontaneously combust right here in this barn.
Then I hear it—the notification sounds from my phone. Multiple rapid pings.
The chat is going absolutely wild.
Oh my god. I'm still on live. They just saw that. They saw him kiss my cheek and praise me. The comments are probably exploding.
I lift the camera with shaking hands, flipping it back to face me.
"We're here at the ranch, guys! Maple Ridge Ranch in Millbrook! You'd have to see it with your own eyes to truly appreciate how beautiful it is! The camera doesn't do it justice at all!"
I glance at the darkening sky where storm clouds are gathering more noticeably.
"I can't stay on live much longer though since a storm seems to be brewing and we're definitely not going into a snowed-in rom-com arc where we're trapped at a ranch."
I giggle at my own joke, but the sound gets cut off when I feel warm breath on my ear.
