smile and give him the answers that had kept everybody fooled for thirteen years and counting.
Saying them to Cole felt like—lying.
He waited for one more beat, then seemed to realize she wasn’t going to elaborate. “Okay, let me guess.” He cocked his head, appraising her comically. “You grew up in one of those plantation houses with more rooms than people, and lawns the size of football stadiums. You play a normal girl, but actually you’re a cotton magnate?”
Jess sputtered a laugh, shaking her head. Oh, lordy, if he only knew how wrong he was.
“No? Okay, no plantation house. Does that mean no servants? Because I can definitely see servants in your past.”
She laughed again. “No servants, no.”
“But horses, definitely. You ride like you’ve been doing it forever. So a horse farm. Huge racehorse–training facility breeding Derby champions?”
“Nope. Rode in college. Just had a good teacher.”
“You’re a mystery, Jess.”
“I’m just a regular gal, Cole. Grew up in a regular town in a regular house with regular people. I wish I had a more interesting story, but there it is.”
Right.
“There’s nothing regular about you, hon.” He paused for a moment, then reached up a hand to touch her jaw, startling her. She backed up quickly, almost tripping.
He pulled away quickly, surprise in his eyes. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s okay. I’m sorry. You—surprised me.”
She cursed internally as concern creased his forehead. Would she ever, ever be able to see a man’s hand coming toward her face and not duck?
Cole studied her for a long moment, then reached out his hand toward hers, but didn’t touch her. She watched his hand—strong, calloused, warm—and longed to hide hers inside it, just for a little while.
His voice was soft when he finally spoke.
“What happened to you, Jess?”
Chapter 11
“You ever heard Jess talk about her past?” The next morning, Cole tightened the girth on Moon Gypsy’s saddle and pulled down the stirrups. He and Decker were getting the horses ready for this morning’s adult trail ride, but he was having a hard time focusing on the job at hand, given the fact that he’d been up half the night trying to figure out why his almost-touch last night had turned Jess all deer-in-the-headlights.
He’d also been trying to figure out what had possessed him to seek her out at midnight and take her to one of the most magical places on the ranch, but right now that concern was taking second place.
“Not really, no.” Decker draped Chance’s reins over the top rail of the corral, then turned his attention on Cole. “Why?”
“Ever heard Kyla talk about it?”
“Not that I can think of. I know Jess is southern. Went to school with Kyla and Hayley in Boston. I think that’s all I know.”
“Huh.” Cole tied Moon Gypsy, then pulled Sienna’s bridle to get her saddled.
“Why the sudden curiosity about her past?” Decker’s eyebrows went up, amused.
Cole shrugged, not sure how much to tell Decker about either their ride to the falls, or the resulting chill that had left him wondering. He’d been up for hours thinking about the way she’d ducked away from his hand, like she’d expected he was going to hit her.
It made him sick to wonder if somebody had.
“I don’t know, Decker. Something just seems—off. She’s always had that yogi-calm thing going on, but she’s—different this time. She’s edgy, jumpy. Feels like something happened. Maybe it’s not her past at all. Maybe it’s recent. I don’t know.”
“Maybe she’s actually interested in you. Maybe you’re making her nervous. Have you thought of that?”
Cole shook his head. “It’s not that kind of nerves.”
Decker looked like he was going to say something flippant, but held back at the last second. “Want me to ask Kyla?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just imagining things. You remember that filly we got from over in Billings? Back when we were too young to know we were too young to train her?”
“Dad just about shot the guy who’d had his hands on her.” Decker nodded. “You comparing Jess to a filly?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know. It’s almost like she’s scared.” He turned to head back toward the stable to get the last two horses.
Decker fell into step with him when he was halfway there. “I’ll talk to Kyla if you want.”
“I don’t know. I’ll let you know. Maybe it’s nothing.”
Decker continued anyway. “Doubt it. Not if you’re picking up on something. Y’know, Cole. There’s nobody west of the Mississippi who’s better with a hurt horse than you. Never know. Those skills could come