Page 62 of Saving Grace

The woman on the horse beside me isn’t the same one who arrived here months ago. The girl who was broken, reserved, and always sad has grown into a confident, sassy, and smart woman. A woman who, right now, has Trigger wrapped around her little finger. I mean, who can blame a man for falling for Grace Weston?

“Trig sure likes your company these days,” I drawl, chewing on the dried stem of grass I found before mounting one of Huddo’s new yearlings he hasn’t had time to work.

Saw right through that one fast. My family may be a lot of things, but subtle ain’t one of them.

“Why are we riding out here instead of the usual field behind the house?” Grace asks. Her suspicion is alive and well.

Good girl.

“No reason, just sick of the same damn circuit. Besides, Trig was asking for a change of pace.”

“Will you need him back for real cowboy stuff soon?” Hope fills her eyes, as if daring me to say no.

“I will, actually.”

Her face falls.Sweet Jesus, don’t do that, Gracie.A thought flies into my head—I’ll have to fix her horseless situation. WhileI’m at it, I’m willing to bet Ma would help me put together a birthday party for her. Something small. Nobody should have to miss a milestone like turning twenty-one. But having a day straight outta the pits of hell for your twenty-first birthday, that’s fuckin’ unacceptable.

I’ll be fixin’ that.

“What are you thinking about, Mackinlay?” Grace is squinting at me like she’s trying to read my mind. Hell, I’m not sure she can’t sometimes.

“Ready for a lope, cowgirl?”

“When you are.” She beams at me. What I wouldn’t do to keep that gorgeous smile on her face. Before I have a chance to push the young’un into a lope, Trigger shoots forward. Grace’s laughter as she glances back over her shoulder carries on the wind. The sound is like the air I breathe. Life-sustaining.

I send the young horse after them. We catch up and I press the gelding sideways, moving in beside Trigger. I pluck the hat from Grace’s head.

“Hey!” She squeals as I rein my horse to the right.

“Winner takes it all!” I send the mount into a gallop. I call back at her. Now the cat-and-mouse begins. Like a horseback capture the flag. With the “all” for us being each other.

Hooves thunder, closing in on my line as I head toward the mountains. The summer grass sways like waves on the ocean as we fly through it. The blue mountains fade to ridges and trees as we get closer. I push the gelding harder, and we clamber up the side of the incline. I duck the few low-hanging branches and wind him through the rough-bark trunks.

The sound of running water carries on the breeze. My mood changes instantly. I slow the horse to a walk and turn him around. Grace and Trigger lope toward us. Their pace has slowed, her gaze fixated on the mountains in front of her.Wonder evident all over her gorgeous face. The playfulness drains from me, replaced with an overwhelming need for her.

Heart in my throat, I dismount and tie the gelding to a branch and walk toward Grace as she trots up the slope. Trigger stops just shy of me.

“What’s that look for?” Grace breathes.

Coming to her side, I look up at the woman in the saddle. She holds out a hand. “Hat?”

I glance down. It’s still in my grip.

“Course,” I choke, handing the hat to her.

She leans down, bending in the saddle until her face is in front of me. Her breath hits my face a second before her lips are on mine. I step closer, taking her face in my hands, like it fuckin’ belongs there. Always will.

She opens and I taste her. Trigger leans, lifting one foot from the ground, lazy old man. I sway with her as she moves with the horse. She nips my bottom lip and sits back up.

“Grace, I?—”

Trigger jerks to the right, ears pointing forward. I snap my gaze ahead. My gelding, no longer tied to the tree branch, gallops past us, heading for home. “Ah, dammit. Stupid fool. Better not hurt himself, or Huddo’ll skin me alive.”

“Looks like you ride with me, cowboy.” Grace’s face is lit up with cheek.

“Looks like it, gorgeous.”

She slips her foot from the stirrup, and I shove mine in, springing up onto Trigger, behind the saddle. Grace leans into me. Despite the warm weather and the runaway horse, this is as good as it gets.

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