Page 10 of His Cowboy

I grinned so wide my cheeks hurt with it, and she smiled right back at me. “I love it. It’s been great.”

“You’ve had an eventful week then?” Rory asked.

“Yeah, I got to assist with a C-section just yesterday on a sheep. That was something I’d never got to see before. And other than that, it’s been mostly physicals and herd health checks. Very interesting work, though.”

“That’s great, honey. Have you gotten a chance to get out and ride Blossom like you wanted to?”

I shook my head. “No, ma’am. I haven’t gotten a chance. I need to get myself a proper saddle. Maybe even some proper riding boots. There was a man named Paul at the clinic picking up some medication, and he mentioned that he has a storefront I can go to.”

Everybody’s head shot up, and they looked at me.

“Oh, he’s a nice man,” Karilyn said. Her heart wasn’t in the words though. It was like she was lying, but she didn’t have quite the same enthusiasm as she usually did.

I nodded. My cheeks burned from the attention. I squirmed a bit. Paul had been nice, albeit a little upfront in the attention he had given me.

“I hope he was kind to you,” Karilyn said.

Turner snickered. “I’ll bet he was. That man don’t hold himself back when there’s a fresh—”

Reese glared, and Karilyn tsked. “Enough talk like that at the table. I’m sure he was plenty polite.”

I grimaced. “He did ask me to accompany him to dinner this weekend, but I declined. Although it was a little tempting. I haven’t been out to dinner at a restaurant in a long time. Marshal mentioned the local steakhouse was great. Is it true they buy all their cattle from the Triple R? Paul said he’d take me if I wanted to go.” Fuck. I needed to get a grip on my mouth.

Reese slammed his fists on the table and pushed himself up. My eyes went wide as I looked at him. He stormed out of the room.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Rory laughed. “No. No. It’s not you. Don’t you worry about it. If you’re interested in going out on a date with Paul, he’ll be a perfect gentleman. But if you’re looking for a happily ever after, I wouldn’t start there.”

“Oh, I’m not.” My cheeks burned as bright as the cherries in the pie Karilyn made for dessert.

Reese came back into the room. “Perry, would you like to go riding with me this weekend? We can take Blossom out, and I’ll show you some of the trails around here that you can use. We can take a picnic basket.”

My jaw dropped. Was I supposed to answer right then and there? In front of everyone?

Everyone else around the table looked at us, waiting with bated breath.

“I... I would like that very much,” I said.

“Great.” He left the room again, and this time we heard the entry door close as he left the house.

We were all quiet for a moment. Finally, I whispered. “Do I have a date with Reese?”

Rory burst out laughing. “Yeah, I think you do.”

Chapter 7

Reese

Saturday evening I waited for Perry out in the barn. I had my own horse, Patches, saddled and ready for our ride. He waited patiently at the hitching post. I tied on the saddlebags, which were packed with two slices of fresh pie, trail mix, and bottles of water. Along with the customary first aid kit in case anything terrible were to happen.

Perry walked out wearing a pair of tight fitting jeans, cowboy boots, and a T-shirt with the vet clinic’s logo on it.

I handed him one of the jackets we kept in the barn. “It’ll keep the mosquitoes off you,” I said.

He smiled, his eyes flashing with such happiness and delight I was ready to hand him anything he asked for if I could just see that smile everyday. “Thanks. Is there a saddle I can use? Which tack belongs to Blossom?”

My chest tightened. I knew he wanted to ride Blossom, but the thought formed a knot in my gut. She was regularly exercised, so I knew she was fit and able to handle a rider, only I’d never been able to get a rider to stay on her for very long. She wouldn’t tolerate it.

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