Page 7 of The CEO and the Mountain Man

River, for whatever reason, decided to rescue me. “No, that’s dumb. Just show me how to tighten the saddle.”

I looked to Clark, who gave me an angry nod.

This time, when I went through my spiel about rider safety and mounting techniques, River listened carefully and asked questions. He did a good job tightening the saddle, and when he mounted Betty again, it was a much smoother process.

Thankfully, Clark seemed relieved that River was still willing to give it a shot.

“Now, make your way around the pen and back to me, and let me know if you have questions.”

Gone was his certainty. River looked at the relatively small circumference of the pen, nerves tightening his shoulders. He took a moment and nodded to himself.

“Okay.”

He cantered off, and I let out a heavy breath.Way to make a first impression.

Chapter 3

Clark

Ipicked up River’s walking stick, then sidled up next to Beau.

Damn, this cowboy wasmassive. I’d kinda picked up from the Insta photos that he was a big country boy, but the reality of him was jarring. His shoulders were at least double the width of mine, and his eyes were somehow bluer in person.

I was also pretty sure I’d overreacted, which was embarrassing.

“Sorry about poking you in the chest like that,” I said, my voice cracking for some fucking unknown reason.

No. I am not going to cry right now.

Beau seemed to want to contradict me, but instead, palmed my shoulder gently with his enormous hand.

“Hey,” he said, his voice low and slow. “You okay?”

No, not even a little.

And fuck me. I was always fine until someone asked me that damned question. I trembled, and more idiotic tears spilled down my cheeks. I brushed them away, but they kept coming.

“Sorry.Sorry.”

He stood there as I cried, rubbing my shoulder while keeping an eye on River. My son was, thankfully, focused on staying in the saddle.

Finally, I stopped weeping enough to try again.

“I …” Nope. Still crying. “Sorry,” I croaked.

“No, I’m sorry,” he said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

I followed along, grateful for something to latch onto.

River passed by us, concern marking his features. “You okay, Dad?”

I pasted on a smile and wiped my tears. “You know me. I’m just emotional to see you on the horse.”

River let his head fall back, as if I’d just said the most mortifying thing ever. He nearly lost his balance again. This time, instead of crying, I had to bite back a laugh. He sent me a dirty look, then kept going.

Beau and I watched his progress around the pen again.

I broke the silence a few seconds later. “Sorry again. I’m not normally so emotional. It just …” I grabbed my chest and forced air into my lungs. “It feels like I haven’t taken a fucking deep breath since the accident.”