Page 66 of His Tenth Dance

Kristie smiled into the sky, though big, puffy clouds filled it from side to side. She wasn’t one who checked the weather before she left the house. She figured she’d find out if she needed a jacket or an umbrella when she stepped out onto the front porch.

So she didn’t know if those clouds were supposed to turn gray and dump rain, as they sometimes did in the summer, especially later in the day.

Right now, it didn’t matter, because right now, she’d turned in her application to compete in the King Arthur BakingCompany contest, Lady was walking decently well, and Mission held her hand.

After fifteen or twenty minutes of slow, plodding walking, the bunk house came into view. Tall trees towered over it, casting the area in shade.

“This is beautiful,” she said. “And not the same house where we watched the sunset.”

“I guess they do some summer camps here,” Mission said. “Or did once-upon-a-time. It’s not used for much anymore.”

“What a shame,” Kristie said. “This is a great place.” She moved Lady into the shade, where the horse started to snack on the cool grass there, and Mission took her hand again and they settled against the trunk of a nearby tree.

“I love summertime,” he said.

“But you live in Colorado.”

“I don’t mind all four seasons,” he said. “It’s different than where I grew up.”

“It can get cold in the high desert,” she said.

“It can,” he agreed, saying nothing more.

Sometimes, Kristie would like him to continue to debate with her, and sometimes it didn’t bother her. This time, she simply wanted more of an explanation as to why he liked summer…so she asked.

“It feels like nothing can go wrong, I guess,” he said. “It’s warm, so I know even if my truck breaks down, I won’t be stranded on the side of the road in conditions I won’t survive.”

Kristie snuggled further into his side. “Mm, I don’t know about that. I’ve seen you when you’re hungry, and it’s not pretty.”

Another round of laughter burst from his mouth, and pure happiness filled Kristie. She’d never imagined she’d be in this moment when she’d left Arizona a few years ago.

She’d dated here and there while in Ivory Peaks, but nothing felt as sparkly and wonderful as getting a text from him, or seeing his handsome face, or being fed by him.

Mission simply possessed something that spoke to Kristie’s soul, as hesawher andheardher, and seemed towantto go out of his way to make sure she had whatshewanted. Her eyelids felt heavy, and her mind drifted, and Kristie let herself float with the warmth around her.

Sometime later, she wasn’t sure when, Mission’s voice said, “Kitten, we should get back.”

Her eyelids fluttered open as she woke up, her awareness coming back in a jolt. “I fell asleep.” She looked over to find Lady laying down in the grass several yards away.

“Yep.” Mission pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“How long?”

“Forty-five minutes or so.”

Kristie frantically tried to piece together what else she needed to do that day—shopping for crumble ingredients, baking…and this. Her adrenaline started to calm just as the wind kicked up.

Mission tipped his head back and looked up, though they couldn’t see the sky through the branches and leaves. “It’s going to rain.”

“It is?”

“Feels like it to me.” He groaned as he got to his feet. He turned back to her and offered her his hand. She took it and let him help her up.

“The clouds were white earlier,” she said.

“Well, they’re not anymore,” he said. “And Lady doesn’t move very fast.”

Kristie’s pulse rebounded from the front of her body to the back. No, she didn’t want to rush or push Lady. That would undo all the hard work and care they’d put into her treatment.

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