“Are you sure I’m not being a pushy bitch? My friends say I can be a little that way sometimes.”
He chuckles lightly, thankfully, though he shakes his head. “You’re not being pushy. You invited me on a trail ride, and I’d love to go. I just need a minute to see if I can still do this.”
“Take all the time you need,” I say. “Pepper isn’t in a hurry. She’s a darling.”
He strokes her again, and doesn’t she just love it. Her tail swipes side to side, her dark eyes shining bright. She’s the perfect horse to help him with his apprehension.
And though my philosophy is that jumping back in the saddle can ease all ailments, fears, and worries—I realize it’s not everyone’s way of thinking. Despite my sometimes tough exterior, I do understand we’re not all the same. I have patience.
And Brett is struggling. From what he’s told me, and how he’s acting, he’s been at this crossroads for a while now.
I may not know him much at all, but I can sense that he wants to give it a try. He strikes me as the kind of guy who would back away if it wasn’t something he wanted to do.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he says as he takes the reins. I don’t even get another word out before his foot is in the stirrup and he hoists himself up onto Pepper, slinging his leg over the other side of her body. It’s clear in those few seconds of watching the swift efficiency in which he moves, and now seated in the saddle, that he’s a natural. A cowboy at heart.
Hell, it’s also becoming plainly obvious that he’s a natural at most things I’ve seen him do so far. He didn’t balk at shoveling shit, hauling bay bales from the far side of the barn, or cleaning out the stables and filling the water troughs. He just gets on with it without any fuss.
Of course my mind was on all of his other attributes while he was working up a sweat with the stable jobs. I wasn’t standing around watching him by any means—I did my fair share of hauling and shoveling, but it’s not like I couldn’t notice the way his arm muscles flexed with each movement. I’d be blind to not see how strong he is and how he lifted those bails like they weighed nothing.
Try as I might to keep my vivid thoughts at bay—my mind frequently wanders back to his other very talented attributes, and I cannot stop thinking about last night and also how sweet and somewhat vulnerable he is. The more I think about it, the more I want to get to know more about him. Every moment I spend with him, I realize I don’t just want to have another romp in the hay; I find myself wanting to know about his life.
Shit! It was supposed to be just a one-night of fun with a sexy cowboy. That was it. Just me letting my hair down for a change, with no strings attached. Damn him! No, it isn’t his fault. It’s mine. Yes, he’s a distraction, and I’m not upset he’s here, I just thought I was done with men after the last time. Now I’m having all these… feelings. Feelings are what got me into the messes I found myself in before. The past, Bailey. Something I didn’t want to repeat.
A part of me is shocked and surprised at just how much I’m drawn to him, and I don’t know what to make of it. I don’t fall hard. I mean, I didn’t even know I was capable of that, or that there was a chance I’d let myself again. But Brett is someone I can see myself falling for, if I let myself. A very big if. And besides, it’s stupid to think that he would even want that. He’s a sexy, rogue cowboy from Tennessee who works in the music industry. He probably meets his fair share of women every day, and could have anyone he wanted. I’m a simple country gal who loves her horses just as much as I love Wyoming and Cedar Hollow. I thrive on the work I do and I don’t even mind all the horse manure. I live for it.
But Brett, he’s a mystery, and each passing second I’m more and more curious about what brought him here. Not just to see Jed, but Wyoming in general. He didn’t seem to have any idea I’d be here when he walked in with Zane—his expression was just as shocked as mine. I’ve got Jed to blame for having absolutely no warning I was about to see my sexy cowboy again,and judging by the smirky look on his face when he left the barn, he knew something was going on between us.
“You’re going to be fine,” I say as he blows out a breath. Something about the way he’s not afraid to be a little vulnerable around me, even though he doesn’t know me very well, stirs inside my veins. I see him take a few deep breaths, and somehow I know he’s going to be okay. “You’re already doing it, Brett.”
He swallows, shifting his transfixed gaze back to me. “Thank you, Bailey.”
I blink a couple of times, caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice and the glisten in his eyes as I look right into them. They cloud over for just a moment, enough to make me shift my eyes to my boots while I internally wrestle with my composure. What is it about him that seems to touch me right to my very foundation? It seems to happen so easily, and just with a few words or a glance. “For what?” I dare ask.
“For this,” he says simply.
CHAPTER 13
Brett
It really is just like riding a bike. Except way more fun. It isn’t long before we shift from a mere trot to a canter, then a gallop.
Something swells inside me like a big old friend. It isn’t fucking scary. It’s life. This is what I needed. Bailey is right, Pepper is a beautiful horse, and it’s like I’ve been riding her forever.
We circle the field, then pass Bailey and Spirit as my girl gives me a thumbs up. I’m such a damn sap. I pat the side of Pepper’s neck, telling her what a good girl she is, and I mean every word. These few hours of being here have been life changing. It may be a small thing to somebody else, but after the trauma of what I’ve been through in my personal life back home, this was well overdue.
I don’t know how long we’re out here for, but I don’t push Pepper too far. Even though she’s a beauty and I can sense how much she loves the freedom, she does have to go on a trail ride soon, so I don’t want to wear her out.
Turns out my fear was completely irrational. I think with all the other complicated shit going on in my life at the time, I just couldn’t deal with one more heartbreak.
When we circle back to the stables, Bailey is already waiting for me. I’m happy to see a big smile on her face. “Well, well,” she says. “Slow down a little, you two are showing us up.” I grin as we come to a halt next to her, still both mounted on our beautiful beasts.
“You don’t know what you’ve done for me,” I reply.
“It wasn’t that much?—”
I cup one side of her face and I hear her sharp intake of breath. But I don’t care. Leaning in, I take her lips, not giving a fuck who sees because I need to do this. I need to show her how special she really is. I press my forehead to hers.
“It was everything. You’ve sparked something inside me I thought was long gone.”
