“She’s a beaut, huh? I’ve had her since she was a baby. She’s my girl.”
I smile despite myself, glancing at Hunter. “I bet you get all the pretty girls, don’t you?”
“Nah.”
Shooting him an incredulous look, I snort. “Sure. You’re telling me you don’t bring girls back to the farm, show off your horses and your baby goats, and have them falling over themselves to get a real-life country boy of their own?”
Hunter laughs. Loudly. “Well, for one. Real-life ‘country boys’ aren’t a rare commodity around these parts. Besides, I’d be much more interested in impressing the other country boys,” he says with a wink.
Oh.Oh.I can’t fight my grin. Holy fuck, this is dangerous. Only it doesn’t matter that it’s dangerous because I’m leaving soon. Finding the real-life country boy wildly attractive isn’t going to hurt anything. “I see,” I say, ducking my head.
“Let’s get you set up on Molls so I can impress you with my cattle.”
For the second time in less than twelve hours, I find myself laughing.
Chapter 6
Hunter
AfterIfinishtackingup Molls and Lucky, my dad’s gelding, I turn to Theo. “You ready?”
He’s biting his lip again, but he nods. “Ready as I’ll ever be. What if she doesn’t like me and she throws me off her? That’s something horses do, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, but Molls won’t, I promise. I wouldn’t put you on her if it wasn’t safe. She’s great with newbies.”
“Alright then.”
I grin. “First things first.” Grabbing a helmet off the wall, I hold it out to him. “Helmet.”
His nose scrunches. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, sir. Brains are important. I’m real fond of mine, and we gotta take care of yours too.”
He huffs out a laugh, so I step closer and slip it onto his head, tightening the strap. My fingertips brush his jaw, and he stills, so I pull back quickly. “Too tight?”
He shakes his head.
“Perfect. Hang tight.”
I lead Molls to the mounting block, then wave Theo closer. “Step on up.”
He eyes me warily. “She’s not gonna freak out?”
I run a hand down her neck. “Nope.”
After stepping onto the block, he looks at me, waiting for me to tell him what’s next.
“Hand here.” I tap the saddle horn. “Other hand on the back of the saddle. Then just push up and swing your right leg over.”
He pauses, turning wide eyes on me. “What if I fall?”
“You won’t. But I’ll catch you if you do.” His eyes dart all over my face. “I promise, and hey, you’ve got a helmet on, so at least you won’t damage your brain if you do.”
That gets a small laugh out of him. He gives a single, resolute nod, then pushes up and swings his leg over. He inhales sharply, tipping a little too far to the right, and I reach out, steadying his thigh until he’s centered.
His breath gets caught in his lungs, his body tense. “Fuck, I’m on a horse.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “You’re on a horse. Breathe. Relax.” He exhales slowly, letting his shoulders drop. “There you go. Now feet in the stirrups to the balls of your feet, and heels down.”
