Page 62 of Storm Warning
"You ready?" I ask, urging her toward Angelica’s side.
There’s a nervous look in her eyes, but determination glows there as well. She’s holding her head in that confident,almost defiant way of hers. Seeing a challenge and deciding to embrace it, instead of running from it. Her chin dips as she nods once.
"Alright." I loop the reins over Jelly Bean’s head and swing myself up onto her back before smiling down at Kaylee. "Here, Angel. Give me your hand."
Without an ounce of hesitation, she reaches out for me. I hoist her up easily, giving my horse a minute or two to adjust to us both on her back. Kaylee settles behind me, the warmth of her body seeping into my back. Her sweet, intoxicating, sugary scent envelopes the air, making it impossible not to breathe her in.
"Better hold on," I murmur, and in the next instant, her grasp tightens around me.
This night just keeps getting better and better.
We take off out of the barn and toward the small pond. She holds my waist as we ride and doesn’t loosen her grip until we meet the bank. Hopping down first, I help her, and as always Jelly Bean doesn’t budge.
My hands remain on her hips as I pull Kaylee closer to me. “Wasn’t too bad, was it?”
“Riding on the back of a horse behind the hottest man I’ve ever met?” Her lips quirk up into a mischievous grin. “No, can’t say I disliked a single second of it. Well, maybe the bouncing, but beyond that it was fun.”
I smirk. “Boy, what I wouldn’t have given for an aerial view and you in a tank top.”
Her laughter floats around me. “Shut up. I know better than to wear that.”
“You’re right, no tops necessary at Rawlings Ranch.” She pulls away from me, giving me a playful push. But I don’t allow her to gain much distance as I grab her hands and tug her back in. “Just kiddin’, Angel.”
The warmth of her forehead meets my lips as I embraceher for a second longer, before releasing her. Turning back to my horse, I remove her reins so she can graze comfortably before my eyes trail back to Kaylee.
“This place is unbelievable,” she says, taking a seat in the dirt at the edge of the water. Looking down, she picks up a rock and studies it. “You know, I never expected all of this to go so far.”
I take a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “Can’t say I did either.” I watch as she rubs the surface of the rock, maybe for no other reason than just to distract herself from admitting she likes me so openly, or maybe because she has something she wants to share. I sit beside her, leaving space between us. “Glad it did, though.”
She smiles. “Me too.”
I linger on what I said, feeling like it’s not enough, but knowing if I tell her how I really feel it might freak her out. After all, telling someone they fill a hole in your life you never realized was there is a bit deep. Not that it’s love, at least I don’t think it is yet, but it’s damn near the closest I’ve ever gotten. I tend to be an all in kind of guy by nature. Trusting my instincts over anything that stands in front of me. Maybe that’s bad, but as I look in Kaylee’s direction, I can’t help but be grateful for my lack of stop. I mean it got me my PABRA title, sure, but it also got me this moment.
As much as I want to admit I want to be more, I opt for lightness. “Forgot to tell ya, I found that bunny poster.”
Facing me, she smiles. “Accurate, wasn’t it?”
“Eh, if ya asked me before I kissed ya, it would have said ‘mostly, mean’instead of ‘nice, mostly’.” I wink, the edge of my lips tugging upward. “It made me smile.Youmake me smile.”
“Good, but one wrong turn and you’ll be graffitiing ‘only, mean’onto that little poster,” She chuckles.
“I have no doubt, Angel.” I reach in, my hand caressing the side of her cheek as I pull her in for a kiss. Her lips have thefaint taste of alcohol and marshmallows and I savor every second of it. We break apart, and I fall back to look up at the stars. My mind drifts to the fair, a day that’s burned into my memory. The day my angel truly let me see her wings.
She falls back with me and nestles her head in the crook of my arm. Quiet settles between us, yet the world around us is filled with the sounds of nature—Angelica’s hooves beat the dirt, the soft ribbit of a frog sounds before it breaks the pond’s surface, and Kaylee’s slow steady breaths all bring this place that much more serenity.
“Why did you stop bull riding?” she asks, her voice oddly gentle.
Peace all but withers away as I take a pause. Not that this question is anything new, just her interest toward the subject is.
“How detailed do ya want me to get?”
She cuddles a bit closer to me, wrapping her arm over my torso. “I’ve got all the time in the world.”
I appreciate the sentiment, but that alone doesn’t ease me of the anxiousness I feel about the question. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell this story, every time it’s like opening up a wound.
“Careful what ya wish for. Ma always says I can be long winded when tellin’ stories.” I exhale, considering where to start. “The night ya saw the best lookin’ and most talented cowboy in your entire life in the bar, was the night I won the second largest rodeo competition in the world.” I consider mentioning PABRA, but that’s just unnecessary semantics. “Money started rollin’ as I kept winnin’, provin’ I earned every right to that title, but I was an idiot. I blew all the money nearly as fast as the ride that won it.”
Kaylee doesn’t speak, but instead lays there quietly at my side, the soft warmth of her body against me keeping me grounded.
