“Iris.” Nash rode next to me.
“Nash,” I replied, keeping my gaze forward.
“Can we please talk?” he asked softly.
Something about his tone made me look at him. His face was solemn, nothing like the cocky cowboy who had rolled into town a few weeks ago. It tugged a little at my heartstrings, remembering the details he had told Beau.
“I guess I owe you for taking care of me,” I said, biting my lip.
“You don’t owe me anything,” he said looking ahead. “I did what anyone else would what have done.”
“Bullshit,” I said quickly. “Most people would have left the medicine at my doorstep and left.”
He shook his head as we made it to the barn.
“I don’t have much time, but we can talk,” I said, hopping off my horse.
He did the same, following me into the barn. “It will be quick. I have to go help Forest and Jude.”
“Ok,” I said, unsaddling Snow White.
Nash helped me brush her, checking her hooves and sprucing up her stall. The more time that passed that he didn’t talk, the more I worried it was going to be bad.
“I’m sorry,” he said, when he closed the door on Snow White’s stall. “I was an asshole to you, and you didn’t deserve my anger.”
I didn’t know what to say, this wasn’t what I thought he was going to say.
“Instead of fighting against you I should have talked to you, got to know you and maybe, I don’t know, we could have figured shit out together,” he sighed, taking his hat off, looking up at me with those baby blues, rendering me speechless. “I think wemight have found out that we weren’t each other’s enemy, but we might have been able to help each.”
Everything he said wasn’t something I hadn’t thought of before, but the way he said it made me feel something different.
“I didn’t know my father or my family were keeping you away from the farm,” he said, walking up to me. “I thought you had access to the farm entire time and until recently, I didn’t even know you lived in Sterling Ridge. So now that my father needs something, I was thinking maybe this is the way you can get back on your family’s farm. I don’t know what the hell my father is doing. I’m not privy to that information, but I know he needs something from you and that means you have all the power.”
I felt bad for not saying I heard his conversation. Should I tell him? Was it wrong not to?
“My family and I don’t have the best relationship, so whatever you need for your family farm, I’ll help you with,” he said.
“I heard that last piece of your conversation when you were talking with Beau,” I said, quickly looking down at my feet, embarrassment making my face red.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked, tilting my face up.
“At first, I thought maybe I had dreamed it, but on the second day you talked about it some more and I realized it wasn’t a dream,” I said, as he stepped closer. “I didn’t mean to overhear but?—”
“It’s ok, I think a part of me hoped you were listening,” he said, glancing down at my lips. “It was easier to talk to Beau about it than tell you everything.”
“Beau is a great listener,” I said, putting a hand on his chest, feeling a little unsteady with him so close.
“He looks great on his knees too,” he whispered, leaning down.
I groaned as our moment flashed through my mind. “Don’t remind me.”
“Did it feel good? He looked ravenous,” Nash said against my lips.
“I haven’t come that hard in a long time,” I said, but I didn’t know if it was a challenge or a statement.
“I’m sure I could do better,” he said, so sure of himself.
A taunt was at the tip of my tongue when he pressed his lips against mine. It was gentle and soft, nothing like the frantic kiss we had shared before. It unleashed butterflies in my chest like it was a first kiss.
