Ash’s mouth fell open, but he didn’t know what to say. He was too afraid to slow the momentum of whatever was happening between them. What if—given time and distance—Willow came to her senses and realized he wasn’t worth the risk after all?
“I’m gonna walk Cirrus over to Eli’s,” Booneannounced, effectively excusing himself and his horse. “Meet us in front of the clinic in thirty?” he asked his brother, though Ash knew there was only one answer to the question.
Soon, Boone and Cirrus were gone, leaving Ash and Willow to slow the momentum.
She pressed her hands to his chest and laughed. “You really do need a shower.”
He smiled. “We both do…and I figured we might do that together,” he lamented.
She shrugged. “We still can…”
But Ash sighed. “There is nothing I want to do more than climb into that shower stall with you. But if Boone says to meet in front of the clinic in thirty, I guarantee you Eli will be knocking on the door in fifteen. Hell, it’s his place. He might not even knock.”
They both laughed, though neither of them were smiling as much as they had been the entire ride back from the campgrounds.
“Go get cleaned up,” she told him. “Sounds like an important job and probably some really good bonding time with your brothers. This is important.”
He nodded and reached for the waistband of her pants, hooking a finger inside and tugging her toward him. “How do you feel about kissing my stupid mouth one more time before I go?”
She licked her lips, and hell if that one little movement didn’t unravel him entirely.
“They’re actually not so stupid,” she admitted, rising up on her toes and brushing one sweet, chaste kiss across his lips before sliding her mouth up to his ear. “I know what you’re thinking, cowboy, and you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to change my mind.”
He sighed and kissed her jaw, then buried his face in the crook of her neck. Despite their night outdoors, their swim in the falls, and their ride home, she still smelled like her coconut shampoo and the faintest hint of fresh-baked cookies.
“How do you already know me so well?” he asked, lips trailing up her neck.
She hummed a soft moan and then leaned back, pushing him to arm’s length. “I might want you bad, Ash Murphy, but I draw the line at a horse’s stall. No offense, Holiday and Midnight.”
“Seriously, though, Wills…” Ash started. “If you do change your mind, it’s okay. This is all happening kind of fast, so if you decide we need to slow down or hit the brakes, I’m not going to fight you on it.”
“Oh,” she replied, her smile falling. “Yeah. Okay.” He furrowed his brows, but then she brightened and added, “I appreciate you giving me space…if I need it, I mean.” She kissed him again, this time a quick peck, and then patted him on the ass. “Now go before you’re late being fifteen minutes early!”
He laughed, kissedherone more time, and thenthanked her for taking care of the horses while he got ready and left.
When he got out of the shower, to absolutely no one’s surprise, Eli was waiting at the breakfast bar.
“Nice outfit,” his brother remarked, nodding at the one garment Ash wore, a towel wrapped around his hips.
“Where’s Willow?” he asked. “She not back from the barn yet?”
“Colt came and picked her up a couple minutes ago,” Eli informed him. “Said she can shower at his place and have dinner with him and Jenna.”
Something sank in Ash’s gut. Was she pulling away already? He tried to retrace his steps to figure out what could have flipped a switch in the short time since they’d raced home to tear each other’s clothes off and essentially start living together as Ash and Willow instead ofAsh out here and Willow in there.
He offered to slow down forher benefit. But that was it, wasn’t it? When he said he wouldn’t fight her if she pulled the brakes.
The truth was, he couldn’t fight her. He didn’t have it in him after he’d already fought for four whole years without so much as a word from her. He owned his part in messing up what they had, but how could he fix what he’d broken if he was doing it all by himself? If Ash fought now, and she hung him out to dry again? It would break him beyond repair.
“Oh,” he finally replied. “Right. Yeah. Colt,” he added, hoping to make it look like this was always the plan. “I’ll be ready in a few. How long do you think we’ll be gone?”
Eli shrugged. “Depends on what kind of shape the horses are in, if they’re healthy enough to travel.”
A muscle in Ash’s jaw pulsed. “I know I got lucky with my—uh—law enforcement situation last week, but I’d sure love a few minutes alone with the assholes who thought starving a couple of horses was a good idea.”
Eli shook his head and huffed out a bitter laugh. “Why don’t you rein it in there, Rocky. From what I hear, you and Boone barely lasted ten minutes in the ring. The owners are in custody and being dealt with. Our job is the horses, a mare and a stallion I think they were trying to breed. I’m guessing their lack of success in that department is what contributed toward the neglect. Or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, we’ll be gone a few days at least as we get the whole ownership thing sorted out. The rest depends on the horses.”
Ash nodded. “Okay. I’ll get dressed and pack up…again,” he responded coolly.
