“Wyatt,” I sighed, raising my head in exasperation.
“I’m kidding,” he laughed. “Well, about you shooting me down, but not about coming with you. I can help. I can take care of the horses, I can cheer from the stands, I can make sure your horses get two stalls and you’re sleeping in a bed and not your truck.” He met my gaze, taking a step back from me, not forward. “Think about it at least. If you want help looking over your schedule tonight, I can help there, too. I’ve helped Rhett plenty of times.”
“You’re serious?” He couldn’t be serious.
He twisted his lips in a smile, his blue eyes beaming. “Think about it and let me know. I’ll let you have time with your boys.”
With that, he left the stall.
My mind was buzzing.Would it really be bad to have him with me?
Ten
Wyatt
IfIweren’tinthe kitchen, I wouldn’t have heard the knock. It was so light, but it was there. Two steps and my hand was on the doorknob, swinging it open—a rush flying through my chest when I saw who was standing there. Quinn held her laptop to her body, and she took a few deep breaths. Her eyes trailed down slowly, but then popped back up, blinking rapidly as she looked away.
“Quinn?” My voice rose at least an octave in surprise. Trying to shrug that off and play it cool, I flashed her a smirk and leaned against the open door.
A light blush spread across her cheeks when she looked away, her gaze anywhere but on me.
Pinching my brow, I looked down at myself, my frown vanishing with the realization of the reason for her blush. I stood shirtless, my gray sweatpants sitting low on my hips, I was barefoot, and my hair was still wet from my shower. I raised a single eyebrow, folding my arms across my bare chest, using my shoulder to prop me up on the door. I would be lying if I said that the fact that her blush was because of me didn’t send confidence roaring through my veins. Now, if only she’d act like that when I was clothed.
She cleared her throat and swallowed so hard I could see her throat bob.
“I was thinking,” she finally croaked. “Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have you come along with me. I was looking at my schedule, and I seem to have…” She trailed off, her jaw clenching.
“Come on in.” I held up a hand and stepped back from the entry, giving her plenty of space to cross the threshold into my small apartment. She passed me, her scent wafting through the air between us. This girl was around horses nonstop, yet she still smelled of coconut. I grinned, inhaling it in. “Let me just go get a shirt on,” I said, closing the door behind her.
“Please,” she said hastily. She placed her laptop on the small kitchen peninsula, and as I walked to my dresser, I caught her licking her lips, the blush on her cheeks still visible.
Tugging a simple black hoodie over my head, I approached the peninsula where Quinn was opening her laptop. I pulled the stool out and took a seat, watching as her fingers ran against the mouse pad.
“Okay, what did you seem to do?”
“First,” she started, “I’m not sure how I managed to do this, so you’re not going to ask any questions about how I screwed up so bad—”
“You didn’t screw up,” I mumbled, and she kept talking as if she didn’t even hear me.
“But I was looking at my schedule,” Quinn continued, her eyes moving all over her computer screen. “I have five rides coming up. One in Idaho, New Mexico, and Colorado, and two in Arizona. I have this planned over seven days, and in confirming everything when I got home,”—she paused and turned her laptop to me—“I noticed that a rodeo hadn’t confirmed me as a rider, and a few boarding stables only had me booked for one stall.”
“Okay, easy fixes.” I slid the laptop closer to me, now seeing the multiple screens she had opened. A rodeo website, stable confirmations, and a document with her schedule and travel plans. First, I went to the rodeo website, already having an idea as to what was going on. There had been times when Rhett was too eager to get to the next step that he didn’t—
“Second,” she said, catching me off guard from my thought. I looked up at her, my brow raised. “This is strictly business. If you do anything outside of helping me here and on the road, I will punch you.”
I chuckled. “Noted. I’ll be good.” I gave her a smirk, which quickly vanished as soon as I saw her vacant expression. I cleared my throat. “So, I’m looking at the rodeo. Looks like Flagstaff?” Right to business.
“Yes, which happens to be the first rodeo this weekend. Phoenix, Albuquerque, Grand Junction, and Boise all confirmed.” She looked down and picked at her nails.
I hummed. “You scheduled them in a circle.” I motioned with my finger in the air, thinking of the map in my mind. “Good plan.”
“It made sense, and the dates worked. I just missed Flagstaff.”
“Okay, first thing, let’s get that confirmed. Did you pay your fee?” I asked, and when her answer was a shrug, I inhaled and gave her a knowing nod. “We’ll do that. Then the stables.” I opened the browser tab and pulled up her registration form. “How many rodeos did you book at a time?”
“A few months in advance. I have my life planned up through May.”
“Mainly weekends, right?”
