When Noah returns to the barn, she looks pissed.
“Everythin’ okay?” I ask.
She shakes her head and looks at Ellie. “Someone covered the arena in nails. This was done on purpose. I’m so sorry, El.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.” Ellie reassuringly pats her back.
“Who the hell would do that?”
“I’m not sure. Tripp’s checkin’ the outside cameras. For now, we’re gettin’ it swept out. Mr. Weston’s on his way, so I’ll be in the corral double-checkin’ that too.”
After Noah leaves, I continue working on Ranger, but my mind stays on her. I feel awful for both of them. Noah loves her job, and it’s obvious she’s one hundred percent committed to her clients. Ellie loves Ranger and takes competing seriously.
The only thing I can do is give Ranger my best care and hope for the best.
Mr. Weston shows up thirty minutes later and determines the hoof is infected. Ranger can’t race until it’s fully healed, which could be a couple of weeks or several months.
“Poor baby. You’re gonna get all kinds of extra lovin’,” Ellie says, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“How long have you been competin’?” I ask in an attempt to distract her. I’m on his last hoof since I had to pause to let Mr. Weston look at him.
“Since I was thirteen, but Ranger was a gift for my sixteenth birthday. We’ve been inseparable since. I hate that we’ll have to skip the fundraiser event. I was lookin’ forward to beatin’ Marcia Grayson’s ass.”
I chuckle at the competitiveness in her voice. “I know the feelin’.”
“You used to race?”
“Rode bulls,” I clarify. “But there’d be times I’d have to take time off to heal after fallin’ or gettin’ stomped on. Not an easy career.”
“Oh my gosh, you’re a former bull rider?” Her tone lightens. “I bet you have the best stories!”
I chuckle and nod because she’s right. “It was many years ago. I did lots of stupid shit.”
“Like what?” Her eager voice makes it hard to ignore her.
“One night after drinkin’, a friend and I decided to go back into the arena and ride a bull drunk off our asses. You’d think my friend fallin’ off in two seconds and gettin’ stomped on woulda stopped me from doin’ it, but it didn’t.”
She laughs, keeping her attention on me as I walk to my rig to grab another shoe.
“Broke a couple ribs and my collarbone. Nearly lost all my sponsorships, too.”
“Oh my gosh. That sounds painful.” She speaks with awe, but nothing is admirable about what I did in those early years of my career.
“Not the worst pain I’ve experienced,” I mutter.
“What happened after that?”
“Took me three months to fully recover, and even when I did, I couldn’t ride the same. Had to take another month off before they’d let me back on.”
“What about your friend?”
“He wasn’t as lucky. Broke his scapula and never came back. His only sponsor dropped him, and he couldn’t afford it on his own.”
“Wow. How long did you compete?”
“From the time I was twenty-one to twenty-nine. After that, I got my farrier certification.”
“Do ya miss it?”
“The lifestyle? No. The rush? Yes. But it was time to retire. I had two young kids and a wife at home always worryin’ about me. It was time I acted like a family man.”
“Where are your kids now?”
“Ellie, can I speak to Fisher for a minute?” Noah asks, thankfully appearing before I had to respond.
“Oh, sure! I’m gonna call my mom and let her know what’s goin’ on.” She gives Ranger a quick peck before leaving the barn.
“How long were you standin’ there?” I ask when we’re alone.
“Long enough to know I’m gonna kick your ass on the mechanical bull tomorrow night.”
I snort, shaking my head at her confidence. “You think the few times you’ve done it will be better than my decade of experience?”
“No, now I know all I gotta do is get you drunk, and I’ll win, no problem.”
I smirk, cleaning up my area now that Ranger’s hooves are done. After his Epsom salt soak and getting checked by the vet, I bandaged it. It’ll need to be soaked and cleaned daily until the wound heals.
“I’m the DD, remember?”
“You sure about that? My brothers can call an Uber or Lyft.”
“And how will you get home?” I ask, knowing how easy it’d be to just take her to my house and keep her for myself.
“I’ll call for my own. Unless you have a better idea?”
Her flirty tone has my dick growing hard. I live right outside of town, so a quick five-minute drive is all it’d take to bring her to my bed.
“You should let me drive you home so I know you’re safe,” I tell her instead of what I’m thinking.
Ellie returns before Noah can respond and takes Ranger to his stall. “I’m gonna stay with him for a little bit longer. Is that okay?”
Noah smiles. “Of course. Stay as long as ya want, and let me know if you need anythin’.”
Once Ellie leads Ranger back to his stall, I grab my clipboard to check who’s next.
