Page 60 of Catching Sparks

His stare softens around the edges and follows me while Honey strolls to Kip’s side. I offer Garrison a soft smile and slide my foot from the stirrup to tap his heel with my toe.

“He also knows this ranch better than most of the people here do. You’re safe with him. And me, if that means anything to you,” I add carefully, my chest thumping hard.

“It does,” he says, voice an octave deeper than usual.

I grin, sliding my foot back in place. “This is the fun part now.”

“The riding?”

My pulse quickens as I shake my head, looking past Honey to the open fields. “I prefer to call it freedom.”

“He’s ready to go faster!” I shout back at Garrison.

“I’m not!”

My laugh is loud, but the warm wind stifles some of the sound. Honey trots ahead of Kip, trying to urge him to follow her antsy pace through the field. Trees line the fence on our left, thick enough to block the view of the gravel road that I know leads back to town. The branches are no longer barren, now growing thick with green leaves. Cherry blossoms will soon bloom on the bushes nearest the main house, Eliza’s favourite. Spring came quickly this year, and I’m more than ready for the first look at swaying wheat fields and green grass mowed down by cattle in pastures. Horseback rides hit different when you can feel the sun on your bare arms and the wind isn’t nipping at your cheeks but caressing it instead.

Garrison took to riding quickly, like he had excelled at it in a past life. He might not think he’s comfortable enough to pick up the pace, but I beg to differ. It’s almost too easy for him to sway with Kip’s body and lead him as if he has done it a thousand times. He’s somehow connected to him in a way that should be unnatural but seems anything but.

I want to see how far out of his comfort zone he’ll go. He loves control, but so do I. Nearly as much as I love to see him hand it over to me.

“Are you too scared of a bit of speed?” I call over my shoulder. His answering growl is feral, making me shiver.

“Keep pushing me, honey. Will you be ready for the consequences?” he asks, sounding closer than a moment earlier.

Anticipation has my stomach swooping. I hold Honey back from going faster, wanting him to catch up to us.

“I was born ready to handle men like you, Garrison Beckett!”

I tighten my thighs around Honey’s sides and roar a laugh when she picks up speed in an instant, happy to finally be given the go-ahead to leave them in our dust. Hooves slap the grass as we move, and a long, excited neigh cuts through the air behind us. It’s the only warning I get before Kip takes off. One look over my shoulder and I see Garrison gripping the reins and leaning forward in the saddle the way I instructed him to earlier. His legs aren’t clinching Kip’s sides, just resting comfortable around his body even as he fidgets with his posture.

A natural.

Kip races toward us, and Honey flicks her blond tail in his face when he gets close enough for her to play with him. I giggle at the sight and then grow quiet.

Garrison doesn’t care about Honey or Kip right now. How could he when he’s so utterly focused on me? My heart stalls before beating out of tempo. He grits his jaw like he’s angry, but the soft gleam in his eyes tells another story. One of surprise and something too warm and gooey for me to comprehend in this moment. All the tension that was in his muscles before we left the stable has melted away. He looks human now, instead of the angry robot he portrays every day.

Kip takes Honey’s tail flicking as a taunt and pushes faster, bringing him and Garrison to run at our side. I drop my head, tucking my chin to my chest as my cheeks flush. An unusual sense of shyness fills me, and I almost like it.

When was the last time someone made me feel like this?

“Well, are you going to tell me what my consequences are?” I ask brazenly.

With a light tug on Honey’s reins, I sit back in my saddle and signal for her to slow her pace. She responds instantly, earning a pat on the neck.

Kip slows a beat later, Garrison having followed my lead and movements. I watch him rub Kip’s neck softly and mutter something to him that I can’t hear but wish I could.

He’s a bit off balance as Kip falls into a trot beside Honey, but he doesn’t falter or ask for us to stop so he can have a break. His thighs have to be burning at this point, muscles he didn’t even know he had screaming with the uncomfortable movements they’ve just endured. That pain won’t stop coming for a long while.

“You have nothing, do you?” I taunt him.

His lips part on a dirty grin. “Keep talking.”

I wiggle my fingers at him, knowing exactly what I’m doing. “You’re talking enough for the both of us. That’s all it is, isn’t it? Talk and no action?”

“Come on, don’t stop there. I’m quite enjoying the hole you’re digging,” he urges.

“Want to grab a shovel and help me go deeper? Or are you afraid of getting your perfectly manicured nails dirty?”

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