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“Just hold on a bit longer. See what happens. It’s not over until Miss Stone Pass stands up and sings. Stay in it, Jace!”
He raised his hand. The number shot higher. And higher. Then over his budget.
His heart tumbled.
He lost the horse.
Dammit. He dropped his hand.
When he stood up to leave, Corrine did too. Once he got outside, Judd and Jaren headed his way.
“You guys come to razz me about losing the horse?” He waved his hands for them to bring it on. “Let’s hear it.”
Judd shook his head. “We don’t need to rub it in that you don’t have a horse.”
Jaren grinned. “Yeah. You already don’t have a girl.” He looked over Jace’s shoulder and his smile widened.
“Ugh. Assholes.” Jace pushed out a noise of disgust and started to spin around to walk away when he spotted a woman. She strode his way, and while she wore a hat, boots, jeans and the tiniest tank top ever, something about her…was familiar.
It had his gut clenching and his heart leaping.
He took a step in her direction then stopped dead when she pushed her hat up to reveal a streak of red hair peeking out from under the brim.
“Bronte,” he murmured.
Her eyes fixed on his face, she let out a whoop and ran the rest of the way into his arms.
Joy exploded inside him that could never be gained from winning a horse. He caught Bronte up against him and whirled her. To hell with the horse—hehadthe girl. She’d come to him.
Her lips found his, and jeers of “Gross” and “Get a room” erupted around them as his brothers did what brothers did.
When they broke apart, Jace searched her eyes. Slowly, he lowered her to her boots.
“What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t let the car just sit there, could I?”
“But you must have started driving as soon as I left.”
“A few hours after your flight took off, yeah.” She bit down on her lower lip. “You’re happy I’m here, right?”
“Woman, it’s all I’ve been dreaming of. I don’t even care about the horse I lost out on.”
A sly look came over her face. “About that.”
His gaze sharpened on her.
“I might have put in a silent bid on the horse you wanted.”
“You…”
“I got the idea from Corrine.” She turned in his arms to see the laughing woman.
She turned back to Jace. “You got me the car. It was only fair.” She searched his eyes. “Now you’ve got the horse and the girl.”
“But for how long?” He brushed the long red streak of hair off her brow.
“I can work remotely, and Hemingway is already holed up in the guest room at the Wynton Ranch.”
Shock ripped through him. “What the hell? You were right under my nose and I had no clue?”
She reached up and plucked the hat off his head. “Guess love really is blind.”
Heart fuller than it ever had been, he lowered his mouth to hers. “I do love you, Bronte even if you have no dots over theEof your name.”
Giggling, she went onto the toes of the boots that probably made theperfectnoise when she walked and pressed her lips to his. “I love you, my protector cowboy. Now let’s go see this horse I bought.”
Unable to stop touching her for even a minute, he swept her up in his arms. “I hope you’ve still got that ring because I plan on asking you to marry me. For real this time.”
Her eyes blazed with love for him. “I was countin’ on it.” She booped him right on the nose.
