Chapter Fourteen
Logan
We’re going to fucking blow it.
All because of a fake wedding ceremony that fucked with our heads. Sure, this town is obsessed with romance and relationships, but Macey and I have always stayed away from its gravitational pull.
Ever since last night, though, things feel off.
The rules Macey and I set up work for us. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let a fantasy evening ruin everything.
But I can’t stop wanting to kiss her. I can’t stop staring at her mouth.
I jump off the rock, turning away from the mind-blowing beauty in front of me. And I don’t mean the Hill Country vista all around us.
“Let’s bring the horses back and walk through town. Sound good?”
I don’t even look back to see if Macey’s agreed. I just head for Dexter and untie him. I climb up onto his back, and only then do I check that Macey’s behind me. She’s already mounting Queen, and when we lock eyes, I force myself to look away.
We ride through the meadow and down the hill until we enter the burnt-out field that leads to the barn. We pull up on the horses and dismount.
I take the reins from Macey in silence, and she follows me over to the hosing station. We take turns cooling off Queen and Dexter, making sure to take the time to rub down their legs.
We bring them to the field and turn them out with the others. Macey stands on the outside of the fence, leaning her elbows over the top so she can watch Queen eating from the grain pail.
“Horses have it right, don’t they?”
I step up onto the run with her so we’re side by side. I keep my eyes on Dexter in the field when I say, “How do you mean?”
“They exercise. They eat and drink. They play with their friends. They don’t push anybody away.”
“Huh.” I watch Dexter nuzzle with Queen like they’re chatting about the trip they just took. “Sounds to me like you’re finding a round-about way of going after yourself.”
She elbows me in the arm lightly. “You’re too good at reading me, Logan. Maybe I should make some new friends.”
“Maybe I just know exactly what you need. You can’t find that with someone new, can you?”
She ducks underneath my arm and jumps to the ground. “Let’s continue our day off. I’m thinking we can stroll through the market in the center of town. What do you say?”
“Only if you’ll let me flirt with Mrs. Carter. She’s eighty and easy.”
Macey rolls her eyes, and I chuckle as we start walking toward Main Street.
“You know that woman can’t stand my family. She thinks The Cowherd should be shut down because my daddy is an alcoholic. I can’t say she’s necessarily wrong, of course. But she doesn’t have to be so judgmental.”
“No, she doesn’t. But you know I love getting under your skin. And Mrs. Carter makes it too damn simple.”
When we reach the outdoor market, we walk from tent to tent, chatting with the vendors and trying everything from grape soda in giant beer mugs that say “Choose Your Mr. Darcy” to putting temporary tattoos on our forearms. The tattoos are Macey’s idea, and somehow I let her talk me into it. We already got real tattoos together years ago, and that’s all I need.
But getting fake tattoos today feels like a good way to reset and just have some fun.
Macey chooses both our tattoos from Gwen, who runs the booth, and she won’t let me look at mine until it’s on.
“Okay, go ahead and see.”
I glance down at the inside of my forearm.
“Darcy Rocks.” I shake my head. “Jesus, our town is so damn cheesy.”
