Jesus, Layla.
“You’re really good with the horses,” she says quietly. “You talk to them the way someone talks when they were loved really well.”
No one has ever said that to me. She sees more than she should. That one punches straight through me. My mother was an amazing woman.
“My mom,” I say before I can stop myself. “She was… everything. Amazing mother. Taught me everything I know about horses. About life.”
Her expression softens. “What happened to her?”
“She had a heart attack in her sleep,” I say, sitting beside her. “A few years ago.”
She reaches for me, fingers wrapping around my arm, squeezing my hand like she’s grounding me. “I’m really sorry, Cole.”
She looks at me when she says it. Holds my gaze. What is happening right now? I don’t like this girl. I don’t like that she’s here, and I don’t like that she keeps bringing up my mother like it doesn’t matter. I don’t talk to strangers. I don’t talk about this and yet the words are already out, spilling from my mouth before I can stop them, like my guard slipped for half a secondand she was standing right there when it did. The world goes quiet. Her hand stays in mine. My thumb lifts to her face without permission, brushing her cheek, tugging gently at her bottom lip.
And then I kiss her. Hard. Deep. No hesitation. Her mouth opens for me immediately, like she’s been waiting. My hand tangles in her hair. Her fingers curl into my shoulders. It’s hot and messy and overwhelming, everything I’ve been trying not to feel since the day she showed up.
This is how it started last time. This is how you lose someone. And it scares the hell out of me.
I pull back suddenly, breath uneven.
“Whoa,” she whispers, eyes blown wide.
“Yeah.” I stand. “I’m sorry. That was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Saying it doesn’t make it true. But I need it to be.
“A mistake?” Her voice cracks just a little.
I don’t answer.
I shove myself into my jeans and boots, movements rushed, angry at myself for letting this happen. I swing up onto Magic without looking back.
“Cole—don’t leave me here, come on,” she calls.
I kick Magic forward.
“Cole!” she yells again.
“You’ll figure it out.” I yell.
She knows the way back.
And I can’t do this. Not with her. Not with someone who pushes my buttons like it’s a sport and then looks surprised when I bite back. She’s leaving. That’s the only part of this I trust. People like her always do, sweep in, stir things up, act like they didn’t mean to change anything. I’ve been hurt before. I know how this goes. I don’t get attached. Whatever she thinks this is, she’s wrong.
Chapter 7
Sleepless in Tennessee
Layla
Well… that’s not how I pictured my evening ending. Especially not with him kissing me. What kind of man kisses a woman like that and then takes off? And what kind of woman lets that make her question herself? Not me.
I’ve dealt with men not liking me because of my size. With boys who were embarrassed or ashamed that they wanted me when we were younger. I worked too damn hard to grow past that. I will not deal with that shit as a grown woman.
So what the hell is he thinking? This doesn’t feel like rejection though this feels like fear dressed up as control.
My hands shake as I struggle to get my clothes back on, my skin still slick with water, my heart pounding harder thanit should. I tug my boots on, fingers clumsy, irritation and humiliation tangling tight in my chest. I twist my wet hair up into a messy bun, not bothering to care how it looks.
