I rested my forehead against hers, trying to slow my breathing, trying to lock this moment in my chest like something I could keep.Then I exhaled slowly, staring at the wall instead of her, like if I didn’t look too hard, I wouldn’t try to manage the outcome.
“I want you to know this matters,” I said.“And I won’t pretend like it doesn’t.”
She nodded.“Good.”
Eventually, I pulled back far enough to grab a blanket from the back of the office chair and wrap it around her.She tucked it under her arms, watching as I disposed of the condom and pulled my jeans back on.
Then her eyes landed on the ledger, still splayed open on the floor.
I followed her gaze.The weight of it settled back over me—what it meant, what it could cost.
She didn’t say anything.Just looked at it.
And for the first time, I understood that whatever came next, we’d face it together.
CHAPTER6
LILAH
I woketo the smell of coffee and the low rumble of Dawson's voice drifting up from the kitchen.
For a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom where I’d been sleeping all week.My ribs didn't ache anymore.My body felt strong and capable, like it used to before everything with the promoter had gone sideways.
I stretched, my muscles loose and pleasantly sore from yesterday's session with the bay mare named Mesa.I’d been alternating training days between her and Rio, and both had come a long way.We’d made it through three clean vaults and two stand-ups.I even did an exceptional drag that would've gotten me a standing ovation if anyone had been watching besides Dawson.
He'd been watching, though.He always watched.
I pulled on jeans and one of his flannels because his were softer than mine and smelled like him, then padded downstairs barefoot.
Dawson stood at the stove, his phone held to his ear, flipping eggs with the steady concentration he brought to everything.He glanced up when I entered the kitchen, and his expression warmed.
He pulled the phone away for a second and nodded toward the coffee pot."Coffee's fresh."
I poured myself a cup and leaned against the counter, watching him finish his call.Something about stock delivery schedules and arena prep.His jaw ticked when he hung up, but he didn't let it linger.
Instead, he slid the eggs onto two plates and set them on the table."Eat."
I sank into a chair, studying the dark smudges under his eyes."Did you sleep at all?"
"Enough."
That meant no.He'd been restless lately.I'd felt him leave the bed twice last night and heard him moving around downstairs.When I asked, he'd brushed it off as ranch business…deadlines…the usual.
I didn't believe him, but I also didn’t push.Not when he was already giving me so much more than I'd expected.
We ate in comfortable silence, the kind that didn't need filling.When he reached across the table to steal a piece of my toast, I swatted his hand away, and he smirked.
"I thought you said you made enough," I said.
"Changed my mind."
I handed him the rest of the slice.He took it, his fingers brushing mine, and the warmth of his touch lingered.
Moments like this had become routine and easy.We shared the kind of intimacy that settled into the corners of the day like his hand on my lower back when I passed him in the hallway, the way he always made sure I ate before heading out to the arena, and the quiet weight of him next to me at night.
It felt good.Safe, even.Like maybe this wasn't as temporary as we were both pretending it was.
After breakfast, I headed out to the arena while Dawson disappeared into his office.Rio was already saddled and waiting, courtesy of one of the ranch hands who'd learned my routine almost as well as I had.
