Page 84 of The Scars We Heal

Come on, Cait. I promise I’ll keep you safe.

I worried my bottom lip. Before I could type out a response, a soft knock sounded at the door.

“Come in!” I called out, already knowing it was Jake.

Heavy footsteps approached. “Ready for that ride?”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Not sure if I’m ready to get on a horse again.”

“I can offer you a different kind, if you’d like.” He winked, one corner of his lips curling up in a smirk. He knew exactly what he was doing, all sultry and teasing.

I rolled my eyes. “Daughter.” I pointed to her. “Right here.”

“And she’s just the cutest, sweetest thing.” He squatted down next to Whitley. “What are you working on, bug?”

She held up her book. “It’s Cheeto!

Her coloring book page had an astronaut in space with a cat and a planet behind them. The cat was colored in orange, and a rainbow of scribbles covered the rest of the page. She’d only colored in the lines for the cat. Everything else seemed to be the Wild West.

“Wow. Picasso, I like it,” Jake said. “You’re quite the artist, bug.”

“She takes after us, apparently.” I laughed, referencing our paint day.

“You think?” Jake winked at me before looking back at Whitley. “Your mom and I are going to go ride horses today. Do you want to come? Auntie Ellison can teach you.”

“Horses?” Whitley whipped her head around, eyes widening and brimming with excitement. “Can I bring Cheeto?”

Jake laughed. “Sorry, bug. Cheeto’s gotta stay, but I think they’ve got some barn cats you might be able to play with at the ranch.”

“You can’t bring any of them home, though,” I added quickly. The last thing we needed was another kitten running around.

Whitley frowned, her nose scrunching. “I don’t want to go, then.”

I huffed out a laugh through my nose. “You can’t ride a horse with a cat anyway, bug.”

“I think you’re really going to like the horses,” Jake encouraged her, and she began to soften.

“Okay, fine.”

Thirty minutes later, Whitley was on the back of Ellison’s horse, Lucille, and Ellison was leading her around. Her giggles pierced through the air, the smile on her face wider than I’d ever seen it.

“Told you she’d love riding.” Jake nudged me with his elbow.

“You’re right,” I admitted with a slight shake of my head.

“I always am,” he teased.

“That might be going a bit too far.”

He put his hand out palm up, and I took it. “We’ll see about that. If you don’t actually like horseback riding, I will admit defeat. But I think you’re going to love it, too.”

Jake led me over to the barn where Bullet and Trigger were. I sat on top of an empty stall while he saddled up our horses, just observing. His muscles flexed as he tightened the straps, and his jeans hugged his ass in just the right way.

He caught me looking, and a grin tugged at his lips. “Like what you see?”

I hopped down just as he opened Bullet’s stall. “Maybe a little bit.”

After handing me the reins, he took Trigger, and we walked the horses outside. I’d been around horses most of my life, but my memory of riding was a bit foggy after being away for the last decade.