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Not that it gave him a pass.
It just earned him another chance.
Maybe coasted down the hill, and I wound down the dirt road until I came to a stop in front of the giant barn. Anticipation spiked, a hope that glowed, and a smile tugged at my face as I took in the scene.
Horses of every color, size, and breed were in the corrals and pens, and one was out in the bullpen being run round and round.
It struck me right then.
Something profound.
Coming back here?
Part of it was for me, too.
I needed it.
Wanted it.
An old dream that flared when I cranked open my door and stepped into the warmth of the summer sun burning across the expanse of blue, as a whinny touched my ears and the love of the horses filled my heart.
This…this was what I was meant to do.
That feeling of purpose expounded more when a little voice hit me from behind. “Ms. Dae, Ms. Dae! It was two days and you got here just like you said.”
I spun around to Evelyn running across the stretch of lawn, brown hair flying behind her, this enormous smile on her face that spread through me on a whisper of warmth.
I did my best not to take note of Caleb Greyson sauntering along behind her.
All cool but definitely not casual.
Not when he wore another of those button-downs with the sleeves rolled up and those intricate designs rolling across his arms. Dark fury perfectly put together. A dichotomy who stalked along in a pair of tailored black pants, his hair pushed back the way he wore it. The chiseled angles and harsh lines of his face glinted beneath the rays of light, making him appear delicious and dangerous.
Fallen angel, indeed.
A tinge of embarrassment pulled at me when I thought of the way I’d goaded him Friday night.
Implying he wanted me, then straight up saying he would be terrible in bed if he made good on it.
But I couldn’t help it when the alcohol had my tongue slack and the man looked too freaking good for good behavior.
So there wasn’t one single thing about this guy to make me think he would come close to being terrible in bed, not the way the ground trembled beneath my feet the closer he came.
Attraction flared. The kind I shouldn’t feel because it was the kind that promised I’d get my broken heart completely tattered. Smashed to smithereens.
Maybe he’d forgotten about it by then or maybe he hadn’t noticed in the first place.
Except those ice-blue eyes flashed as they took me in where I stood at the side of my truck.
Sparks of darkness as they moved over me, heat flaring as his gaze caressed over the neckline of my tank and dipped to the swell of my breasts.
Oh, he was remembering, alright.
I forced myself to shuck those thoughts. I should absolutely not be thinking about him like that. I didn’t even like him. Like, at all.
Okay, that was kind of a lie, too.
Because I liked the way he was looking at me right then.
I liked the way he seemed to be guarding Evelyn as he followed her out.
I liked the way he’d left me buzzy with need when he’d taken care of me Friday night before he’d left, pulling my boots from my feet and tucking me in like maybe he was more than just an okay guy.
I liked the way that same buzzing need was humming loud in my veins right then.
But that kind of thinking would only get me into trouble, and I sure didn’t need that kind of trouble in my life. I’d had plenty of heartbreak to last me for the next decade or two.
I tore my attention from the way he was looking at me like he really did want to eat me and turned it on the little girl.
Excitement blazed from her, and she ran directly to me, never slowing before she threw her arms around my legs and held on tight.
My heart squeezed like it was in her fist. I bent down so I could hug her back. “Evelyn! I missed you like crazy. How was your weekend?”
“Longest two days of my whole life,” she said in her sweet little slur, the hint of a stutter on her t’s. “But I counted to keep the best track, and it’s finally got here and now I get to see you and maybe I get to ride Mazzy today.”
She kept clinging to me while the rattle of words fell from her.
Affection burst in my spirit. A flood of warmth that slipped beneath the surface of my skin.
I shouldn’t let it.
I had a whole problem with caring too deep and right off the bat.
Dakota accused me of making instalove a real thing.
But I wasn’t going to keep it from this child. She needed it more than I needed to protect my heart that felt like it was ping-ponging against my ribs.
