“Thanks, I’ve been getting some extra practice in with Renn too.Did you know he played football in high school and college?”
“Huh, no I didn’t realize that.”
“Ya, he’s a cool guy.Maybe you should marry someone like him.”
“Alright no more marriage talk around here.For either of us.”
Jeremy laughed as he walked out of her room.
Renn was going to meet her the next morning, and she needed to remember this was a work trip.Nothing more.But the image of him on one knee was tough to beat.
*
At five inthe morning, in fitted jeans, boots, and a worn gray T-shirt, Renn looked like a cowboy model of her dreams as he finished mucking out Beast’s stall.
“When I said to meet me at the crack of dawn, I didn’t mean you had to clean the stalls this morning.Jeremy was going to clean them out before we got back.”
“Figured I’d get them started while you slept in.”
“Ha ha, it’s five fifteen.Sunrise isn’t for another forty-five minutes.”
“I wanted to make sure I was early enough to help you hook up the trailer and load up the boys.”
“There you go again meeting my needs, before I even have a chance of wishing someone was around to help me out.”
Renn just stood with the pitchfork and smiled.It was dark out and he only had a few soft lights on in the barn.The smell of hay permeated the air between them.What would it be like to wake up to a man like Renn every day, helping her on the ranch and supporting her?
“Jeremy said you played football in college?”she said, clearing her throat and focusing on grabbing some gloves.
“Yep, he mentioned yesterday his coach is punishing him.Said he was going to ask Wes to talk to the man.”
“I just wish the coach wasn’t such a jerk.”
“Jeremy’s getting a real taste of the business side of sports.Coaches, boosters, scholarships—it can get really messy.”
“Too bad he’s not more interested in STEM or AI than football—maybe the robots aren’t as cutthroat.”
“You’re doing a great job.He’s a good kid.And Wes seems pretty good at the big-brother-quasi-dad stuff.”
“After their parents died, Wes moved home from Atlanta and Mrs.Hart moved in with Dalton and Levi.Mr.and Mrs.Hart were amazing parents.I was always running over there to escape the chaos at my house.They really loved their boys.There was a whole lotta heartache once they were gone, but Wes always seemed like the rock.”
Renn nodded.
“I’m sorry, I mean Mr.Hart was your dad too.Did you ever get a chance to know him?”
“No, but the one time I met him I saw all the family pictures in his office and got so mad I stormed out, because there wasn’t a single one of me.It was like I didn’t exist to him, so I decided he wouldn’t exist for me.”
She couldn’t help but be drawn to Renn.Before she knew what she was doing she put her arms around his waist and was hugging him tight.He smelled like fresh soap, and his warmth enveloped her as his arms came around to hold her closer.She couldn’t remember ever feeling so safe and cherished, which seemed crazy since they barely knew each other.One of his hands rubbed her back while the other held on to her and his body began to sway a little.All the tension and stress she’d been feeling felt like a tide headed back out to sea.How could this man make her feel so much without even saying a word?
“Sorry,” she said, muffled into his chest but not ready to let go.“I think I was going to try to comfort you but now I feel like this hug was more for me.”
“Don’t apologize.If you’re giving out hugs, I’m definitely accepting.”
Leaning back, she looked up.“You don’t want to get mixed up with me.My life is a mess right now.If I’m honest, I’ve always been a mess.”
“Maybe I like messy,” he said, and his hand tipped her chin up so she couldn’t look away.
It was so tempting.All she had to do was stand up on her tiptoes and close the space between them.But as much as she wanted Renn, she wanted to prove to herself that she could put her dreams first.And this horse-breeding business was her dream.Keeping the family ranch afloat was her dream.
