Page 63 of The Lucky Heart (Jamison Valley 3)
Having no clue what to expect, I was shocked to see the staging lot full of large trucks and horse trailers. All of the men wandering around were bundled up in Western winter gear that consisted of canvas jackets, chaps and cowboy hats. Half of the men in the lot were leading around horses. The other half were carrying skis.
I’d never find Silas in the maze of trailers and trucks so I pulled out my phone. “Hi. I’m here. Where are you?”
“By my truck. I’ll come find you.”
“Okay. I’m by the entrance.”
I stood and people watched, enjoying the bustle and excitement of the crowd, until my eyes caught on a breathtaking sight. Silas came striding my way, dressed in the same fashion as everyone else, except that he looked nothing like the other men.
His black cowboy hat made the line of his jaw appear more pronounced and kissable. The emerald green silk scarf he’d wrapped around his throat made the color of his eyes more vibrant. His chaps hugged his powerful thighs while revealing his jeans underneath at the front and waist.
I swayed a little as I took him in until I realized—oh my god—I was staring at his penis like a drooling fool. But the way the denim creased as he walked hinted at the magnitude of what was beneath. I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
Stop staring at his penis, Felicity!
My eyes darted to his face just in time to see a sexy grin spread across his mouth. I waved and walked his way, hoping that my face wasn’t as red as it felt and that he hadn’t caught me ogling his package.
I’d never had a thing for cowboys before, and even though Silas was as cowboy as they came, he rarely dressed the part. But from now on, whenever I needed a happy thought, I was picturing him exactly like this.
Silas the Cowboy was off-the-charts sexy.
“Hi, there.” My words came out breathy and heated.
“Hi.” He bent to brush his lips against my cheek and my stomach fluttered. We hadn’t seen each other since Christmas Eve and the tingles from his kiss that night had just been starting to fade. Luckily, now I had them back.
“I’m just getting prepped. Nick should be here soon and then we can go in. Come hang out?”
I nodded and his gloved hand reached out and captured mine, pulling me by his side through the busy crowd. As we weaved between trailers and trucks, I saw a few familiar faces but mostly new ones. Silas, on the other hand, seemed to know everyone on the path to his truck.
“Is this a guy-only thin
g?” I hadn’t seen a single woman dressed like she was going to participate.
“No. There’s three or four female teams competing. Tina, the waitress from the café? Her team won the whole damn thing last year. She’s probably going to beat us all again and then never let us live it down.”
“Good for her.” I smiled and decided I was going to cheer for her to come in second place behind Silas and Nick.
“Do you want to meet my horse?” he asked.
A horse? “Um, okay.” Contrary to popular belief, not all Montanans had experience with horses. Having grown up in town, my exposure had been limited, and because of their size, I had always been a bit intimidated by the pretty animals. My admiration had been from afar.
“Stay here.” He opened the back door on the trailer and ducked inside. I shifted nervously from one foot to the other when the trailer shook and loud footsteps thundered from inside. Silas came out with a tall horse at his back. “Lis, meet Courage.”
Courage was as beautiful a horse as I’d ever seen. His buckskin coat was smooth and thick. His black mane sleeked down one side of his neck, while his matching tail swished up in the air.
“Hello, Courage.” I leaned back when he got close. His black eyes seemed to stare right through me and I was certain they could see my fear.
“Don’t be scared,” Silas said. “Come here.” He held out a hand and I hesitantly stepped to his side.
After pulling off one of my mittens, he took my hand in his and held it up to Courage’s nose. The horse sniffed my palm, then huffed out a hot breath on my skin, making me flinch and yank my hand back.
“Easy,” he said. “Just go easy. Try petting him right here.” Silas lifted my hand again and gently showed me how to stroke the soft hair on Courage’s round cheek. “Good?”
“You tell me. I don’t have much experience around horses.”
He smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll fix that soon.”
I smiled back. The prospect of Silas teaching me about horses was something I was suddenly looking forward to, not that my excitement was really about the horses. As long as I got to be with him, he could teach me about the proper way to shovel shit and I’d love it.
