Southern Comfort - Natasha Madison Page 0,44
are you doing?” he asks when I stand and stretch. “It’s early.”
“I slept for ten hours,” I say. “Ten straight hours.” I shake my head. “I don’t even think I dreamed.”
“Well, if you go back to sleep, you can sleep twelve hours,” he says, putting on his shirt. This time, it’s a black one. I look over at him, watching as he pushes his hair back, and I have to take a minute before I move again. I’m used to my heart speeding up when I look over at him, but what I’m not used to is the flutters in my stomach. The itch that my hands get to walk over to him and hold his face in my hand and kiss him.
“I’ll meet you in five minutes,” I say. Walking back to the bedroom, I get a pair of pink yoga pants and matching sports bra with a gray off-the-shoulder shirt. I grab my sneakers, and I sit on the stairs while I wait for him. “I’m ready!” I shout back when I tie my hair up on the top of my head. He comes from the kitchen and looks at me. “Let’s get the day moving, cowboy.” I wink at him, and he shakes his head. We walk out of the house just as the sun is rising and the sky looks pink. “It’s so pretty,” I say, listening to the sound of our footsteps since it’s the only sound in the air. “It’s so peaceful.” Our fingers graze each other, and just like every other time, his fingers entwine with mine.
“It really is,” he says from beside me. “No matter where I am, this is always going to be home.” I look over at him and wonder how many other places he has. When he took me out to the barn yesterday and told me about his ex, I was floored. Did it bother me that he loved someone else? No. Did it bother me that he got hurt? One hundred percent yes. I never wanted him to feel that hurt. He doesn’t deserve it, especially when he loves with his whole heart. As he told the story, you could just hear how his heart shattered all those years ago. But then when he got to the end, you saw that it made him the man he is today, and no one can take that from him.
“You’re just like an onion,” I say right when we get to the barn, and he opens the door. “So many layers to you.”
He laughs at me. “I’ll start the coffee.” I watch him walk to the kitchen, and I take a minute to watch his perfect ass before I walk over to Lady Princess.
“Good morning, girl,” I say, putting out my hand, and she comes to me. The horse beside her sticks out her nose. “Does someone else want attention, too?” I laugh and walk over to the horse. Her brown coat shines under the soft light from her stall. “Good morning to you, too.” I rub her nose, and she breathes out. “Now, now,” I say, rubbing her side. “Don’t be all cranky.”
“She likes you.” I hear him from behind me.
“I like her, too,” I admit. “She’s a beauty.”
“She doesn’t like anyone.” He laughs. “She tried to buck me off her just yesterday.”
“Well, maybe you need to listen to her for a change and not just order her around.” I shrug my shoulders, then look back at the horse. “Isn’t that right, girl? You need to be listened to and not ordered around.”
“Do you want to ride her?” he asks. When I turn to him, I can’t even hide the smile on my face as I nod my head. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning coming down and seeing all the gifts on my wish list.
“You see that right there?” He points at me. “That’s the best smile you got.” I look down and then up. “Your whole face lights up. It goes from your lips to your cheeks to your eyes.” I shake my head, and he just watches me. “You’re beautiful.” His voice goes even lower, and I look down. I’ve been told I’m beautiful my whole life from as far back as I can remember, but the way he said it—the softness to his words and the way he looked straight into my eyes—is something I’ve never had. “Let’s get you saddled.” He turns away just in time for me to wipe away the