Page 131 of That Moment
Chapter 26
Scotty
Rosa noses my shoulder impatiently, warm breath puffing against my T-shirt.
“Easy girl, I’m getting to both of you.” I reach over, giving her nose a reassuring rub as I finish brushing Priscilla.
But my attention turns toward the sound of someone driving up to the bar, the headlights cutting across the bar. The engine cuts, the door opens as the lights cut. She steps out, her long legs wrapped in tight jeans. My cock takes attention immediately, but then I see the expression on her face. There’s something in the set of her shoulders that isn’t her usual strut. Still, she smiles when she sees me.
“Hey,” I say, as I walk toward her.
“Hey,” she echoes, arms outstretched toward me. I welcome her, wrapping my arms around her and dipping my head to kiss the tops of hers. Her fingers hook in my shirt like she needs the anchor, and that twist in my chest gets tighter.
“What are you doing here?” I ask when I pull back, thumb brushing her cheekbone. “Thought you were stuck at family dinner.”
“It ended early.” She looks past me toward the barn, then back, chin up like she’s daring me to argue. “I wanted to see you. And the girls.”
The girls. I huff a laugh. I love that she loves them just as much as I. “They’ve been acting like divas all evening.” I tip my head toward the barn. “Come on, they’ll be thrilled to see you.”
We walk side by side into the warm dim of the barn, footsteps soft on packed dirt. The mares lift their heads in tandem like they recognize their favorite person. Adrienne’s whole face softens as she reaches Rosa first, palm to the velvet of her nose.
“Hi, pretty girl.” Her voice goes low, tender. Rosa leans into her hand, nuzzling gently.
Priscilla pushes her big chest against the stall door for attention, and Adrienne laughs, “I see you, big mama.” I watch her for a beat, the way she moves, the way her shoulders drop when she’s around animals. She fits here. Maybe more than I do.
“Traitors. Pretty sure they’d sell me in a heartbeat if it meant more time with you.”
“Oh, that’s not true,” Adrienne says, turning around to look at me. She’s more relaxed than when she stepped out of her car a few minutes ago, but there’s still that stiffness under her smile.
“You okay?” I ask it plain. No hedging. I’m done swallowing questions and making assumptions about things. That’s gotten me into enough trouble with her.
She keeps her attention on Rosa, stroking the mare’s forehead. “Yeah.”
I don’t buy it. “Adrienne.”
Her hand pauses. She glances at me, then away, like the truth might bite if she looks it dead on. “Can we take the girls out?” she asks instead. “Just a loop along the creek. I’ll…we can talk then.”
That old instinct to say sure and let the rest rot in my gut flares up. I push against it. “We can talk right here.”
“I know.” She sets her jaw a little, that stubborn line I’ve always liked when it’s aimed at anyone but me. “I need the ride first. Please.”
I study her. The words she isn’t saying are loud as hell. She needs this, and I need to swallow my doubt and let her explain things in her own time. “Okay,” I say finally, nodding once. “Saddles it is.”
We move without tripping over each other. I grab pads and leather; she’s already got halters, leads clipped clean. We’ve done this dance with horses since we were kids. Memories of us and her brothers sneaking our horses out in the middle of the night to go ride.
“You tighten that like you think I’m made of glass,” she says, a hint of teasing lightening the mood. “I haven’t forgotten how to ride a horse. I won’t slip.”
“You break a nail and I’ll never hear the end of it from Dolly,” I deadpan.
She snorts. “You already don’t hear the end of it from Dolly.”
“Fair.” I swing Rosa’s reins over and step close to adjust Adrienne’s stirrup on Priscilla.
“Thank you,” she says softly.
“For what?”
“For not asking again.” Her gaze flicks to mine. “For waiting a minute and letting me think for a few first.”
