Page 172 of Pumpkin Spice Promises

Until eventually, walking wasn’t something I celebrated anymore. It was just something I did. I’d even gotten back on Blueberry.

Not the way I used to ride.

Not nearly as fast, and certainly not around barrels. But I’d climbed onto her back, and for a few minutes, I’d gotten something back the accident had stolen.

I hadn’t done it in a long time. That thought bothered me more lately. Maybe because Beau kept making me remember pieces of myself I’d stopped looking for…

Blueberry nudged my chest.

“I know.”

She nudged harder.

“You’re needy,” I teased her. She wanted the blueberries in my pocket, so I caved and gave her one. “I like him.” Saying it aloud made my stomach twist. Blueberry accepted another berry without judgment. “I really like him.” I rested my forehead against hers. “And that’s terrifying.”

Because Beau didn’t know everything yet.

Hunter and Clover had made that fear smaller. Yet they hadn’t erased it.

There was a huge difference between Beau accepting Hunter and Beau being attracted to a woman whose body looked nothing like what he currently imagined beneath her clothes. I’d seen attraction disappear before. I wasn’t interested in watching it happen in Beau’s eyes. It would break me.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it from my back pocket.

Beau

Good morning to everyone except the cow that stole my glove.

I smiled immediately at his dorky message.

Carson

She says you’re holding a grudge and should seek therapy.

Beau

She ate leather.

Carson

Allegedly.

Beau

There were witnesses.

Avoiding me again today?

My fingers stopped as I reread his text.

Shit. He knew.

I’d managed to be conveniently busy every time Beau had come to the ranch since Saturday.

Sunday, I’d had milk records.

Monday, I’d spent an unnecessary amount of time checking the west pasture.

Yesterday, when his truck pulled in after work, I suddenly decided the dairy barn desperately needed reorganizing. Not because I regretted kissing him. That would’ve been an easier excuse. I was avoiding him because I wanted to do it again. And wanting another kiss meant eventually wanting more. That was where everything got complicated.