Page 51 of Wild and Wrangled

“Hey,” I said. “How’s she doing?”

“She’s a natural.” Emmy smiled.

“Of course she is,” I said. I watched as Riley led Sweetwater around the arena in a circle. They were an adorable pair. “It doesn’t hurt that she’s got a good teacher, too.”

The sound of a truck caught my attention. I looked up and out in the pasture and saw Dusty. He was standing on the back of a flatbed truck that was stacked high with hay. It looked like he was pushing chunks of it off the back of the truck based on the way the horses were following him.

It’d been about two months since New Year’s Eve. I’d decided that both of us had just gotten carried away that night—especially me. The cold had made me a little crazy.

I just didn’t want things to change between us. I was trying to be happy with what we were without letting myself long for more.

But when it came to Dusty, I’d been secretly wishing for more for years—wishing I could see him, wishing he wouldcome home, wishing that, one day, he would respond to more than one of my texts, and we could talk. Now, I had all of those things, but they came with the fear that I would lose him again.

The fear was almost debilitating, but so was the desire to be close to him—so much so that when it was just me alone with my thoughts, I wished I hadn’t pulled away.

Since then, though, things had been okay. It was like both of us decided to be content with pieces of each other, so I just had to stop my mind from imagining what the fuller picture could look like if we ever tried to put those pieces together again.

I was grateful when Aggie and he brought me the bed frame, and we had fun playing dominoes for an hour afterward. It felt like a perfect birthday. We texted. He came over sometimes—to check the heater, patch a leak under the sink; things like that. Things with Dusty felt aggressively normal. We were friends…but that didn’t mean I minded when he flirted with me a bit. That was just Dusty. He couldn’t help it. It felt good, a little confidence boost, but even more so, it felt safe. Flirting was harmless. And I just pretended I didn’t notice the way his eyes lingered on me or the disappointment in his face when it was time to leave.

It was a foolproof system, if I do say so myself.

The truck was going slowly, but when I tried to see who was driving, no one was there. “What’s going on over there?” I nodded toward Dusty.

“Luke and Dusty’s prized possession,” Emmy said on a laugh. “They jimmy-rigged the engine, so when whoever is on the back pulls on a string, it gives the truck gas, so they can do feeding with one person instead of two.”

I watched Dusty kick hay off the back of the truck, and then I saw it when the truck slowed, his arm moved, pulling on the string, and the truck went forward again.

“Clever,” I said with a nod, not taking my eyes off Dusty. God, he was pretty. He was wearing a dark green trucker hat, brown work jacket, and worn denim jeans.

“He looks good up there, no?” Emmy said, and my eyes whipped to hers. She had a knowing smirk on her face.

“Clementine Ryder,” I said, shocked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re blushing,” she said with a laugh. “It’s good, though. I like the open staring more than the stolen glances you two have been giving each other.” My mouth fell open. “What?” Emmy said. “I saw you two on Christmas.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Dusty and I arefriends,” I emphasized. Emmy let out a disbelieving snort. “Whatever, I’m telling Brooks.”

Emmy shrugged and bit down on her lip. “I like what happens when he gets jealous.”

“Gross,” I said with an eye roll. “Go be in love somewhere else.”

“I’ve got ten more minutes of a riding lesson to teach, so will do,” Emmy said, walking away toward where Riley was leading Sweetwater. “Plus, it looks like you’re going to have company.”

“What?” I asked and followed Emmy’s gaze over my shoulder. Dusty was a few paces away. Oh.

“Hey, Dusty,” Emmy said with a wave over her shoulder.

“Hey, Em,” he said. “Cam.” He nodded at me.

“Hey,” I said. Why did my voice sound higher? And wasI…sweating? God, that was embarrassing. “Happy Saturday.” Shit. That was even worse.

Dusty’s eyebrows went up in amusement. “Happy Saturday. What brings you up here?”

I nodded toward Riley. “My weekend,” I said.

“Ah,” he responded. “She’s good. I saw her mount earlier on Maple. She’s got a good seat.”

I laughed. “I wish I knew what that meant, but I’ll take your word for it. I don’t even know what she’s doing right now.” I didn’t know a thing about horses, but I loved to watch them. They were majestic as hell.

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