Page 70 of Wild, Wild Cowboy

“Need a new hobby?” I suggested.

“I was going to say, you’ve got nothing better to do, so you might as well fix what you broke, but sure.”

I stared at him with my mouth agape. “Damn, kid. You got vicious.” I pulled of my hat, smacked him on the shoulder with the brim, then plopped it back on.

He grinned. “Just calling it like I see it.”

I looked at Hurricane Red and let out a piercing whistle. Hurricane Red lifted his head, his ears pricked forward. His nostrils flared and I wondered again if he recognized my scent,and what it meant to him if he did. Was I merely the dumbass who got himself tangled in Red’s legs? Or was I something else, too? Something good.

I let out another whistle and he ambled over. When he reached the fence, I pulled out the apple I had halved for him. He lipped it up with a soft nicker.

Beside me, Adam growled again. “Goddammit, you’re going to do it, aren’t you? You’re going to get right back on the horse that stomped you.” He shook his head in disbelief.

I caught Hurricane Red by the halter and brought his face to mine so I could rub his nose. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

I was finally getting back on the fucking horse.

28

HANNAH

It was strange being back in Aspen Springs after our whirlwind road trip. Everything was exactly how I had left it. Nothing had changed. My cats, Jo’s, the library—everything was the same way it had always been. I was the one who was different. And it was all Zack’s fault.

It hadn’t even been a full forty-eight hours since he’d dropped me off at my house and went on to Lodestar Ranch with Hurricane Red, but I missed him. It wasridiculous.

I walked to the library, and I thought about Zack.

I stopped in at Jo’s for a cup of tea, and I thought about Zack.

I showed a patron how to create an account and print out tax forms, and I thought about Zack.

I didn’t eat my lunch. I just sat there staring at it, because I was thinking of Zack.

We texted throughout the day. Random little things, like how I daydreamed of murdering our ancient printer like they had inOffice Spaceor how much I had missed the group of kids who showed up after school every day, even though they seemed more feral than ever because the weather had turned warm, and they could see summer break on the horizon. Zack told meabout how annoying Adam and Brax were, and how proud he was of Blaine, and that Hurricane Red was settling in well at the ranch.

I shouldn’t have hadtimeto miss him, what with how busy I was and the texts that came through every hour. But his texts never told me the important things.

Like if he was wearing that stupid belt buckle of his.

Or if someone told a joke that made his eyes crinkle in that special Zack way.

If he had found something healthy for lunch.

Those were the things I wanted to know.

There had to be something wrong with me. Surely it wasn’t normal, being this obsessed over a man. It was embarrassing. I was mooning over him like one of those buckle bunnies, except it was even worse. At least they treated it like a game: bang as many rodeo champions as possible, get bragging rights. I just wanted the one rodeo champion, and I didn’t care about his winning record at all. I only wantedhim.

It was like I had gone on a five-day Zack bender, and now I was suffering withdrawal.

In the back of my mind, there was a niggling worry. We both had busy lives and jobs that required early starts, but Zack’s never really let up. I couldn’t expect him to spend the night with me in Aspen Springs and then get up at three in the morning to drive the hour back to Lodestar Ranch. Would weekends be the only time we could spend together? How could I possibly go five days in a row without seeing him?

God, I was pathetic.

“Your mom is a silly goose, Annabelle.” I pushed to my feet, empty soup bowl in hand, and moved to the sink to clean up from dinner. “I’m sorry.”

Annabelle winked her green eyes at me. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. I knew she agreed.

My phone buzzed on the table. I dropped the bowl into the sink with a clatter and sprang for it, much to the disapproval of Annabelle. She jumped out of my way with a yowl of displeasure.

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