Page 87 of Never Left You

I grabbed the cinch, instantly wished I had my cowboy hat on—you know, for the full effect—then looked at Rhett. He smiled and looked at Stetson.

“I think he’s gonna nod.” Rhett said to his nephew.

“Nod Uncle Cash!”

I nodded, and Rhett and Stetson opened the chute. The ranch horse, aptly named Moose, blew out of the chute, flying into the air. I could hear the cheers from Lottie and Leo, Abi too, as Moose turned left, then right, and flew higher in the air. I kept my hand up, my back straight and my focus on his weight under me. He moved and jerked, almost forcing me off his back a few times, bucking higher than Blaze did the other night. But then I heard the buzzer, the eight seconds were up. I tightened my legs and lowered my arm, grabbing the cinch with both hands and geared him into a run. Lachlan showed up at my side, matching Moose’s pace perfectly. I let go of the cinch and reached for Lachlan as he dragged me from the saddle. I jumped, my feet landing on the ground for a split second before I took off towards Abi.

“You’re getting better and better with each ride, before you know it, you’ll be—”

I stopped her, gripping her face in my hands and pressing my lips to hers. Since she was in mid-sentence, it was all too easy for me to slip my tongue inside to dance with hers, sending chills down my spine. So much for PDA. She melted into me again, and she hummed as I kissed her, tasting her, our hearts beating more rapidly with each swipe of my tongue. I could see why Rhett did this after every ride. The pure rush from the ride was exhilarating, and then having her in my arms, her lips against mine, kept the adrenaline pumping, but this time it was all Abi.

Her hands gripped onto my arms, holding me steady against her, and once I broke the kiss, she let out a soft sigh.

“Hey now,” I heard Rhett’s voice as he came up from behind us. “That’s my bit.”

“I can see why,” I breathed, leaning down to give Abi one last kiss.

“MOMMY!” I heard Stetson squeal. “YOU KISSED UNCLE CASH!”

I chuckled and looked back at Stetson, who stood right in the middle of the dirt, his jaw dropped as he watched us.

“Sorry Stet,” I said, my hands lowering from Abi’s face to her arms. “Is it ok if I kiss your mom?”

“Does that mean you’ll stay longer, because if it means you’ll stay longer you can kiss her.” Stetson brushed a hand in the air, as if waving off what he just saw, running back to the gates, “Can I open the chute again if Uncle Cash goes!?”

Abi rubbed her lips together and then blinked herself back to reality. “I’m going to have to talk to him…” she said, her voice soft and breathy. “If he’s ok with us kissing, he should probably drop the uncle.”

I laughed and raised my eyebrows. “Should I ride again?”

She nodded, a twitch to her lips. I casually walked back to the chute, giving Rhett a look, and then took a quick inventory of how that kiss was taken by Abi’s family. Wyatt looked anywhere but at me, her mother was smiling, her dad was getting his camera ready (most likely to film another ride), and Kyla had a huge grin on her face and was mouthing something. I turned and looked at Abi, whose smile matched Kyla’s and she was mouthing something right back.

That shot up my ego just a twinge. Abi and Kyla were acting like teenagers, all over my kiss. Yeah…I was definitely kissing her again after this ride.

I rode three more times, lasting eight seconds each time, and kissing Abi after each one. Nothing like the first kiss, but after having her family take zero note of it, I couldn’t stop myself. Stetson even squealed each time, at one point screaming, “Gross!” It wasn’t until Abi took him away for his bedtime that I pulled them both into my arms for a hug, loving the way they both felt against me. Nothing could take this feeling away, not even watching them walk out of the stables. Pure bliss was etching into my body.

“Hey, Callahan.”

I scanned the arena, seeing Lachlan and Rhett already in the stables taking care of the horses, Quinn was talking to Kyla, Lottie and Leo were re-watching videos on his phone. The only other person who could possibly be next to me…

Wyatt stood in front of me, his arms folded, his baseball cap slightly perched to the side, and a look of extreme anger plastered all over his face.

Okay, maybe Wyatt could erase that feeling. I rolled my eyes and lowered my chin. “Yes, Wyatt?”

“What the hell was that?”

“What was what?” I pretended to look stupid. Here was the brother’s protection speech. I was honestly expecting this fromLachlan after the small warning he had given me prior but knowing that Wyatt would rather talk to anyone else but me, I was shocked he even approached me.

“You know what,” he grumbled.

“Alright, then, what was with you hitting on Quinn?”

“I didn’t suck face with her like you did with my sister.”

“Suck face?” I parroted. “I kissed her, I didn’t ‘suck face’ with her. Pretty sure that’s what you do.”

He shook his head. “I don’t like you.”

“That’s fine.”

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