Rose’s eyes held mine a fraction longer than it should have. Then thunder rolled again and she looked away, and whatever had opened between us closed back up.
Rose stepped back half a pace to give Ricky more room, and her boot slid on the wet straw.
It happened fast.
One misstep. Balance gone.
Instinct took over.
I caught her at the waist and hauled her upright before she could slam into the stall wall.
And for one breath, one stupid, perfect breath, she was pressed against me.
Warm through damp fabric. Hair loose at the edges. The smell of soap and rain and horse. Her body tight with adrenaline, her heartbeat so fast I could feel it against my palms where they gripped her waist.
I could see the dark ring around her iris. Violet, but deeper up close. Her lips parted and I knew exactly what it would feel like to kiss her, knew it the way you know a fall is coming before your feet leave the ground.
I didn’t move. Didn’t tighten my grip. Didn’t take an inch.
I just held her steady.
Her breath caught. Mine did too.
Then she shoved off me.
Not violently. Not panicked. Decisive, like she could rebuild a wall out of sheer willpower.
Her face went blank in a way that should’ve irritated me. Instead it made my throat ache.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“I know.” I let my hands fall like they’d never been on her. “But you don’t have to be made of steel every second of the day.”
That did it.
Anger flashed in her eyes.
“Get out,” she said, voice low and deadly calm. “Go inside.”
“Rose—”
Her head snapped toward me. “Do not.”
There it was. The line. Bright. Fresh. Non-negotiable.
I nodded once. “Aye.”
I stepped out of the stall and shut the door softly behind me. No sulk. Just leaving when she told me to leave, because that was the only way she’d ever feel safe around me.
In the aisle, I paused long enough to hear her voice again. Soft nonsense for Ricky. Steady praise. The sound of her holding the world together one frightened animal at a time.
Then I walked away, jaw tight.
Not because I was angry.
Because I wanted something I didn’t have the right to want.
I madeit to my cabin dripping and numb.
