“What would you have done if I hadn’t come up here?” Beth asked as he placed one heavy hand on her shoulder and attempted to swing his leg over the saddle.
“Ridden around until one of the hands came back to the barn or I found a hay bale or a grassy patch to fall off onto?”
“Idiot.” Beth sniffed as she braced herself to help him down.
“Yeah, well, you already knew that.” He reached the ground, one arm still anchored on Beth’s shoulder, and buried his face against her neck. “Damn.”
She was in no hurry for him to let go as her knees wobbled not with tiredness, but with complete lust.
He kissed her throat and she sighed. “That’s so unfair.”
“Can’t help myself.” He did it again. “Here you are again, saving my ass when I don’t deserve it.”
“Seems to be becoming a habit,” Beth whispered against his cheek. “I really should stop—”
“Don’t.” His mouth covered hers and she kissed him back without reserve.
After a long while he framed her face with his hands and looked down at her, his expression serious.
“I want to tell you something.”
“Okay.”
“I think we could be good together.”
Beth frowned. “We were—unless you’re saying you didn’t have a good time the other night because—”
“Not just sex—although that was awesome. I mean all the other stuff, like hearing you laugh, seeing you with your kids, or getting you mad enough to tell me off.”
“Like everyday stuff?” Beth asked suspiciously.
“Yeah, exactly.”
“What are you saying here?” Beth realized she was trembling.
“BB Morgan offered me a trail-riding job at his place.”
“And?”
For the first time he looked down at his boots rather than at her. “I was thinking I might take the job. It comes with accommodation and everything.”
“And . . . does that mean you’ll stick around?”
“Yeah. I mean, only if you were okay with it, because you said you didn’t want a long-term thing—”
She put a finger against his lips. “You said you were leaving at the end of the summer. I didn’t want you to feel like you were beholden to me.”
He looked deep into her eyes. “Maybe I want to be.”
“You do?” Beth whispered.
“Yeah.” He hesitated. “You make me feel like I’ve finally found my home.”
Even as she went in for another kiss, he stiffened and raised his head.
“We’ve got company.”
She turned in his arms and saw Wes’s car coming to a stop behind hers.
“Dammit!”
“Talk about bad timing,” Conner said dryly.
“This is the problem with living with teenagers and trying to have any kind of relationship,” Beth muttered as Wes and Mikey emerged from the car, arguing so fiercely that she hoped they hadn’t noticed what was going on right in front of their eyes.
“Mom!” Mikey’s shocked voice made her clutch onto Conner’s arm. “What the hell? I thought you were coming up here to clean the house!”
Wes stepped forward. “How about we put the horse away before this gets too dramatic?” He frowned at Conner. “You look like shit.”
“Thanks.” Conner removed his arm from around Beth’s waist. “Why don’t you guys talk while I put the horse back?”
“I’ll help you,” Wes offered. “You look like you’re about to face-plant the ground. Aren’t you supposed to be resting up?”
Conner sighed as he held on to the bridle and limped toward the interior of the barn. “Man, you sound just like your mom.”
Beth waited until Wes and Conner were safely out of earshot and turned back to Mikey.
“I asked you to give me some space,” Beth said evenly.
“I know.” He shifted his feet.
“So why did you drag Wes up here to bother me?”
“I didn’t know you’d be cuddling up to Conner O’Neil, did I?”
“That’s got nothing to do with it and you know it,” Beth retorted. She gestured toward the house. “Seeing as you’re here, why don’t we get out of the heat and you can tell me what you want to say.”
She led the way into the quiet house, knowing that the Garcias wouldn’t mind her using their space for something so important. Family was essential to Juan and Julia and they were both very fond of Mikey.
She fixed two tall glasses of ice water and pointed to the kitchen table. “Do you want to sit down?”
“Not really.”
Beth took a seat anyway. It meant he’d be towering over her, but she was too tired to worry about that.
“I saw Dad,” Mikey said.
“Okay.”
“He was super pleased to see me. He said he doesn’t get any visitors.”
Probably because he’s alienated everyone in his life who’s tried to