Page 31 of The Cowboy's Redemption
Once they were safely concealed, Dana moved into his arms. Light fingers traced the muscles riding the undersides of his shoulder blades. She rose on her toes and kissed him. He hardened and rose in response. The scrap of lace vanished. So did the cropped tank top.
Seconds later he was inside her again, thrusting his hips upward as she wrapped her legs around his waist, with him partially supporting her weight on his thighs.
His brain tried to remind him that they’d have to come up for air sooner or later. That eventually, they’d grow tired of nothing but sex, no matter how good it was. And that, when they did, they were going to talk. About so many things.
Slender fingers slipped between them, exploring the sensitive sac beneath his erection, where their two bodies connected. His lungs expelled air in short, ragged pants, and his thoughts ended abruptly.
Talking could wait.
Chapter Ten
Dana
Dana had nothingwith her to wear to a funeral, so she drove to Billings to pick up a few things from home.
She stopped at her dad’s stable first.
Robert Barrett operated a small riding facility on forty acres of land that edged against the subdivision where they lived, catering mostly to neighbors. Cottonwoods and pine dappled the pastures surrounding the outdoor training arena, providing shade for equine boarders.
This was where she stabled her horses when she wasn’t competing with them, and now that Lady was bred, she was out of competition for good. It wasn’t safe to move her for at least thirty days and they were confident the pregnancy took, but this stable was about to become her permanent home. A pregnant mare shouldn’t be ridden in her first trimester, and as an older horse, with arthritis settling in, Lady shouldn’t be ridden throughout her pregnancy at all.
Crackerjack was getting a workout this morning when she arrived. One of the neighbors rode him around the arena, coaxing the gorgeous palomino gelding into a trot. Dana slammed the truck door and walked to the wooden fence so she could watch.
She didn’t want to rush Tanoa’s training, so she’d have to finish the season on Crackerjack. Her dad made sure he stayed in practice—Crackerjack was good with experienced riders—but he hadn’t gotten past his skittishness with crowds, and she hadn’t ridden him in several years.
She was a big part of his problem. She hadn’t gotten over how easily she’d lost him on a turn, or the results of their fall, and he picked up on her uneasiness with him. He didn’t trust her either. As much as she loved him, they’d never had the same bond as the one she had with Lady, or the one developing with Tanoa. And she felt guilty about it.
Much the same way she felt guilty about Levi. The sex was good. Excellent, in fact. They both got satisfaction from it, so she had no qualms in that regard. She hadn’t misled him. He was a grown man who knew she had limitations. He’d held her hair in a motel bathroom while she’d hugged a toilet, so he’d seen her at her worst. Also saved her from it.
She also knew he had deeper feelings for her than she could return. She’d done Tanner wrong by staying with him when she’d known things were over, and she’d treat Levi better than that. She’d rather leave him on a high note than end on a low one. She was going to take Tanoa to Billings as soon as George Cooper confirmed the horse was hers.
Lady posed more of a problem, but hopefully, the new owners wouldn’t mind stabling her for the next month. She shouldn’t be moved until pregnancy was confirmed.
“Dora.”
As in,Dora the Explorer.
She turned from the fence at the sound of her dad’s voice.
“Sponge Bob,” she cried, throwing herself into his arms for the bearhug waiting for her. They used to watch cartoons together, weighing the merits of the girl shows she’d liked against the old Bugs Bunny reruns he’d favored.
She was a daddy’s girl and unapologetic about it. He’d gotten her out of ballet and into barrel racing, instead. Her mom still pretended she was mad.
He was also the only one who suspected what the repercussions of the fall she and Crackerjack had taken had been. He’d likely discussed it with her mother, but that was okay, because if Dana didn’t bring it up, then neither would they.
“Where’s Lady?” he asked, noting her truck without the attached trailer.
“I had to leave her in Grand.”
She filled him in on the situation, without mentioning Levi.
“Two of Otto Hart’s horses… Assuming Lady hangs onto a foal,” her dad mused. He eyed Crackerjack in the arena, where the rider had him starting and stopping, then pivoting on his hind end, giving his engine a tune-up. “It doesn’t do a thing to help you finish out this season.”
“I’ll ride Crackerjack,” she said.
She could do this. If she didn’t do it now, then she might as well sell him. He was a good horse. She shouldn’t make her problems his.
“He’s your horse.” But her dad frowned as he said it.
