You’re a coward, Charlotte.
A few seconds later his response came.Great news.Be right over.
After last night’s kiss with Gunner, she knew what she had to do. But that didn’t make it any easier. Charlotte leaned on the stall door and watched Daisy with her newborn colt. The horse was so absorbed with her task, she didn’t even nicker at Charlotte’s approach. Just glanced over, then went right back to cleaning her foal.
“You did a good job, Mama. Your baby’s a beauty.”
Daisy went right on about her business. Charlotte never grew tired of watching a foal walk around on those impossibly spindly legs. Of watching the mare nurture her baby. The connection between the pair never failed to warm her.
But the sight of the stall also reminded her of that incredible kiss. As it had a hundred times since Gunner left, her mind reviewed every tantalizing touch, every sound and scent in delicious detail. What had it meant? Had he only been trying to prove she and Kyle lacked the chemistry she and Gunner shared?
Well, mission accomplished.
But the way he’d gazed at her said so much more. There was more than chemistry between them. Somewhere between working with the horses and sharing intimate details of her life, tender feelings had developed. The kind of feelings that made her stomach flutter when he was near. Even at the memory of him...
As the realization washed over her, she pressed her palm toher chest. Against her hammering heart. She hadn’t meant to, but somewhere along the way she’d fallen in love with her trainer. She’d fallen in love with Gunner.
She measured each shallow breath. How had this happened? And what did it mean? Was he willing to change his lifestyle? And was she willing to take a risk on him? Vince’s backside was still in her rearview mirror, the pain of his departure still fresh and raw. Fear surged through her veins. She didn’t want to end up in that place again.
It would help if she knew how Gunner felt. But they’d been too consumed with the delivery last night to get around to a conversation. During the birth they’d been all business, making sure the foal was positioned correctly and guiding him out. Afterward, she and Gunner had stood outside the stall watching the pair bond for a while, the wonder of the birth settling like a haze over the stall.
It was three thirty when she’d yawned, and he suggested they call it a night. She followed him out of the barn and toward his motorcycle. Her body was still flooded with dopamine from the foaling, her mind filled with questions stirred up by that monumental kiss.
She had no idea what he was thinking. If the kiss had meant anything. Changed anything. But it had changed something for her. If he would consider staying—and that was a bigif—how could she not be willing to take a risk? Despite her better sense, she envisioned them working this ranch together. What a great team they’d make. He could partner with her, and if Emerson preferred, they could buy her out.
But Charlotte was getting too far ahead of herself. She didn’t even know how Gunner felt about her. What if her feelings wereunrequited? What if the kiss had been just attraction on his end? Or sheer loneliness? He was a man with no attachments. A man whose history screamed confirmed bachelor.Commitment issues.
They’d reached the bike and stopped. Her heart was still filled with wonder and confusion and indecision. She drew in the night air and let the familiar scents of freshly mown grass and honeysuckle soothe her.
The light of a full moon glistened on Gunner’s dark hair and carved out shadows in the hollows of his cheeks. “What a night.” His voice was low and raspy. The moonlight caught his crooked grin.
“It was amazing, huh? Birthing foals never gets old.”
His soulful eyes pierced hers. “I wasn’t talking about the foaling.”
Tension sprouted like vines, twining the two of them together, pulling them toward each other. Blood hummed through her veins like a dozen angry bees. Her lips ached for his touch. But just before they came together, a rational thought pushed in, unwelcome but timely.
Kyle.
She pressed her palm to Gunner’s chest.
He stopped instantly, waiting.
“As much as I might like a repeat performance, there’s something I have to do first.”
Their gazes clung. His head tipped back as understanding dawned. He put a few inches between them. “Okay.”
And then, because she didn’t want him to think she was assuming too much, she added, “Even if this is just... you know.”Nothing but a kiss.
He brushed her cheek with his thumb, firing every nerve cell in the wake of his touch. “It’s not.”
Warmth flowed through her at the confession, relief surging on its heels. All right. Maybe they were on the same page. Or at least in the same book. The same library?
“We should talk,” he said, “but it’s way past our bedtimes and we’re both exhausted.”
“Right. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Today.”
