Her grip tightens like she’s making sure I’m not going anywhere, and she looks up at me with complete certainty. “Yep.”
That almost knocks a breath out of me.
Behind me, Wade lets out a low whistle. “Well hell,” he mutters. “Guess introductions are optional now.”
Brooks huffs out something that might be a laugh. “Kid moves faster than you ever did, Jace.”
I shake my head once, still looking down at her. I can’t seem to look anywhere else. “Yeah, well… she’s got better instincts and she is way cuter than you guys.”
That earns a quiet snort from somewhere behind me. It fades quickly. The weight of this doesn’t go anywhere, and neither does she.
I lower myself a little more, bending at the knee so I’m not towering over her. My hand is hovering for a second before I finally let it settle lightly on her back. Careful in a way I don’t recognize, like I’m not sure if I’m allowed to do that yet and don’t want to get it wrong.
She leans into it anyway, no hesitation, no doubt, and something in my chest tightens all over again, but this time it isn’t sharp or panicked, it’s solid, steady, and protective in a way that feels like it’s been there all along.
My gaze flicks up then, straight to Riley, and everything else comes rushing back in, the questions, the anger that should be there but isn’t hitting as hard as I expected. The reality of what she just dropped into my life.
“You’re telling me she’s mine,” I say, my voice low and controlled, but with an edge to it now that wasn’t there before.
Riley doesn’t flinch, she just nods once, steady as anything. “I am.”
I study her for a second, searching for anything that doesn’t line up, anything that gives me a reason to question it or slow this down. I don’t find it, and instead my focus shifts right back down to the kid still holding onto me like she’s already decided I’m hers.
And just like that, something settles into place whether I’m ready for it or not.
“Alright,” I say quietly, more to myself than anyone else.
Wade shifts behind me. “That it? That’s all you got?”
I glance over my shoulder just enough to catch his expression, somewhere between stunned and trying not to grin. “What do you want me to say?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe start with ‘holy hell’ or something.”
Luke’s voice cuts in, calm but with a hint of amusement. “Give him a second. He’s processing.”
“Pretty sure we all are,” Brooks adds dryly.
I shake my head again, dragging a hand through my hair before I look back down at her, because that’s where this keeps pulling me, not the questions or the shock, but her. The longer I stand here, the clearer it gets.
Whatever comes next, I’m not walking away from it.
Not from her.
She doesn’t let go, not right away, and I find myself not wanting her to. Which is a strange thing to realize about a kid I metall of five seconds ago, nothing about this feels normal. I don’t question it. I just shift a little so she’s more comfortable and rest my hand a touch more firmly against her back like I mean it.
“You like horses?” I ask. It’s the first thing that comes to mind and it feels safer than everything else I could say.
She tips her head back to look up at me again, eyes bright and curious. “Uh-huh,” she says, dragging the word out a little like she’s deciding how much she wants to tell me. “I like the little ones best.”
I can’t help the corner of my mouth from lifting. “Ponies, huh?”
She nods, serious as anything. “They’re cuter.”
“Yeah,” I say, glancing back over my shoulder toward the pasture. “Don’t let the big ones hear you say that. They’ve got opinions.”
That gets a small smile out of her, and it hits me square in the chest in a way I don’t expect, like I just unlocked something without even trying.
Behind me, Wade mutters, “Great, now he’s talking to her like one of the horses,” and I hear Brooks chuckle under his breath.
