We turned towards the stables, and I fell into step beside him as he walked the horse. His arm never moved. “Sorry about that,” he said when we were far enough away and he finally dropped his hold. “I know you think it’s all me, but you’ve clearly never been on the circuit. Women like that are easy to spot.”
“Like what?”
“The ones that are only invested in one night or the Thorne name.” He explained. “When you first start out it’s a little exciting to have all these girls come up to you and act all interested. They throw out flattery and hype you up. As a guy it’s fun, but it gets hollow real quick. Especially as a Thorne.” He let out a little chuckle. “But as annoying as it can be, I could never be rude about it. My momma and my grandmother would hand me my ass if I disrespected a woman.”
“Really?” I had a hard time believing that.
“Oh, yeah.” He nodded. “With five female cousins and a little sister? Absolutely. Plus, we are far too protective of the Thorne women to ever treat any girl badly. That isn’t how we werebrought up. My family believes we were given the blessings we have to bless others. It’s how we live.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t expecting that.
“Ten bucks says that girl doesn’t show up tomorrow.” “And if she does?”
He chuckled and looked over at me. “I’ll keep it to the lessons and move on. Maybe direct her to some of the guys I know in the rodeo that still find the whole act worth it.”
My feet stumbled, and he was right there to make sure I didn’t trip.
“You okay?” He held onto my waist as if I was the reins of the horse he’d been riding. The same heat from before warmed my skin, and I jumped back, almost losing my footing again.
“I need to get back to work.” My voice squeaked out louder than I intended.
“Are you sure?” His hands tightened, but I backed away. “You don’t seem all that steady.”
I nodded. “I’m sure.”
“Alrighty then.” Before I knew what was happening, he picked me up and swung me onto the horse.
“What are you…”
He hopped up behind me. “You said you needed to get back to work.” His foot touched the side of the horse, and we were moving. “I’m taking you back to your office.”
“I can walk.”
“You almost fell twice in front of me. Walking might be debatable.” His chest moved behind me, and I could hear the rasp of his laugh beside my ear. “And we’re already up. Might as well enjoy it. I know I will.”
With nothing else to do, I let him take me back to my office without another word.
Chapter 5
Junior
I wanted to take my time riding with Bria. It felt so good to have her in my arms, or at least sort of in my arms. It was the closest I was probably going to get at the moment, and I fully got why Dallas liked to go riding with Trinity all the time.
“So, what is so important that you need to get back to it?” I asked. She hadn’t said anything since we started.
“Employee reviews and schedules.” Her tone was clipped.
“You’re big on schedules, huh?” I remembered the color coding of her calendar.
“Schedules keep everything in line.”
“What about spontaneity?” I asked. “Sometimes you can’t control what’s going to happen.”
“I leave room for the unexpected.” She stiffened her back. “I just do it in a controlled manner.”
I shouldn’t have laughed, but the soft noise came out without any thought from me.
“You do realize that something really spontaneous can’t be controlled? Life doesn’t work like that.” She didn’t reply. “Like for instance. There are times when I’m riding and my horse might do something unexpected, or the ground might differ from the one we have at the ranch. The music could cut out or any number of different things. I have to make adjustments on the fly.”