“Are you takin’ your lunch break, or should I bring the next one?” she asks.
I hesitate before answering. “Are you takin’ one?”
She licks her lips as her gaze meets mine, a secret tell that she’s thinking the same thing I am. We’re not supposed to be spending time alone together.
“Probably since I can’t train until everything’s clean. Sweepin’ the trainin’ center will take my brothers at least an hour and another to level new dirt. Add in two more for their fuckin’ around. What’d ya have in mind?”
“Well, turns out I still need that retreat tour.”
She raises a brow. “And you want me to give it to you?”
“Who better than the ranch princess herself?”
“How’d I earn that name?”
I’d rather call her AJ or Goldie, but that’d breach our “friends only” agreement, considering it’d only make us think of our forbidden night together.
“Am I wrong? Seems you run shit ’round here.”
“Only the boarders,” she argues, grinning. “My brothers and parents run many other aspects of the ranch and retreat.”
“If you don’t wanna—”
“No, I will. But we should do it on horseback to get the true ranch experience. I can show you a couple of the popular trails, then, too.”
I hadn’t expected that, but I won’t deny time with her.
“Sure. I’ll clean up my supplies, and we can go.”
“My horse is at the family barn. You can ride one of ours.”
In my gut, I know this is a bad idea. The more time I spend with her, the more I want her.
But if we’re going to try out this “friends” thing and spend time with each other tomorrow night at the restaurant and bar, then I need to slap on my poker face and deal with it.
Unless Jase gives me his blessing and Noah’s parents lift the no employees fraternizing rule, we can’t be anything more. I didn’t spend years healing and overcoming mental trauma to cause more.
My dick stirs in disagreement.
Twenty minutes later, we’re riding side by side toward the retreat. She points out from the ranch hand quarters, The Lodge, and the cabins. In between are the trail horse barn and pasture, the pool, fishing pond, and firepit area. People walk around and wave as we pass them. Noah leads us around and up to the trail where they give tours.
She studies the view as her shoulders relax. “This is Sunset Trail. It’s a family favorite.”
“Why’s that?” I ask, trotting behind her.
She flashes a sly smile. “You’ll see. C’mon!”
With a little kick, she takes off, and I follow. Denver’s a quarter horse and one of the easiest horses I’ve been on. Not surprised since Noah trained him.
As we ride up the trail, I get a better view of the retreat on one side and the scenery on the other.
“It’s beautiful up here,” I say when I catch up.
“Just wait.” Noah jumps down and grabs Donut’s lead rope, and I do the same with Denver. “There’s a spot up here I wanna show you.”
The sun beats down on me, and sweat trickles down my neck, but I don’t care. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than up here next to her.
“Here.” Noah smiles at me when she glances over her shoulder. “You can see for miles.”
She ties Donut to a post, so I do the same with Denver.
Once the horses are secure, I take in the view—the tops of the trees, the ranch on one side and the retreat on the other, and of course, Noah standing next to me.
“I bet this never gets old,” I say.
“Never.” She turns and points at something behind me. “I brought Mallory here shortly after she moved in a couple years ago. I painted those rocks with her as a way to help her grieve and have a spot to come and talk to her mom and dad.”
She’s mentioned Mallory moving here before, but I didn’t know her parents died.
“What happened? If ya don’t mind me askin’…” I admire how colorful and cheerful the rocks look.
“Car crash,” Noah says in a somber tone that has my heart aching.
I know all too well what it’s like to lose a loved one.
“At least they died together,” she adds. “That’s what helps us grieve.”
Noah sits on one of the rocks, and I take the one beside her.
“Poor Mallory. So young. Did she have any siblings?”
“No. Only child.” The corner of her lips tilts up slightly. “Now she has five older ones.”
“That was nice y’all took her in.”
“Wouldn’t have had it any other way,” she says, resting her hand between us. “They didn’t live ’round here, so Mallory had never ridden. She wanted to learn, and I knew it’d be therapeutic for her, so I gave her lessons.”
“And Miss Swift is her horse, right?” I put my hand next to hers, not quite touching but close enough to feel her warmth.
She laughs, crossing her legs and angling toward me so we’re even closer. “Yeah. We couldn’t talk her out of naming her Taylor Alison Swift, so we came up with a nickname when Ayden got tired of callin’ her the full name after the first day.”
I chuckle. “She’s lucky to have y’all. I woulda never guessed what she’s been through if I didn’t know.” My gaze finds hers as I scan her face. “Your family saved her.”
“I like to think we saved each other.” She breaks out into a smile as she stares out at the view. “Losin’ my aunt and uncle wrecked my momma. That was her sister. My dad was distraught, too. I’d never seen him cry until the funeral.”
