Page 96 of Blindsided By the Enforcer

I bark out a loud laugh, thinking of the last time he was here and how scared he was to meet Sally.

I go to find Daddy to see which horses we can take out on the trail.

“I’ll call Howard at the stables and ask him to saddle up Trudy and Duff,” Daddy says.

“That’s okay. I can do it myself,” I assure.

Daddy pauses and takes me in.

“Nice to see you happy, Annie girl.”

“Thanks, Daddy. It feels good.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Cade

“I can saddle Trudy,” I assure Annie as she takes care of Duff. “I know how to ride. My dad put me into horseback riding lessons early. They were expensive and a status thing for him.”

“How are things going with your dad?” Annie asks once she has Duff saddled.

“He’s finally listening to what I want, so I’ll take it as a win,” I tell her. We haven’t talked about our plans for next year or where this relationship is going, and it’s a conversation we need to have.

“Any prospects for next year?” she asks.

“Possibly Minnesota but nothing on paper yet.”

“Is that something you’d be happy with?” she asks.

“Are we having the talk, Annie? Because I’ve been wanting to know your plans for next year, but I didn’t want to push.”

She blows out a breath. I see the cool air leave her mouth. She pats Trudy. “Yeah, looks like it’s happening.”

“I want to be close to you,” I tell her.

“I want that too,” she says. “But I’m done with Riverside. I feel like I need change. I’ve applied to some veterinary schoolsand the master’s at Riverside, but I think if I do get into that, it will be a hard pass.”

“Is Minnesota a place you’d consider going to school?” I ask.

“I would consider it if you were there,” she says. “I may have missed the application deadline.”

“Okay, we don’t have to have everything figured out,” I assure.

We go for our trail ride. The air is crisp and the grounds are beautiful. We ride side by side. There’s something about the pace of life around here that pulls me in. I like having the horses and animals. I like the quiet and the clear skies.

We set out for a couple of hours. When we get back, we stop by the barn to say hi to the cows. This time I am not so apprehensive. I even go up to Sally and pat her face but when she gives me a low moo, she scares the crap out of me.

“Geez, Sally, I almost pissed myself,” I tell her.

Annie is laughing so hard she’s crying.

“I don’t see how that was funny,” I pout. I lift her by the waist and twirl her around. She kisses me and her palm runs over my cheek.

“I have an idea,” she says. She takes off toward the back of the barn. I walk by the cows very slowly because I am still not completely comfortable.

We enter a room with bales of hay. Annie closes the door. I notice a little mini heater. She plugs it in. “Don’t let me forget to turn it off. Heaters and hay are explosive.”

She tugs me down on a bale of hay. “Have you ever had sex on one of these?”

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