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“Don’t worry, you’re doing great,” he says, planting a kiss on the side of my neck. “You’ll be riding by yourself in no time.”
Jackson makes a clicking noise and Artemis starts to walk, her hooves clip-clopping against the frozen ground. We sway back and forth slightly as she walks, and I marvel at the feel of her solid muscles working beneath us.
“This is so cool,” I mutter as Jackson encourages the horse to speed up a little.
“I knew you’d like it.”
“It makes me think of being a character in one of my favorite fantasy books,” I say, grinning back at him over my shoulder. “The princess on horseback in the arms of a handsome knight.”
Jackson chuckles. “I don’t know about ‘handsome knight’, but ‘princess’ is right.” He tightens his arms around me, and I sigh with contentment as Artemis carries us through the pasture, the fresh mountain air filling my lungs.
This is perfect.
In the distance, I catch sight of Cade’s cabin, and my good mood falters slightly.
Almost perfect.
It’s been five days since Cade found out about me and Jackson. When he came back from his walk in the woods that day, he refused to talk to Jackson, and he’s been avoiding the ranch completely. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem mad at me. He still calls me kiddo and ruffles my hair, and he’s been helping me look for a job in Winterdale. But anytime I try to talk about Jackson, he shuts down, his mood turning sour. It breaks my heart a little more every time.
Jackson’s family welcomed me with open arms. They all came over for dinner at Jackson’s farmhouse yesterday, and I met them all: Holt and Penelope, Luke and Delilah, Willow and Grayson, Hunter and Avery, and all their kids. Jackson’s brothers said they’d always known it would only be a matter of time before he fell in love. Apparently, the Ryder brothers have all been hit with Cupid’s arrow over the last few years, and now that Jackson and I are together, everybody is coupled up. They all seem so happy, and all the Ryder men are absolutely crazy about their women, including my own perfect Ryder cowboy.
I just wish my brother could accept that.
I still feel guilty about falling for his best friend, but I can’t bring myself to regret it. Jackson makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt, and he has filled my whole world with so much love. I wouldn’t change that for anything. Not even for the older brother who I love so much.
“You okay, Maeve?” Jackson asks from behind me, his chin resting on my shoulder. “You went a little quiet.”
“I’m okay,” I tell him. “Just thinking about Cade—” My voice falters as I catch sight of a hulking figure in the distance walking straight toward us. “Oh, God.”
Cade is walking purposefully across the pastures, his jaw set and his eyes hard.
Crap.
Did seeing Jackson and I on horseback together make him mad?
Is he here to yell at us?
To tell me he doesn’t want to see me again?
The thoughts fire like pistols inside my head, making my heart rate ramp up with nerves.
“Stay calm, beautiful,” Jackson mutters into my ear. “Everything will be okay.”
“But what if he’s coming over here to tell me he never wants to see me again?” I whisper as my brother approaches.
Before Jackson can respond, Cade is in front of us. “Can you get down off the horse?”
Oh, God, he’s gonna hit Jackson. He wants him down at punching level.
Cade must see the panic in my face because he shakes his head at me. “Relax. I have shit I want to say, and I’d rather you weren’t sitting on the back of a horse when I say it.”
Jackson dismounts smoothly before he reaches up and helps me down, making sure I’m steady on my feet. My palms are sweating as I turn to face my brother, trying to decipher his expression. But he’s giving nothing away.
“Go ahead,” Jackson says warily. “Say what you want to say.”
Cade sighs, frowning between us. He opens his mouth and closes it again like he can’t bring himself to speak. Eventually, with a forceful breath, he says, “I’m not happy about this. Not happy about it at all.”
“Cade—” Jackson begins, but my brother raises a hand angrily, cutting him off.
