Page 33 of Welcome Home, Cowboy
She jumped and his hand pushed against the back of her knee just as he’d told her it would, though by the end his hand had shifted up on her thigh. Then, when she needed just a little help swinging her right leg over onto Bon-Bon, he gave a small push on her backside.
Is Lawson’s hand where I think it is?
She landed in the saddle and held on tight.
“You okay?” he asked, standing on the ground below her, acting as if he hadn’t just gotten a free pass to first base. And if she wasn’t mistaken, a small curve lifted on his mouth.
She nodded quickly, not wanting to draw attention to her complete embarrassment. And turn-on. That was more action than she’d gotten with a man in a very long time.
“Good. All you need to do is follow my lead. She’s a gentle horse. To turn right, lightly pull your reins to the right. To turn left, pull your reins to the left. To stop, pull back toward your belly button. It’s that easy.”
“Right, left, belly button.” Julie nodded. “Got it.”
“You’ll be fine,” he assured her.
She nodded again and then tightened her legs around the horse, not wanting to fall. She could do this. No problem. What she couldn’t do was look at Lawson and not remember his hand on her ass.
She rode behind him down a path that led through the trees behind Beth’s house. Julie hadn’t even known the path was here. It was narrow, leading through a canopy of tall pines. The air was cooler, crisper in the shade. She inhaled, relaxing into the saddle below her.
“Almost there,” Lawson called behind him.
She pulled her eyes from his backside. She hadn’t even realized she’d been focused on his tight-fitted jeans with a little worn spot near the left-hand pocket. He had a worn T-shirt tucked into his waist and a leather belt hugged his narrow midsection.
“You still doing all right?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at her.
She nodded. “Left, right, belly button.”
A smooth, sexy smile crossed his lips. “You’re a natural,” he said.
They continued riding until the path opened onto a field, speckled with yellow dandelions. The breath caught in Julie’s chest. “It’s beautiful.” She stopped her horse beside Lawson’s, pulling the reins back toward her belly button just like he’d instructed her.
“Yeah. When I come out here on horseback, I feel a little less homesick.”
“You miss Texas?” she asked.
He shrugged, the fabric of his shirt hugging his body a little tighter as his muscles contracted. “Of course. You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can’t take Texas out of the boy. That’s what my dad used to say.”
From where she was sitting, there was no boy in sight.
“Guess that’s why Dad decided it was okay to skip town.” He kept his gaze straight.
“I’m sorry,” she said, quietly.
“It’s not your fault. You aren’t the woman who stole his attention away from our family. That honor belongs to my mother’s best friend.”
Julie watched him. “Ouch.”
“Yeah.” He sucked in a deep breath. “What makes it worse is that my mother had just been diagnosed with stage-two breast cancer. She was about to start her first round of radiation and my father decided he didn’t really mean that whole spiel about ‘for better or worse.’ ”
“Sounds like your family had it rough.”
“Forgive and forget, right?” he said, smiling at her.
“If only it were that easy. How is your mom now?”
“Good. Cancer-free for almost ten years.”
“That’s great.” Julie looked out on the field as they walked the horses some more, breathing in the fresh air. A gentle breeze blew around them, making her hair tickle the side of her cheek. “I can see where this would be stress relieving. It’s nice out here.”
