I raised an eyebrow. "Piggyback."
"Yes."
I hooked my good arm around her waist and pulled her tight against my chest.
"I don’t know," I murmured, voice low. "If we’re talking about ridin’ a cowboy, I’d rather have those pretty legs wrapped around my head."
Her cheeks flushed a deeper pink under the sunburn. She glanced toward the open barn doors.
"Brock. Behave. This is for the boots."
"Just offering better ideas."
She shoved at my chest, but she was fighting a smile. "We're doing the piggyback. Actually—" The smile flickered, and a frown took over. "No. You need to rest, and I'm too heavy. We'll figure out something else."
"You think you're too heavy for me?"
"Your shoulder isn't healed. I'm not risking it for views."
"Sienna."
I bent, hooked my right arm under her thighs, and lifted her straight off the ground. She yelped and grabbed my neck.
"Brock! Put me down!"
"You weigh about as much as a wet saddle." I bounced her once to prove it. My left shoulder didn’t even twinge. "Get your phone out. Let's shoot this before Colt walks in and ruins it."
She was laughing now, her face inches from mine. She pulled up the app one-handed and hit record, arm stretched out to catch us both.
I carried her down the center aisle, dust hanging in the early light, her laugh echoing off the rafters.
Then her phone rang, breaking the moment.
She went rigid against my chest. Pulled the phone back, looked at the screen, and the smile dropped clean off her face.
"It's my boss," she said.
I stopped walking. Loosened my grip so her boots could find the ground, but kept my hand on her waist.
"You want me to step out?"
She shook her head, took a breath, and answered.
"Avery. Morning."
I leaned against the stall door. Couldn’t make out the words, but the voice on the other end was fast and sharp.
"I'm not neglecting Outlaw. The Ryder posts are an affiliate deal I set up on the side to build his personal audience. It’s cross-promotion."
More rapid-fire from the other end.
"The numbers are stabilizing. You can't expect the Cheyenne bump to last forever."
She turned away from me, took a few slow steps down the aisle, then stopped.
"No. Absolutely not. I don't care what they want. He's on medical light duty."
I crossed my arms. It translated easy enough—Outlaw wanted me on a horse.
