Page 59 of Untamed Heart
‘Look, it’s okay,’ he said, face creased with concern as he caught my expression. ‘If you want to be alone, I get it. I’ll ride behind, leave you be. I just . . . I need to make sure you’re safe.’
I nodded, aware of the tug of my heart, trying to capture my attention.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said, taking off my hat a moment, the wind whipping my curls up and around me. ‘For all of it. I’ve made this whole situation a lot worse, haven’t I? And now . . . you and Lil, everyone . . .’
His jaw tightened. ‘We’ll find a way to fight it, Lottie. Ain’t no rolling over here – that asshole will get what’s coming.’
‘Don’t do anything stupid,’ I blurted, a sudden image of Cole being led off to jail flashing through my head. ‘I want you to be safe too.’
He didn’t reply, just looked down at his saddle.
‘You still want to ride, or go back?’ he asked, not quite able to meet my eye.
‘Ride,’ I said, wanting to reach over to him, hold him. ‘Come with me, though, don’t hang back.’
He nodded, moving off but keeping Domino at a safe distance from Jasper. I rubbed my horse’s neck.
‘Quit being grumpy,’ I said, almost smiling as he snorted in return, ears flicking back to my voice as though he understood.
‘Where you headed?’ Cole asked as we went through the gate, looking up the hillside. ‘Much further and there won’t be a lot of daylight left to ride in.’
‘I don’t know,’ I admitted, desperate not to turn back. ‘I just want to keep going.’
He nodded, then paused. His face was hesitant, his eyes fixed on mine.
‘Unless you want to stay out? We keep a few supplies at the top, where we camped before, by the pools.’
At the mention of it, a warmth spread through me. I knew what that meant.
He knew what that meant.
My lips parted, willing instinct to bring the right words to the surface, feeling the knife edge we walked along. He stared at them, eyes darkening.
‘Let’s go,’ I whispered, words lost to the breeze, but the intensity of his stare didn’t let up as he read my lips perfectly, as though I’d whispered them right into his ear.
Without another word, he turned Domino in one smooth motion and spurred her on up the hillside, Jasper reaching after her, his long legs covering the ground with ease.
Within a couple of hours, sun blazing between the jagged peaks in the distance, we made it to the river, the steam from the pools already visible. Taking his lead, I jumped down and secured Jasper just far enough from Domino to prevent them from fighting.
‘Why do they dislike each other so much?’ I asked, enjoying the sight of a smile appearing on Cole’s face, breaking the pensive expression he’d held all the way up here.
‘Well, Jasper here only tends to like who he likes and Domino just ain’t one of them. She’s the sweetest girl,’ he said, rubbing her neck as he loosened her cinch, ‘but she likes to be in charge and he won’t have a damn bar of it.’
I scratched Jasper’s neck, wondering at how this gentle soul could kick up such a fight.
‘You’re a natural with them, aren’t you?’ he said, walking up the slope, past where the campfires had been lit for the drive. ‘Not many cowpokes know how to whisper to horses.’
I rolled my eyes but smiled at his tone, waiting as he returned, his arms full of supplies, rolled up canvas and a huge bag that jangled as he walked.
‘Whole camp in one. We built a shed up here a few summers ago, just in case.’
I watched him dump it down, right in the spot he and Jesse had camped in before.
‘I’ll do it later – come with me.’
We walked up to the lake, the wind rippling across its surface, the sun reflecting across it, flames dancing in unison over the water.
‘It’s something, huh?’ he murmured, waiting for me to catch up. I stopped a few feet short of him and the sun caught his jaw, his whole face lit up in golden light.
