Page 104 of Roping Her In

Bev slid her hand along the folders on her desk, her eyes never leaving his. “Is that true?”

Smile flinched, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Which part?”

“That no one in town interests you.”

Smiles couldn’t help the smile that filled his face. “Well, there’s one woman, but…it’s complicated.”

“She won’t be upset if I’m going to all these weddings with you? That’s going to get around town.” Her eyebrows went up in challenge again.

Smiles chuckled and shook his head. “Bevvy, it’s you.” Did she seriously not know how interested he was? Had he been playing things that cool? “You’re the only woman I’d consider going out with, but you told me you weren’t ready.”

She blinked at him, the movement getting faster and faster. “What if I was ready to start dating?”

Smiles sobered instantly. “Are you?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered.

His heart ached for her, and while she’d told him select isolated things about the past few years, he knew he didn’t know it all. “That tells me you’re not,” he said, as did the failed date with another man. “And honestly, it’s fine, Bevvy, really. I’m okay being your friend, and I promise I won’t try to hold your hand, or kiss you, or anything like that at any of the weddings.”

He finally sank into his seat, determined not to say another word until she said yes or no. Bev forked up a bite of rice and pulled pork, dunking the whole thing in the sweet and spicy barbecue sauce. She put the bite in her mouth and chewed, her eyes glued to his face.

“When’s the first wedding?” she asked.

“Shiloh and Brett,” Smiles said automatically. “Close to the end of July.” He stabbed a piece of steak, wishing it were his eyeball so he could feign an emergency and run out of her office.

Another few seconds of silence went by before Bev said, “All right, you better text me all the dates, and I’ll put them on my calendar.”

His heart grew wings and started to rise from the soles of his cowboy boots. “Are you serious?”

Bev smiled, rolled her eyes, and giggled as she shook her head. “Yes, Stetson, I’m accepting your proposal.”

38

Hailey pulled the strap tight on Cherokee, the horse that Paul had brought out for her. She’d been riding horses since she was a little girl, but she hadn’t been on one for a while now.

“You ready?” Jake asked. He hadn’t growled the words, but he wasn’t beaming out happiness either.

“I think so,” she said. “Will you double-check it for me anyway?”

Jake moved over and checked to make sure she’d saddled the horse correctly. “You’re good, sweetheart.” He smiled at her then, but it definitely came off more subdued, and it didn’t hold as much wattage as usual.

She’d been settling in to the house and the farm for about a month now, and she finally felt as if she’d put together a schedule for herself that made sense. She and Jake continued to see one another, though their in-person interactions had dropped to once or twice a week.

In fact, Hailey hadn’t seen him in seven days before today, and while he’d grabbed onto her and hugged her tight when she’d gotten out of her car in front of Courage Reins, things between them still hadn’t evened out.

Thus, her nerves continued to gnaw at her as she picked up the lead and followed Jake through the gate. He swung into the saddle on the first try, but Hailey had to boost herself up one, two, three times before she pulled hard enough with her arms to get her leg over. Even then, she laid almost horizontally over the horse’s head until she felt like she wouldn’t slip right back to the ground.

She straightened, embarrassment running through her when she caught Jake watching. She grinned and started to laugh. “I told you I hadn’t been riding in a while.”

He chuckled too, and Hailey thought the ice between them might have finally broken.

“Well, you’re on now,” he said. “And this is just an easy ride.”

Hailey sure hoped so, and she coaxed herself to hold the reins loosely. This was an equine therapy horse, and he wasn’t going to bolt across the prairie.

“How are the interviews going?” she asked, because work seemed like a safe topic of conversation. At least his here at Three Rivers Ranch.

A frown settled between his eyes, and he exhaled. “They’re going okay,” he said. “No one is as good as you, Hailey. You’ve ruined us for any other vet tech.”