“Grief isn’t somethin’ you can fully understand until you’ve experienced it firsthand. It’s worse when it’s paired with guilt and is the most painful way to live. Makes ya not wanna live at all.”
She flicks her gaze to mine as if she wants to ask questions, but she places her hand on mine and squeezes it instead. My stomach flips at the skin-on-skin contact, but her expression is filled with sympathy and remorse.
“I can’t even imagine what that was like for you. Jase showed me a few pics of her. She was beautiful.”
My throat closes up as I give her a tight smile. “Yeah, she was. She was filled with so much heart and energy. Loved bein’ outside and tryin’ new things. Nothin’ scared her.”
“Wow, she sounds like the exact opposite of Jase.” She chuckles, and I do, too, because she’s right.
I wish I could explain what happened, but I can’t. I’ve only said those words aloud once when I told my wife and the detectives. But repeating them made it real.
And I didn’t want them to be true.
“Lyla woulda loved it here,” I tell her instead. “She loved watchin’ me work on horses and askin’ a million questions about them.”
I’d do anything to listen to her talk for hours again.
“Reminds me of Mallory. It’s why she and Serena are good friends. They can talk each other’s ears off.”
“That’s Ayden’s daughter?”
She nods. “He and his wife, Laney, have another one comin’ in a couple months. Ayden didn’t even know Serena existed until last year.”
“What?”
She chuckles at my expression. I wish I could bottle up the sound. It’s so sweet and genuine. It makes me smile even when my heart hurts.
“It’s a long story, but basically, Ayden left his hometown a decade ago to escape his abusive father. Laney didn’t find out she was pregnant until he was gone, but he’d ditched his phone and all social media so she couldn’t even tell him.”
“Wow. So Laney raised her alone?”
“Not exactly, and that’s an even longer story…” She snort-laughs. “You’ll have to take Ayden out for a drink one night and get the full story because it’s wild. But the short version is Laney found him on the ranch from a viral video and then flew here to tell him he had a daughter. He went to Texas to meet her, and a few weeks later, Laney and Serena moved here to be with him. They eloped, she got pregnant, and in August, they’re havin’ a reception.”
At least someone around here got their happily ever after.
“Ayden’s a lucky man to get his family back.”
Her fingers intertwine with mine, and she gives me a tight-lipped smile. My gaze wanders to her mouth, desperately wishing I could close the small gap between us.
We stare at each other, neither wanting to cross the lines as the air between us grows thicker.
“Noah…”
A piercing noise echoes from her pocket, and she quickly reaches for it and silences her phone.
“Shit. I set a reminder to check on the trainin’ center.”
“Oh, right. I should probably get back to work.”
“We still have to eat,” she argues, getting to her feet, and I follow her to the horses.
“You sure there’s time?”
She jumps on Donut, and when I settle on Denver, she shoots me a shit-eating grin.
“C’mon, I’ll race ya to the bottom!” She kicks her heels and whistles, making Donut take off.
Christ. I wasn’t expecting that.
“Let’s go, Denver.” My tap is lighter than Noah’s. I’m not looking to fall off a cliff today nor am I as familiar with these trails as she is. There are too many trees and curves for me to confidently race her.
By the time I catch up with Noah, she’s waiting with a smug expression.
“I thought you were a bull rider or, at the very least, a cowboy?”
“Ouch.” I laugh. “I put all that recklessness behind me, remember?”
“Oh, right. You traded in your adrenaline junkie card for an AARP one. I’ll go easy on ya next time.”
It’s on the tip of my goddamn tongue to remind her how she’s the one who couldn’t keep up with me that night, but I keep that thought to myself.
But I’ll never forget I had her screaming out my name within eight seconds as she shook through her orgasm.
It’s all I see when I close my eyes, and then I hear her moaning in my head when I stroke myself in the shower.
Noah leads me to The Lodge, where she introduces me to a couple of the receptionists who make it more than obvious they’re flirting with me. And because I can’t help messing with Noah, I eat it up and write down my number when they ask.
“Need I remind you of the no employees datin’ rule?”
Her bitter tone has me smiling.
“No, thanks to you, I’m well aware of it.”
We hit the buffet, where I fill my plate because everything smells so damn good, and find a table.
“Now we gotta fire them.” She sits across from me, and her nostrils flare.
“Why not fire me?”
Her head snaps up as she stabs her fork into a piece of cornbread. “What?”
“Why do you automatically fire the girls and not me? I’m the one who gave them my number.”
