Page 35 of Rancher's Heart

“See ya, mom.” He gave me a haphazard hug and ran out the door. Following him out, I had his bags, and I stopped in my tracks as Griff held his hand out to Troy.

“Griffin Harp, it’s nice to officially meet you.” Griff smiled at Troy and put his free arm around Parker’s shoulder.

“Troy Wilson, thank you for keeping them safe. I had no idea there’d been trouble.” He looked sheepishly over at me before he nodded.

“Come winter, if you need somewhere to train inside, just give me a call. The arena at the main ranch is usually open during the week. Filled to the brim with barrel racers on the weekend though.” Griff’s tone was light, and I tossed Parker’s stuff into the back seat of the truck.

“I might take you up on that, thanks. Parker, you ready?” Troy asked, and Parker nodded.

“See you in a few days.” He hugged me and jumped into the truck.

“I’ll bring him back on my way out of town if that works?” Troy turned his full attention to me.

“Yeah, sounds good. Don’t scare the kids too much.”

“Can’t make any promises.” He laughed, said goodbye to Griff, and climbed into the truck. Waving as they drove out of the yard, I was relieved that this entire thing went easier than I’d even hoped.

Once Troy’s truck was gone, Griff wrapped his arm around my waist. “I’m going to work with a horse.” He kissed the side of my head, and I watched him walk away. Should I go after him? Do I want to know what his thoughts were after meeting Troy? Was I making this a way bigger deal than it needed to be?

Dusk settled over the ranch, and for the first time since we’d moved in it felt like home like I belonged. Griff was standing in the round pen, not moving but absolutely on alert with the horse that was in there with him. The horse’s ears were straight up in the air and if they’d been made of metal, I would have believed it.

I pushed open the door and walked down the porch steps. The big red barn loomed against the darkening sky. White trim around the windows and the large sliding door. It was a magnificent sight with the mountains behind it, and I couldn’t help but smile as I grabbed the quilt off the railing of the porch.

Griff’s back was turned to me when I placed my hand on it. I was certain he hadn’t heard me coming, yet when he turned to look at me, his eyes sparkled before darting to the blanket.

What I was about to ask him was blurring every boundary I’d put in place. Even though I didn’t care anymore about the consequences, words escaped me, whisked away by the intensity of his gaze.Want to make out?I signed slowly so he wouldn’t miss what I was asking. The wide grin that followed was all the answer I needed. We’d been practicing using sign language to help Griff correspond with Parker, and he was the most patient man trying to learn this new way of communicating. It amazed me, how eager he was. Although, at this moment, I hoped his hands were eager to learn something entirely new. Because I wanted him to explore all of me, every hill, every valley, and all of the in-between.

Griff groaned. “I need to clean up some.”

“I’ll meet you in the loft,” I whispered as I turned and walked to the open barn door.

This barn was perfection, with eight stalls total, state-of-the-art closure systems for each stall, and instead of a ladder to the loft, there were stairs.

As I got up to the loft, I looked around and found a place by the loft door that looked clean enough for the blanket. Pulling open the door, I gazed out over the house, and stared off into the mountains. Laying out the blanket, my back was facing the stairs but I could see Griff as he strode across the yard to his truck and opened the door. What was he doing? Great. I’d read things into our interactions that weren’t there. Of course, I had, and now, instead of telling me to my face he was leaving. I didn’t know whether to be mad or embarrassed, so I managed to be both. I turned away from the window, unable to watch him actually do it, choosing to stare at the barn wall instead. How were we goingto face each other now? I’d just made everything irredeemably awkward by confusing his kindness for attraction.

I crouched down to lift the corners of the blanket and fold it back up, figuring I might as well make myself useful at something other than messing everything up.

“Leaving so soon?”

I nearly toppled over face first into the floor at the sound of his voice but caught myself, sucking in a sharp breath when a loose stalk of hay poked my palm.

His boots sounded heavy on the boards behind me, and before I knew it, he had me flipped over, inspecting my hand.

“Changed your mind, I see.” The words popped out of my emotionally charged mouth before I could stop myself.

He tipped his head to the side and furrowed his brow at me his arms tightening around me. “What are you talking about, Elle?”

“Nothing.” I looked around. “It’s so beautiful here,” I whispered because I didn’t want to break the moment anymore than I already had. His being here was already proof enough that I’d misread the truck situation.

“It’s way more beautiful now.” His voice rumbled beside my ear. Turning, we were only inches apart; I worried my lower lip, intentionally drawing his attention to them. His eyes narrowed, but his intent was unclear. Was he going to kiss me?

He sighed, leaning back against a bale. “Is it always this depressing when Parker goes to his dad’s?”

A slight chuckle bubbled out of me, and though I was a bit disappointed that his lips weren’t on mine, the words that came out of his mouth more than made up for it because they were so endearing. Then I noticed his eyes darken and the hint of sadness in them made my heart break a little. This was really his first time having him gone, and the only reason I didn’t feel like my heart was being ripped out was because I was here with Griff.Yet I knew the feeling well. “Every time. I thought it would get easier over the years, but the loneliness never seems to go away.” I shook my head and leaned back against him.

Griff reached up and hooked his thumb under my chin, tipping my head to look at him. He ran his thumb along my lower lip tracing the curve, before he lowered his face to mine. “Maybe this will help,” he said in a hushed tone, his lips brushing against mine as he spoke.

The kiss was warm and soft, just like they had been a few days ago. But this time, we didn’t have to sneak around or pull away from one another. Shifting, I turned to him and set my hands on his legs, feeling the hunger growing between us as I did.

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