I’m glad she doesn’t pull away, instead, she rests her hand on my elbow. “You did it, not me. All I did was provide the horse.”
“All you did was help me get to a place where I wasn’t afraid anymore. I know. I’m a big guy. Tough and strong, right? I shouldn’t wear my heart on my sleeve, but that’s who I am, Bailey. I can’t hide things. Not to the people I care about.”
She lets out a little laugh. “You hardly know me.”
“Maybe I don’t need to, and me sayin’ that will probably make you run a mile, but I haven’t told anyone I care about them in years. Well, aside from my pesky little sister, and my parents, but they’re family so they don’t count.”
“I thought we were just having fun,” she whispers.
If I was gonna feel disappointed by that statement, the wobble of her words at the end of fun tells me otherwise. This is a woman who definitely doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, and that’s okay. We’re all made differently. It doesn’t change anything for me.
“We are, and here I am gettin’ all heavy.”
She shakes her head. “No. It’s okay. I’m just not used to guys being so open with their feelings. Usually, it’s like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.”
“I’m not like other guys.”
“You’re definitely not,” she murmurs. Our lips meet again, and somehow I manage to keep it PG. If her boss finds us…
“Well, well, lookie what we have here,” a voice booms, making me jump.
The horses stir, and Bailey cusses. “George! Ugh, do you mind? You’ll spook the horses creeping up on us like that.”
A man dressed in a sheriff’s uniform moves toward me, his hand outstretched. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t expecting Bails to have company.” We shake hands. “I’m George, the local law enforcement, you must be Brett.”
“Good news travels fast,” I say with a grin. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” He glances at Bailey, who’s brushing her hand through Spirit’s mane as if nothing just happened. “So, you didn’t tell me you had a new man.”
I roll my lips as Bailey’s cheeks flush.
“Wait, what?” she stammers. “He’s not… Nope. We’re not?—”
“A thing?” George finishes, giving me a wink. “Sure looked like it from here. Now we love Bails with all our cotton pickin’ country hearts, but she is a pistol. Annoying. Grouchy. Cannot hold her liquor, but she is also one of the most decent, kind, and reliable people I know.”
“George!” Bailey cries.
I can’t help but smile. “We’ve only just met, but I tend to agree with you,” I say, looking her way. “She’s somethin’ else.”
She glances between us, her mouth popping open. “Wait, I’m not annoying or grouchy. And I can hold my liquor, thank you very much. The other stuff you said, though, is all true.”
I laugh as George wiggles his eyebrows at her.
“Good to see you smiling for once, Bails.”
“I smile,” she mutters. “Occasionally.”
I love how her friends are kinda throwing her a couple of curveballs, but that’s how you get to know someone. And if George is happy she’s smiling, that makes me feel good inside.
“So, what brings you out to Alpine Falls?” he asks me as I internally wince.
I’ve geared up all of my best answers to describe my visit here, so it rolls right off the tongue. “A little peace and quiet,” I say. “Stuff back home has been hectic and I haven’t had a real vacation in three years. It was overdue.”
“He’s friends with Jed,” Bailey puts in. “Is there anything else you’d like to know? Or can we saddle up the other horses, ready for the trail?”
“By all means, don’t let me hold you up. I was looking for Zane anyway.” George smiles again, and he doesn’t ask me what I do for work, however, he does look at me for a second longer as if he’s piecing something together. I mean, it’s possible people could know who I am, but not really. I dropped off the face of the earth and nobody, except my sister, parents, and Dale know where I am. It’s better that way, because if the press gets involved, I don’t want anyone here dragged into my mess for all the wrong reasons.
“It was great meetin’ you,” I say as George gives me a salute. “I better listen to my boss, otherwise I’ll get fired on my first day on the job—not a good look.”
