Page 23 of Fragile Heart

“That one was pretty short.” Emily gives him a quick hug.

Caleb shrugs and runs his hand down the horse’s nose again. She presses into his touch, and he smiles. “Winds cooperated. Managed to get it nearly contained, so the firefighters on the ground had it in hand.”

He fought wildfires? Was he a firefighter, then? Curiosity burns through me, but I shove it down.

“That explains why Ethan didn’t ask me about watching Cam today,” Emily says. She moves to the stall next to Phoebe, guiding Redwood out from where he’s picking through the last of his morning oats, tying him out in the main walkway without fuss. “I just figured Joan had him.”

“Papa, look!”

Camden comes running into the barn, a group of white wildflowers in his hands. He’s managed to get grass stains on his jeans, though his shirt is clean. His cheeks flush as he glances at me.

“Hi, Bri,” he says, offering me a quick wave. He turns back to the others and holds the blooms out to Caleb. “Think Grammy will like them?”

Caleb smiles. “Definitely, kiddo.”

Camden nods and crosses the barn. He pulls a single flower from his back pocket and holds it out to me. It’s mangled to high heaven, but none of the purple petals manage to fall to the ground.

“Here, Bri,” he says. “Nana let me pick it this morning.”

I take the flower and tuck it into one of my braids before offering him a smile.

“Does it look good?” I ask him.

He nods, all serious scrutiny.

“Grandma called it a…” He trails off, his eyebrows scrunching. “Ra… Ranunculus,” he says, separating each syllable. “Yeah, ranunculus. It was the only purple one she said I could have.”

“Thank you,” I say. “It’s beautiful.”

He nods and then runs back toward Caleb. Caleb, who’s staring at me hard enough I want to double check that I don’t have a stain on my shirt or something. I twist the end of my braid around my fingers, trying to keep from broadcasting just how unnerving his attention is.

Unnerving… and exhilarating.

“Oh, right.” Emily clears her throat. I tear my gaze away from him. “Brielle, this is Caleb, Camden’s other dad.” She motions between us even as she crosses the barn. “Caleb, this is Brielle.She’s staying in my guest house for the summer while she gets settled.”

“Nice to meet you,” he says, though he doesn’t close the distance between us. Camden grabs his leg, and he turns his focus to his son, guiding him to stand in front of the next stall.

“Stay here until I have him tied out, kid,” he says.

I take the moment to pull Phoebe from the stall, interrupting her snack. She shakes her head and heaves a sigh but cooperates well enough. Emily comes out of the tack room with both bridles and Phoebe’s saddle and blankets. She helps me get them settled on Phoebe and then disappears to grab Redwood’s equipment.

“Papa, are Emily and Bri coming with us?” Camden asks.

“It looks like they have their own plans. You’d need to ask Emily,” Caleb says. “She might not want to ride to the Arch.”

Emily glances up from where she’s tacking up Redwood, focusing on me rather than Caleb or his son. We’d planned on an easy ride to one of the larger ponds at the edge of the ranch and then maybe some swimming. The Arch is in the opposite direction, the name derived from a tree that had grown across the main trail leading to the summit of one of the lower nearby peaks.

Last time I’d been to the Arch, it had been with Ethan. Nerves twist in my belly.

“What do you want to do?” she asks me, quiet enough it doesn’t echo through the barn.

I glance at Camden’s wide eyes and then the enigmatic man carrying a large saddle. The need to submit to him, to let him mark every single pulse point of my body with his scent, is still an overwhelming urge.

“I haven’t been to the Arch in a long time,” I say. Camden’s smile is wide, and his whole face lights up as he realizes what I’m about to say. I can’t help it. The kid’s a natural charmer. “Think I’ll like it as much as hiking?”

He nods as he squeals. As Caleb finishes prepping the horse and helps Camden into the front of the saddle, the wind changes outside, sending a breeze through the main alley of the barn.

And then all I can smell is cinnamon, and the desire to drop to my knees in front of this man, thisAlphais all I can think of.

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