Page 137 of Sawyer

“I get that.” Sawyer nods. “But hey, you ever wanna get out here and just do your thing—have some fun and get a little exercise—I’m happy to take the girls. Maybe, I don’t know, every Saturday or Sunday morning? You ride, and the girls and I will hang.”

I look at him, my chest filling with something I can only describe as joy. Or maybe it’s appreciation I feel. Appreciation for him truly seeing me. For himthinkingof me.

Most of all, I think I appreciate that he’s offering memore of what I love—freedom. Dan always seemed to resent the time I spent training or racing. It’s part of the reason why I quit after Junie was born—he just wasn’t supportive of me being gone during the day to do something I loved.

But here’s Sawyer, supporting me.Encouragingme. He sees how happy I am in the arena, and so he wants me to be here more often.

He doesn’t want to tie me down. He wants to see me soar.

Cheesy line? Sure. But it’s true. And it proves just how different he is from Dan.

“You’re excellent,” I say, feeling a little choked up. “Really and truly an excellent human being, Sawyer. I just might take you up on that offer.”

He smiles, his eyes going all soft and hot. “I hope you do. I also hope you let us watch upon occasion. Ella would get a kick out of this.”

“Maybe we’ll have a pair of barrel racers one day,” I reply. “Ella and Junie, sisters from different misters, taking the circuit by storm.”

I see the way his breath catches at the wordsisters. “They’d be badasses. Mostly because they were raised by a badass.”

I laugh. “What about you? Where do you fit into all of this?”

“Pretty girl, I’m just along for the ride.”

“All types of riding happening around here.”

His eyes glitter. “Gimme a lesson—show me how to race. Then I’m takin’ you home and giving you a lesson of my own.”

My body pulses. “What lesson would that be?”

“The kind you’ll like.” He sits up in the saddle. “Now show me how the hell you got so good at this.”

CHAPTER32

Sawyer

WRECKED

The second thedoor closes behind us at Ava’s place, I throw her over my shoulder and head for the bedroom.

“Hey!” She slaps my ass, hard. “You can’t throw me around?—”

“Like this?” I toss her onto the bed, the mattress giving her a little bounce. “Watch me.”

She toes off her boots. “I’m gross.”

“So am I.” I take off my hat and unbutton my shirt, tossing it onto the floor.

She unbuttons her jeans. “I really should shower.”

“You really should leave that hat on.”

I’m kicking off my own boots and losing my jeans and briefs. I’m hard as a fucking rock, and if I’m not inside Ava in the next thirty seconds I think I might literally have a heart attack. Watching Ava race tonight was torture in the best possible way.

She was determined. Graceful. Fierce. And the way she smiled after every race, a big, toothy thing that touched her eyes and made her look lit up from the inside?

Yeah, I’ve been hard for what feels like a small eternity.

Ava smirks, lifting her hips so she can slide her jeans and panties down the length of her legs. “I knew you liked the hat.”

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