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My eyes land on Charlie, an electric shiver zipping through me as he gives me one of his reluctant crooked grins.
Make them love a cowboy.
I smile, touching my fingertips to my racing heart.
And I feel it, really feel it, what this man is doing to me.
“Hold on. Can we take a photo?” I ask, my lashes heavy. “For the feed.”
Charlie nods slowly, looking boyish and shy suddenly. “You tell me, darlin’. What do we do?”
“Kiss me,” I breathe, my heart ballooning in my chest. “You be the cowboy. And I’ll be the girl who rides off into the sunset.”
His eyes turn molten.
Then his muscular arms sweep around me, crushing me to his chest. I wiggle on his lap, freeing my arm to lift the camera up high. Our eyes lock and then Charlie kisses me, fusing his lips to mine. Heat charges between us, and I lean into his tight grasp.
I snap our photo.
And right here on the banks of the creek, I fall in love with Charlie Montgomery.
After a long day spent picking up bags of feed and waiting to get a saddle repaired in town, I head back to the ranch. An old country song plays on the radio as I steer my old truck down the winding backroads. I glance at the buckskin cowboy hat with a blue ribbon tied around the crown in the passenger seat. A gift for Ruby. That girl needs a damn hat. While I love the freckles that pop on the bridge of her nose when she gets a little sun, her getting burned isn’t an option.
I check the time and punch the gas. It’s later than I’d like, nearing six o’clock. I had hoped to finish up some chores on the ranch, but now, all I want to do is get Ruby in my arms.
Ever since our ride to the creek last week, she’s become a seamless part of my daily routine.
Mornings, she joins me for coffee in my kitchen. We talk about our day, then we get in some time in with the horses. Afterward, we each break to go about our days. Then, we come together at night.
I don’t know what I was thinking, offering to help that girl ride. Watching her wide-eyed wonder and listening to her squeals of laughter around the horses has a permanent lump lodged in my throat. Riding puts a smile on her face and I want to bust my ass to keep it there.
Or maybe, selfishly, I want to keep her here.
Even if it terrifies me seeing her up on a horse.
But it’s what she needs, and if I’m honest about it, it’s what I need. Ever since Maggie, it takes everything I have to watch a woman on a horse.
But with Ruby, I don’t see Maggie. Because Ruby is not Maggie.
She’s the one girl I never saw coming. And I’m realizing she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
I like her beautiful soul. Her gorgeous face. Her sexy little gasps that have me going hard every time I hear that sharp intake of air. Her wide-eyed sweetness. I want to give her every damn sunrise in the sky.
Hell, I’d take her to California if she asked.
Christ. Is that how far gone I am?
Yes. With Ruby, the answer is always yes.
Slowing at a stoplight, I check my phone. As if on autopilot, my fingers pull up our Instagram page. More often than not, I catch myself scrolling through the feed when she isn’t around. Because goddamn, do I miss her.
The photo she snapped of us is up to three thousand likes. Comments vary.
Y’all did that 100 percent.
You two are beautiful together.
Where are the mountains?