“They’re the ones who asked,” she bites out.
“And I coulda said no, so accordin’ to your rules, shouldn’t we all be fired?” I shrug, taking a bite of my chicken-fried steak.
Her chest rises and falls as if she’s annoyed with me, and I choke back laughter at her frustration.
“You don’t think it’s rude to hand out your number in front of me?” she asks and then opens her mouth as if she wants to say something else but clamps it shut.
We both know we’d act on our feelings if we could without consequences, but considering we can’t, we’re stuck in this weird friend zone neither of us wants.
“I thought we were…friends. Like you and Jase, right?”
Ocean-blue eyes stare intently at me. Her jaw is so tense, I’m waiting for it to snap in half.
“Fine,” she grinds out. “Then you can’t get mad at me when I do the same tomorrow night at the bar.”
The hell she will.
“Sure. I’ll even be your wingman. Is that what y’all call it now?”
She scoffs as she shoves bread into her mouth.
The conversation dies, and we eat in silence. Noah acting like a jealous girlfriend is one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen, and I can’t wait to get her alone to tell her the truth.
“We should get back to the barn,” she says as she finishes eating. “Tripp and Landen have finished, so I wanna go check it out.”
“Any word on the cameras?”
“Not yet. He’ll probably check now that they’re done.”
I clear my plate and wave to the receptionists just to further mess with Noah. She turns and walks toward the exit. When I catch up to her, she acts indifferent and opens the door for me.
Neither of us speaks on the way to the Hollis family barn. Once we’re inside, I lead Denver to the groomer’s stall.
Once both horses are clipped in, we remove their saddles, and I follow her to the tack room.
The door whips open and nearly slams in my face when it bounces back.
“Jesus.” I dodge it just in time.
“My bad,” Noah singsongs without a backward glance.
That was definitely on purpose.
She sets the saddle on the stand, and after I do the same with mine, she grabs the grooming bucket. Before she can leave, I snatch her wrist and pull her toward me.
She gasps when her chest presses against mine. “W-what’re ya doin’?”
I take a few steps, pushing her with me until her back is flat to the door. Her fingers release the grip on the bucket, and it falls to the floor.
Cupping her cheek, I lift her chin until her eyes meet mine. “Are you done actin’ jealous?”
“I’m not!” Her racing heartbeat tells me otherwise.
My thumb brushes over her bottom lip as mine curve into a knowing grin.
I lean down until my forehead rests on hers. “I wanna kiss the fuckin’ hell out of you right now, Goldie.” My mouth moves to her ear. “And after I’d thoroughly devour you, I’d get on my knees and taste between your thighs until you came on my tongue. But I’d have to cover your mouth because I know how loud ya get.”
Her breath hitches on a soft moan, and my cock jerks at the sound.
“But you—”
“Before you get upset with me for followin’ the rules, just remember all the ways I’d break them for you.” My mouth hovers above hers. We’re less than a breath apart, and a small step is all it’d take to steal her lips.
“You did for the receptionists.”
I meet her eyes and fight the urge to smile. Instead, I grab a loose strand of her golden hair and curl it behind her ear.
“And because I’m well aware of the rules, I gave them Jase’s number, not mine.”
Her brows rise, and I laugh.
“Figured he was single and allowed to date anyone he wants, so why not?”
And I selfishly did it to hopefully keep his mind off Noah.
Her pale cheeks change into a bright red hue.
“Now who’s the one blushin’?” I ask, throwing her words from the bar that night back at her.
“But who’s the hot and aroused one this time?” She lowers her gaze to my noticeable erection.
“Oh, that’s definitely me.” I smirk because it’s not even worth trying to hide.
We stare at each other, waiting for the other to break, but before we can, someone shouts in the barn.
“Noah! You in here?”
“Shit, that’s Tripp.”
I move away so she can open the door, then wait a second for my dick to calm down. The last thing we need is one of her brothers getting suspicious of us when nothing is even happening.
Noah grabs the grooming bucket and goes out to speak with him. She tells him she’ll meet him at the training center once we finish brushing the horses.
“Hey.” I nod at Tripp when he comes into view. Then I glance at Noah. “If ya gotta run, I can finish up here and get them back in their stalls.”
Tripp looks back and forth between us, and I do my best to seem normal. Not at all like I was seconds from cracking and kissing his sister.
By the way Noah looks at us, she must sense the tension coming off Tripp and reluctantly agrees.
“Sure. Thanks, Mr. Underwood.”
Giving her a tight-lipped smile, I ignore Tripp’s narrowed stare before grabbing the bucket and walking away before he sees right through me.
