AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He was older than me, a set-in-his-ways kinda cowboy. I didn’t know a lot about him, but I did know from Maya he wasn’t a player, and if he was, he didn’t mess around with locals or tourists like his brother Ryder famously did.
But I was going to roll the dice.
Losing my parents, I knew life could take a turn in the blink of an eye. I knew exactly how short it could be and how plans we made for one day could never turn out to be.
Moving to Odyssey had given me a new lease on life.
A new perspective.
I was going to live mine to the fullest, even when that meant I could get my heart broken in the process.
Clay
“You know, when you told me to pack a bag, this wasn’t why I thought I would need to change out of my clothes.” I chuckled at Emi’s sass and shrugged before licking my lips.
“Babe, I never said I was taking the day completely off.”
“You wanted me for the free labor, huh?” she teased before turning her attention to Tiger Lily, one of our Chestnut mares.
The horse was finicky. I had been about to ask Emi to brush one of our sweeter older horses when she walked over to Tiger Lily and the animal simply rested her face on Emi’s shoulder.
“She’s sweet,” December observed, completely clueless about how unsweet the animal could be sometimes. But I had a feeling the horse could tell what I could when it came to Emi’s soul.
“You ready?” I asked, and she nodded. We worked on saddling her horse and mine. She listened to the instructions I gave her at every step. Before long, we were riding out, each of us on our own horse.
I was surprised, knowing she’d come from California, that she knew how to ride. Part of me worried she’d fibbed a little, but by the way she handled Tiger Lily, it was clear she hadn’t.
Conversation flowed easily between us as we rode through the snow, both of us bundled up completely. I’d even brought one of my snow jackets for her to wear. She looked damn good in my beanie on her head and my clothes on her body.When did I turn into a caveman? Why do I want to see my ring on her finger more than I want to breathe?
I stopped us at the property line and helped her down after tying the horses to a tree.
We walked through the snow a little, and I looked down at her. “This is where West Ranch ends. Well, my cousins’ ranch.”
“Wow, this place is huge. I mean, I knew it was big. Everyone talks about West Ranch, but I have never been here, so I didn’t know the magnitude of it.” I nodded because I got where she was coming from.
“You see that?” I pointed out toward a hill and the construction site that was Troy’s place.
“Yeah! That’s a house.” She grinned.
“That’s Troy’s place, well, Troy and Mel,” I shared. “Ryder’s place is going to be out there. You see that cluster of tress?” I pointed, shifting our bodies so her back would be pressed against my front.
“I do,” she answered, leaning into me. I wished it were warmer so we wouldn’t have so many layers between us.
“Ours is going to be pressed against the hill back there.” I pointed. I didn’t miss the way her body went taut for a moment before she relaxed and turned around.
“Ours?” Those almost black eyes searched mine for a long moment. “Cowboy…” Her voice drifted off to nothing. Her eyes shined as she looked at me in a way that felt like she could look right into my heart.
“I said what I said, Em,” I doubled down.
I wasn’t an idiot.
I knew how fast this moving and how crazy it sounded.
But we had been skating around one another since she moved to town. Being there for her that night a week ago had been lucky timing and an opportunity I wasn’t going to let slip between my fingers. She was mine, and I sure as hell was hers. Completely.
My hands drifted up to hold her face. I swore I could feel the softness of her skin despite the gloves I wore.
“I know I didn’t make the best first impression, baby girl,” I started off, ignoring the nerves and clutching to a bold confidence I wasn’t sure I had the right to. Her lips twitched, like I’d known they would. Just another sign of how well we got to know one another, even from afar.
