His truck sat parked in the same spot as before. The door to the cabin stood half-open letting afternoon light spill through the doorway.
I climbed the porch steps and found him standing at the window, his hands braced on the sill, his head bowed like he'd been waiting.
"Hey, Waverly." He didn’t ask what I was doing there or seem surprised that I’d shown up. He just said my name in that rough, low way that sent heat racing to my core, and the air between us felt charged enough to spark.
I closed the door behind me, the latch clicking into place. "Are you going to tell me this is a mistake again?"
He turned, his gaze dragging over me and leaving a trail of heat in its wake. "Would it matter?"
"No."
He crossed the room in a few long steps and kissed me, his hands already working my belt loose, my jeans sliding down my hips. There wasn't time for talking. Wasn't room for anything but the press of his mouth, the scrape of his stubble against my jaw, and the way he lifted me onto the rough-hewn table and stepped between my thighs.
We didn't make it to the bed.
Looking at horses became a convenient excuse to see each other. I’d decided to pass on the mare but tested a dun mare the following week. Her gait was smooth, but her temperament was too flighty for the kind of control I needed. Tanner watched from the rail, his arms folded, his hat pulled low, and when I dismounted, he didn't say much beyond "She won't settle under pressure."
I agreed and declined the mare. Then I drove back toward town with Tanner following in his truck. Both of us peeled off onto the ranch road that led to the cabin without thinking about it.
Inside, he backed me against the wall before I had a chance to catch my breath, his hands framing my face, his mouth claiming mine with the kind of focus he usually reserved for training colts. I tugged his shirt free and trailed my fingers over the hard planes of his stomach and the ridge of muscle along his ribs.
"Bed this time," I murmured against his lips.
"Yes, ma'am."
He carried me there, then stripped me slowly, his hands reverent in a way that made my chest tighten. When he settled between my thighs, his mouth tracing patterns I'd started memorizing, I let my head fall back and stopped pretending this was just physical.
It wasn't. It may have started out that way, but I was falling for him. I knew better, but I couldn’t help myself. The connection we had went beyond the bed… or the table or the wall or wherever he’d taken me so far. But neither of us would admit it.
I looked at a black gelding on Saturday morning. He was tall and lean with clean lines and a steadiness I hadn’t seen in any of the other horses we’d considered. The seller, an older woman who owned a small parcel of land out near Silver Springs, led him into the arena and handed me the reins.
"He's got championship bloodlines," she said. "Competed through last season but the owner fell on some hard times and moved out of state."
I mounted, settled into the saddle, and felt the gelding respond immediately. Tanner watched from the other side of the fence, his expression unreadable, but when I glanced his way, he gave a small nod.
I rode the gelding through barrels, testing his turns, his speed, and his recovery. He didn't rush or overthink things. He just moved with the kind of confidence that came from training and experience, not nerves.
When I dismounted, Tanner opened the gate and stepped inside.
"What do you think?" I asked.
He walked around the gelding, ran a hand down each leg, checked his teeth, his stance, and the set of his shoulders. "That was a clean ride. You’d be getting a solid foundation with this one."
"But?"
"No but." He straightened, his gaze meeting mine. "He's what you've been looking for."
Hearing Tanner confirm what I’d felt in my gut made the decision an easy one. I turned back to the woman with a smile. "I'll take him."
She nodded. “Do you want to take him today or come back and get him later?”
“I may as well take him today.” I’d had a good feeling, so I’d brought the trailer along with me.
“Give me a few minutes, and I’ll draw up the paperwork.” She headed toward the house, leaving Tanner and me alone.
“Where are you going to board him?” Tanner asked.
I was surprised it had taken him this long to ask, but I hadn’t wanted to bring it up until it was necessary. “Slade said there’s room at the Iron Spur.”
