Then her phone rang. Tessa didn’t look; she already knew.
The ringtone gave it away, the same ring as all the times in my truck on the way here.
She went pale. “Don’t answer that.”
“I have to.”
“No, You don’t.” Before she could move, I grabbed the phone. “Wyatt,” she hissed. “Give it back.”
I lifted it to my ear. “What the hell do you want?”
“Who is this?” A man’s voice asked
I smiled slowly and meanly. “Nobody that would mean anything to you.”
“Put her on.”
“No,” I answered, my voice flat.
“Who the hell are you?” The fucker yelled.
“Someone who appreciates a beautiful woman far more than you ever could.”
Tessa lunged for the phone. “Give it to me.” I turned slightly so she couldn’t reach it.
“Don’t give Tessa another thought, she’s got a real man to keep her company now.” I winked at Tessa when I said it, and she threw her hands in the air.
“Fuck you, when I find out who you are, I’m going to…” he sputtered, and I cut him off.
“You’re going to what? You don’t even know who the fuck I am. If you ever come near my woman again, I will bury you so deep in the mountains that not even the coyotes will find your body to eat off your decaying flesh. I’m warning you now, you mother fucker, leave Tessa alone, because you’re no match for me.” I ended the call and handed the phone back.
“Your woman?” she asked, narrowing her pointed gaze at me.
“Little white lies never hurt.” I shrugged and looked over at Holt, still walking the mare around the paddock.
“You’re not my guard dog.”
“Didn’t claim to be.”
“You’re not anything to me.”
That one landed harder than I liked. I nodded once. “Alright.”
She looked startled that I didn’t push back. The mare stumbled again, and Tessa caught the halter. We all pulled together.
“Easy,” she whispered, her voice breaking as she pressed her forehead to the mare’s neck.
Slowly, painfully, the mare loosened. Her breathing steadied.Her belly softened. Her ears flicked forward again. The worst passed.
Tessa sagged against the mare in relief. I let out the breath I’d been holding since the moment I walked in.
“She’s okay,” I said.
Tessa turned toward me. Her eyes were bright and wrecked, lashes damp with sweat and tears she hadn’t bothered to wipe away. We were too close. Close enough that the heat between us was palpable. The barn dimmed around us, shadows pooling low, the world narrowing until it was just her and the space she was trying not to cross.
Her eyes tracked my mouth, lingered there for a heartbeat that dragged, like she was imagining something she was fighting to ignore.
Heat hit low and sharp, a sudden, vicious pull that tightened my hands at my sides.
