Page 24 of Some Cowboys Brave the Flames

She found herself leaning toward him, tempted to brush a strand of his hair from his brow. But then someone at the weights dropped a loaded bar to the floor and it clattered so loudly that she jumped back. Whew! She needed to remember to keep her hands to herself. They needed a distraction. “Really?” she smirked. “You want to marry a cowboy and settle down on a farm?”

He chuckled. “Smart aleck.” Ash nodded to the door. “Come on. I’ll walk you to your car.”

And that was that. They got to their feet and headed out of the gym. She still didn’t know what she’d tell her brothers or if she’d have to tell them anything. Maybe she’d just say she went to the gym and worked out. It wasn’t something she’d done before, but there was a first time for everything.

True to his word, Ash walked her to her car. He waited for her to dig her keys from her pocket and then again for her to start the car. He rested his forearm above her doorway and leaned his head down to smile at her. “See you for our next lesson?”

She nodded, the lump in her throat growing. Then she sucked in a breath and shook her head. “Actually, we’re going to have to postpone. Wade wants us to go on a big family picnic.” She rolled her eyes at how silly it sounded. “So, I won’t be available. But we’ll schedule one the week after.”

He nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Charlie pulled her lower lip between her teeth, then watched as he backed away so he could shut her door. She gave him alittle wave before she backed out of her parking spot and then pulled away from the gym.

11

Ash

Ash reached for his backpack, then climbed out of his truck, a grin spreading across his face. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Charlie’s face when he showed up for their family picnic. Granted, when he’d been invited, Liam and Mason had asked him to see if his girlfriend could come into town for the outing.

She had a last-minute work thing.

Or at least that was what he would be telling them.

Ash sauntered toward the barn. Lots of voices and loud chatter came from that direction, indicating that they were nearing the time they’d be leaving. The trail ride was supposed to be two hours out and two hours back; Wade wanted to make a day of it.

There was no guarantee that Ash would survive the ride. Sitting in a saddle that long could be problematic. At this point, he was willing to get some sore muscles if it meant spending time in Charlie’s orbit.

No one noticed him right away. The women were all circled around, talking to each other and laughing while the men grumbled about having to ready two horses. It wasn’t until all twelve siblings were crammed into one space that Ash really got a feel for how large their family was. And with all but two of them married or engaged, it was an even larger group.

There were a couple of kids running around as well, and some of the women had babies strapped to their backs.

The Keagan family had come a long way in the last six years.

Daniel caught sight of him first—likely because he was closer to the door. He held onto the reins of two horses. His eyes darted behind Ash and his brows furrowed. “I thought you were bringing your girl.”

The temptation to look for Charlie in the fray tugged at him, but Ash forced himself to stay focused on Daniel. “She couldn’t make it. Too last minute.”

Daniel lifted a brow.

“Work stuff,” Ash amended. He grinned and clapped a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “But between you and me, I don’t think she likes horses all that much.”

Understanding flickered across his face. Then he held up one set of reins. “I guess it’s just as well. We would have had to give her a horse that has a bit of an attitude.” At Ash’s incredulous look, Daniel chuckled. “She’s great with female riders, but there’s no telling with a group this big.” He turned to look over his shoulder. “I probably would have made Charlie ride her. We wouldn’t want to let your girlfriend get hurt.”

“No, we wouldn’t want that.” Ash laughed. He let his eyes scan the group of women and then they locked with a pair of pretty blue eyes. Ash held them for a moment, pinning hers with his own until she broke off their stare and tucked a wayward strand from her face behind her ear. “Where are we headed?” he asked Daniel. “Two hours is a long ride.”

Daniel nodded. “We’re going to head through the Callahan property. They have some fun trails and good picnic areas.”

Ash cocked his head slightly. “I’m assuming that’s where some of the horses have come from?”

His friend nodded. “Yep. Mason brought a couple. And Brielle asked to borrow some from her dad.” Someone called his name and he glanced over. “Here, hold this one too.” He handed Ash the reins, then disappeared into the group.

One of the horses nudged Ash in the arm, and he chuckled before rubbing her nose.

“Do I even want to ask?” Charlie said quietly from beside him.

He jumped and glanced over at her. She was petting her own horse, not looking at him as if to hide the fact that they were chatting. “You don’t have to pretend you don’t know me.” He snickered. “You’re teaching me to cook.”

She faced him then, suspicion in her gaze. “I don’t find it a coincidence that after I told you about this trip, you suddenly showed up.”

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