“She’s… a cow.”
“Brilliant deduction, Sherlock.”
“You made me ride a pony all the way here fora cow?”
“Not just any cow. She’s my emotional support animal.”
She gave me the most baffled look, like she’d just realized she might be marrying into a circus.
McKenzie let out another dramatic moo.
Before we took off, I gave her saddle one last check. Not because it looked off—just needed an excuse to be near her. Close enough to smell her shampoo. Close enough to maybe steal a kiss, if I got lucky.
Just as I leaned in, she tipped her head, real casual, and whispered, “You’re just trying to make your ex jealous, huh?”
Didn’t even cross my mind till she said it. But now?
Hell.
Before I could answer, she closed the space and kissed me.
Not a shy, polite little thing.
A real kiss. Bold as sin. The kind that short-circuits your brain and makes you forget your own name.
When she pulled back, she gave me that look—like nothing happened.
“This is how we do it where I’m from,” she said, straight-faced.
I touched my mouth. She’d left a little sting. Might’ve bitten me on purpose. And I still couldn’t look away. She had me. Completely.
Then she leaned in again, a little smirk playing on her lips.
“Think she saw that from the window?”
I shook my head. “No clue. Why?”
She swung her leg over the saddle like she was born on a ranch.
“Cause if not,” she said, grinning over her shoulder, “we can do it again.”
I just stared.
Half wrecked. Half confused.
“So the whole thing was for her?”
She shrugged. “Nah. I just don’t like when people pick on guys I like.”
That word.
Like.
I swear to God, if there’d been a courthouse within riding distance, I’d have taken her straight there. No questions asked.
We were already on the road back, McKenzie trotting ahead of us like she owned the damn county. I kept her steady, nudging her gently, making sure she didn’t wander off into some ditch or barbed wire.
Willa watched for a minute, then said, “So what’s her story?”
