Page 260 of Cowboy Daddies

It wasn’t until they were in the house that she realized how cold she was. Shivers ran through her as Jeb wrapped her up tight in a blanket, sitting on the sofa with her in his arms.

Gradually, she started to warm up, the fear dissipating, leaving her drained and exhausted.

Casey stared up at Jeb, then over at Wyatt who sat next to his father on the couch.

Both of them gave her concerned looks.

Crap. She’d just made a complete ass of herself.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Jeb told her firmly. “How are you feeling?”

“Really tired. Foolish. Embarrassed.”

“You don’t need to be embarrassed either,” Jeb told her.

“Why’d you freak out, Casey?” Wyatt asked.

“Wyatt, that’s not a nice word to use,” Jeb told him.

“Accurate, though,” she said with a grimace. “I . . . I grew up on a horse farm. Lots of horses coming and going. My father expected all of us to help out. But there was this one horse . . . he was mean. He didn’t like me. The only person he liked was my father. My dad . . . he . . . I was twelve when he told me to get that horse out and put the saddle on him.”

“Even knowing you were scared of him?” Jeb asked.

“Yeah.”

“Jesus. Fucking bastard.”

Wyatt stared at his dad with wide eyes.

“For a start he was really calm and I let my guard down. I went behind him. It was so stupid. He kicked me, broke three of my ribs.” She let out a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

“Jesus, baby,” Jeb said.

“My father said it was my own fault for going behind him.”

“Your father is a poopface,” Wyatt declared.

“He sure is. Now, I’ve got a fear of all horses. I know not all of them are like that horse. But I just . . . it’s irrational.”

“Frost is a good horse,” Jeb told her. “Calm and steady. But you didn’t know that. And it’s not your fault you reacted that way.”

“It’s your dad’s,” Wyatt told her.

“Yeah. It is.” She let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry you’re mad at me, Wyatt.”

Wyatt stared at his shoes. “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have run off like that. I was just upset because everyone was saying you were Papa’s girlfriend and I thought you were gonna stay. I want you to stay.”

God.

Her heart was hurting right now.

The thing was . . . she wanted to stay. She wanted to belong to this man and boy.

More than anything.

“It’s not that I want to leave,” she said. “But this was never meant to be permanent. I have a job in Santa Barbara. My best friend is waiting for me.”