I bite my bottom lip. “But the horses?—”
“I got this, Iz.”
There’s that feeling again—that pull that makes me want to lean into it. Into him.
Then he’s closing the gap between us, his hand finding mine, his thumb brushing once—just once—against my skin, before he’s stepping back.
“Trust me,” he replies, voice low.
And even though his touch is light, the feel of it lingers as I whisper a thanks and follow Madison to the trailer to get my swimsuit. My hand tingles from that thumb stroke, like my body is remembering every touch and kiss by the lake. I have no idea what’s happening between me and Dylan. No idea if I should trust it and him or if I should run for my life. But for tonight, I shove my fears aside. Tonight is about Madison, I remind myself. Even as my body hums with the memory of Dylan’s touch, and I know I want more.
TWENTY-EIGHT
DYLAN
I find Mama at the stove with a frying pan and Chase at the table eating pancakes when I step into the kitchen for my second coffee on Saturday morning. A smile tugs at my lips that I don’t bother to hide. Hell, I’m almost chuckling to myself thinking about last night’s dinner—Mad and Izzy with their matching wet hair, skin flushed from the lake, smiles wide and content. Mad declared my simple pasta the best she’d ever tasted.
Chase was quick to reply.I like you, Mad, but you need to get out more if this is the best pasta you’ve ever eaten.
Izzy sat beside me, our legs touching beneath the table, and all I could think about was how good it felt—how good she felt.She’s under my skin and in my head. And the more time I spend with her, the more it never feels like enough. Especially when my thoughts drag to the time we spent by the lake yesterday and my dick stirs with a longing I’ve never felt for anyone before.
My thoughts disappear when I catch the tail end of Mama’s voice. “You know you’ll always have my support, Chase. No matter what you do.”
Chase gives her a quiet, “Thanks,” and I kick off my boots, heading for the coffee pot.
“I just told Mama I might look for Leanna,” he says as I pour myself a cup.
I nod, glad Chase has finally opened up to Mama about his plans to look for his biological mom. “Still not sure?”
He shakes his head. “No. But Mama’s got an old address in Nevada.”
Mama steps across the kitchen, giving Chase’s shoulder a squeeze. “Might not be current, but it’s a place to start when you’re ready.”
Chase has a few weeks off before the season starts. That in-between time when the team is pumped up and ready, but left waiting. He could ditch some of the press events I know he’s been signed up for and go find her. But it’s his decision, and I don’t push or try to understand the complexity of what he’s going through. This is a woman who abandoned him on our doorstep in the middle of the night when he was two years old and hasn’t tried to contact him since.
“You still heading to Florida next week?” I ask Mama.
She smiles. “Wouldn’t miss my girls’ trip. Two weeks of sitting by the pool, drinking mimosas, and swapping the same stories we’ve told for forty years. As long as you all think you can cope without me.”
“We’ll be fine,” I say. The annual Florida holiday with her old high school girlfriends is the only time Mama takes for herself, and she deserves it.Mama looks to Chase, worry in her eyes, but before she can say any more, Buck rushes into the kitchen, tongue out and tail swinging furiously before he flops onto the cool tiles. He’s followed a moment later by Jake and Harper, both wearing hiking gear.
“Hey, Dylan.” Harper smiles. “Just the man I wanted to see. I was telling Mia about Fury, and she’d love to come by later and see him. Is that OK?” she asks, mentioning her best friend,who along with Harper was in the same grade in high school as Chase.
I smile. “Sure. She might be a corporate hotshot now, but she’ll always be one hell of a barrel racer to me. It would be good to have her take on him.”
Harper pulls her phone from her pocket, fingers flying across the screen. Jake pulls her back into his side with a kiss to her temple.
“Can you pretend you’re here with me for like five minutes?” he teases.
“Hey, you’ve got me for a whole week in Hawaii starting Monday.”
Chase looks over to them. “You guys aren’t planning a secret wedding, are you?”
We all look to Mama and the almost comical look of horror dawning on her face. Jake is by her side in a second, giving her a hug.
“No way,” he says, rolling his eyes at Chase.
Harper looks up from her phone. “When we finally find a place we like, you’ll all be the first to get invites.”
