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I’m in it with this woman and I don’t want out.
After pulling a bareback pad and saddle out of the tack room, Charlie readies Arrow for our ride. “Hey, boy, you ready to roll?” he rumbles, patting Arrow’s muscled chest.
The smile on my face is uncontained. Seeing this sexy cowboy being kind to his animals is like dopamine injected straight into my veins.
“How about you?” he asks, turning to me. “You ready?”
I smile and approach the horse. No nerves, just excitement.
“All my life,” I breathe.
After a second of hesitation, Charlie lifts me onto Arrow’s back. He does it carefully, delicately, like he’s afraid I’ll break. I throw my leg over the saddle and grab the reins for dear life. Charlie looks up at me, his handsome face serious.
I can tell he’s running down a memory in his mind. I remember the way he reacted when I fell into the pen. The way he watched Fallon jump those rails.
My heart vibrates in my chest. He’s worried about me.
I lock my eyes on his. “I’ll be okay, Charlie,” I say, because it looks like he needs the assurance.
“I won’t let you fall, Ruby,” he growls, his jaw locked tight.
I smile brightly. “I know you won’t.”
His eyes flash, and he gives me a quarter smile that goes straight to my heart.
Arrow shifts on his feet, and I squeal as my center of gravity is rocked. I lean down, wrapping my arms around Arrow’s long neck. “What do I do?”
He gives a low, short laugh. “Hold on. I’m comin’ up.”
With a well-practiced ease, Charlie jumps up to sit bareback behind me. He wraps an anchoring arm around my waist and pulls me tight against him. In one hand, he gathers up the reins, clicks his tongue, then Arrow trots down the road.
I cry out in delight. We’re not going fast, but to me, this feeling is everything.
It’s freedom. It’s flying.
Living.
“Oh my god!” I grip Charlie’s tense forearm when Arrow snorts. “I can’t believe it. I’m riding.” I glance back at him, catching a glimpse of his stern, chiseled profile. “What do we do now?”
He leans forward, his coarse beard tickling me. I feel the smile on his face as he presses his mouth against my cheek. His deep, masculine rumble of a voice sends sparks through my core. “We’ll go slow until we get out of the ranch, then pick up the pace.”
I wave at Tina, at Colton, and hold my breath as we exit the ranch to cross over the creek. Aspen trees quake delicately in the light breeze as we trot up the hill. Over the clearing, Charlie nods at Davis, who takes off his cowboy hat and stares with a dropped jaw.
Closing my eyes, I rest a hand over my heart.
Please behave.
“See how I’m holdin’ the reins?” Charlie asks. “Loose, straight forearms. Keep ‘em looped over your palm, like this. This lets you talk to the horse with just your wrists. Here, feel how I do it.”
Logging his instruction away for later, I wrap my hands around his and squeeze. “This is amazing, Charlie.”
In no time at all, we’re far from the ranch. Charlie’s body has relaxed, and he looks more at ease astride his horse than he does on foot.
“How did you get into horses?” I ask.
“I was raised on a horse farm. My parents retired last year, and my little sister runs the ranch now. My daddy always said if we could walk, we could work. And we did.”
I giggle, picturing Charlie as a little farm boy, lugging feed buckets and chasing chickens. “Tough man.”
