made sure to keep his hands to himself.
It was a difficult task. He found himself wanting to touch her, to reassure himself that what had happened last night had been real and not a highly charged erotic dream. He wanted to convince himself that she had indeed wanted him as much as he’d wanted her.
They ate as if they hadn’t had food in weeks, plowing their way through wedges of cherry-stuffed French toast and crisp bacon. Orange juice so tart it bit his tongue and coffee that packed a nice punch.
While his clothes were rumpled and disheveled, Mitzi looked like a princess holding court. Keenan admired her composure, the way she could appear so friendly, yet easily deflect any personal questions. Was this the real Mitzi?
Keenan was happy when Perry dropped them off at the airstrip with a friendly wave and he was alone with her again.
They found blue skies and calm winds for the trip back to Jackson. Steve had agreed with the decision to stay the night rather than fly back. And Joel, when Keenan had reached him this morning, had told him it was his choice to come in late or not at all today.
“Do you have to go into the clinic today?” Keenan asked in a nonchalant tone as they approached the parking lot of the airstrip outside of Jackson. “Or see patients at the hospital?”
“Actually, I’ve got the day off.” While she spoke, her gaze remained focused on the inside of her purse as she rummaged around in search of her car keys.
“I’m going riding,” he said. “Tripp’s dad has been urging me to come out and give his horses some exercise. It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day. Interested in joining me?”
When she looked up and he caught her hesitation, Keenan offered an easy smile. “No strings. I simply thought you might enjoy doing something fun and out of the ordinary on your day off.”
“It’d be out of the ordinary.” Mitzi offered an impish smile. “And certainly an adventure, considering I’ve never ridden a horse.”
“The way I see it, an adventurous woman would never turn down an opportunity to try something new.” Keenan kept his tone light, prepared to go with the flow. “Are you in?”
“Saddle up that filly.” Mitzi grinned. “This cowgirl is ready to ride.”
Had she lost her mind?
Yes, Mitzi thought as she stepped from the shower, she had not only lost her mind, she kept losing it. Instead of pushing Keenan away, as any sensible woman would have done after a night of ill-advised mind-blowing sex, she’d compounded the error by spending the day with him.
Riding horses had been a blast, she admitted as she dried off then slathered on lotion. The sun had been bright, but there’d been a slight breeze that had kept her from getting too warm.
Keenan had kept the conversation light and innocuous. They talked sports and she discovered that, like her, he loved the slopes and preferred to ski the more challenging backcountry.
Though neither mentioned what had happened in Delano, the fire that had sizzled between them now burned hotter than ever. At least it did for her. When Keenan had extended his hand to help her mount the horse, the mere touch of his flesh against hers had brought an ache of wanting so intense it had stolen her breath.
If he experienced the same shock, it hadn’t shown. A fact she found both reassuring and disturbing.
Then, as if spending the night and then the day with him hadn’t been enough, she’d accepted Kathy Randall’s invitation to return with Keenan that evening for a family dinner.
Of course, Tripp and Adrianna were part of the wide network of friends she’d socialized with since arriving in Jackson Hole. There was no reason to avoid them. And really, if she was being completely rational, no reason to avoid Keenan.
They’d had sex. So what? They were young and single. They’d had an itch and scratched it. End of story.
If the opportunity came up to do it again, there was nothing saying she wouldn’t consider it. Since she and Keenan had reached an understanding, he’d probably be cool with it, too. Until she found someone she wanted to seriously date, she was as free as the wind.
The thought cheered her as she took her cowgirl shirt—poppy-red with pearl buttons and white piping around the pockets—from the closet. The jean skirt she planned to wear with it was already laid out on the bed.
Bitty jumped up onto the four-poster