Page 25 of Some Cowboys Fight for Love

She laughed. “Yes, I am. Despite what you might think, I’m well-versed in riding. I have been since I came to visit. When Sophia was here, we were going out every day.” She stopped her pace and turned to face him before she poked him in the chest. “Maybe you should take a page out of her book and do the same.”

Daniel watched her, his expression guarded.

He wouldn’t take her advice. She didn’t know if he’d let her take one of the horses, though. For all his disinterest in her romantically, he certainly liked to be bossy.

Aria shrugged and turned toward a nearby stall. She reached for the door and Daniel placed a hand on it, stopping her frommoving it. She stared at him with surprise. “Excuse me,” she demanded.

Daniel shook his head with an exasperated sigh. “Fine, you can go.”

She tilted her head, her eyes challenging him. “I don’t know when you got this notion that you’re in charge of me, but you’re not.”

“I know that,” he said. “But I’ll have you know I prefer my head to remain attached to my body. If something were to happen to you, I’m sure Sophia would bite it clean off.”

There was no other option besides to laugh. She threw her head back and let it out. It felt good—like she’d been holding it in for far too long. “Okay, fine. I’ll let you come with me.” Before he could throw an argument at her, she held up a finger. “Careful what you say. I would hate to rescind my offer.”

He worked his jaw but didn’t argue.

Aria took a step back. “Now, am I saddling her, or are you?”

The grin wouldn’t leaveAria’s face. She’d tried several times to bite it back and relax as she rode along the trails with Daniel at her side. But it wouldn’t go away. She shouldn’t be this pleased with herself. In fact, she needed to stop getting so attached to the guy.

There was something so refreshing about being around him. He was nothing like Cayden was. No pomp and circumstance. No need to show off. He was quiet and unassuming.

Yet, at the same time, he was built like a truck.

Geez, she wasn’t supposed to think about him like that again. Aria glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but he wasstaring straight ahead. She couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or if he was simply enjoying the ride, too.

No indication of his state of mind could be read on his face.

Oh well. He’d come along for the ride, and she wasn’t responsible for how he felt.

Aria allowed herself to get lost in her own thoughts—doing her bestnotto think about Daniel’s strong arms around her waist—when he snapped his fingers.

She stirred and glanced toward him. Daniel jerked his chin in the direction of a small clearing of trees. There were three animals hovering just outside of the tree line. A buck, a doe, and a fawn.

A gasp ripped from her throat as she took in the sight. “That’s not normal, is it?” she whispered. “For the whole family to be together?” Most of the time bucks didn’t stick around after a fawn was born.

Daniel confirmed her assumption when he shook his head. “It is strange. They’re solitary creatures.”

Without thinking it through, Aria climbed down from her horse.

“Aria,” Daniel hissed. “What are you doing? Get back here.”

She waved him off. “I want to get close enough to get a picture. This is amazing.” If she got a good shot, she could sell it to one of the places that hired her for freelance writing.

“Aria,no.” His voice was tense, and she heard the distinct sound of his boots hitting the earth. “Get back on your horse and leave those animals alone. Especially with it being mating season. That buck just might decide to charge you.”

“It’ll just take a second.” Ducking past a tree and stepping between two others, she glanced over her shoulder at him and then smirked. “Just one picture.” It was only at that moment she noticed he looked utterly terrified. Daniel charged toward her at a pace that seemed nearly inhuman.

Aria turned around to find the buck running at her from the other direction. She froze, locked in place.

Fear.

She’d experienced fear before, but not like this.

Everything was moving too fast. She didn’t know what to do.

Strong arms wrapped around her middle and threw her out of the way.

---