Page 49 of At the Rancher's Pleasure

Sarabeth stared at her friend for a long, long time before releasing a heavy sigh. Jaynie had a point. In fact, she had many, many points. But she still didn’t know if she’d act on her advice, change a thing.

“I’ll think about what you said,” Sarabeth told her.

Jaynie rolled her eyes so hard Sarabeth was convinced she’d done some damage. “Your mother is damn stubborn, kid.”

“Yep.” Gina nodded, handing Sarabeth a soft smile. “But I remember her telling us, when we were kids, that all choices have consequences.” She tipped her head to the side, her eyes openly curious.

“You’ve chosen to end it with Brett, Mom. A consequence of that is never seeing him again, in a romantic, sexual way. Can you deal with that? Can you deal with seeing him in Royal, seeing him date, fall in love or marry someone else? Just because you don’t want to take a risk, doesn’t mean he won’t.”

Sarabeth felt hot. Then cold. Then shaky. Hoisted by her own rope...

And tangled up by her own words.

Twelve

Brett, after sending Sarabeth a text as he started his drive back to Royal, wasn’t sure she’d meet him that evening. He’d asked her to join him for a ride through his property around dusk, and although she said she would, he’d been a bundle of nerves saddling a recovered Ty and her favorite mare, Bella.

But upon seeing her walking toward the stables, blond hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, her beautiful eyes full of shadows and her creamy skin pale, he released a sigh of relief. She was here. They were going to talk.

But, damn, he was anxious. Brett resisted the urge to wipe his clammy hands on the seat of his jeans. Ty released a loud neigh in his ear and butted the side of his head as if to tell him to get his shit together.

He sure as hell was going to try.

Reaching him, Sarabeth pulled her hands out of the pockets of her sleeveless parka and took Bella’s reins. “Hi,” she said, looking nervous. Her nerves relaxed him a little and he managed a small smile.

“Hi back. Want a boost up?”

Sarabeth nodded, and instead of cupping his hands for the traditional lift, he gripped her waist and easily deposited her in the saddle. Sarabeth didn’t say anything but looked down at him with an enigmatic expression on her face. What was going on behind those deep, dark blue eyes?

Brett left her and vaulted onto Ty’s back, impatiently pushing his feet into the stirrups. At his clicking sound, his horse broke into a trot and Brett looked behind him to see Sarabeth following. He took a mental snapshot, thinking that he couldn’t wait for the rest of his life. Provided, of course, that she was in the center of it.

Hopefully, she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

But, damn, what if she didn’t? The reins slipped in his sweaty hands and he grimaced. Holding Ty back, he waited for her to come up beside him and sent her a sideways look. “You good?”

Sarabeth nodded, turning her head to stare off into the distance. After a minute, maybe more, she turned back to look at him, her eyes wide and brimming with emotion. “I need to say something to you. It’s not going to be easy or pretty and you might not want to hear it...”

Man, that didn’t sound good. But in for a penny and all that crap. “I have things to say, too. Do you want to go first or shall I?”

Sarabeth rubbed her forehead with the tips of her fingers, and he wondered if she had a headache. He sure as hell felt one building at the back of his skull. She looked at the long, tree-lined dirt road in front of them and her shoulders rose and fell. “Can we delay this conversation, just for a little while?”

What was the point? But he was willing to hear her reason for wanting to do so. “Why?”

The corners of her lovely mouth, the one he wanted to kiss for the rest of his life, lifted a fraction. “I’m on a fast horse, there’s an open road and I just want to fly.”

He shook his head. “You’re not wearing a helmet. If you fell...”

“You’re not wearing one either,” Sarabeth pointed out.

Point taken. He looked back toward the stable block. “I can go back, get some helmets.”

“We’re both good, experienced riders, Brett, and we’re not going to jump anything. We’re just going to hurtle down this empty road as fast and as long as we can. I need to work off some excess energy, and I’m sure you do too.”

He could think of another way to rid themselves of this pent-up frustration, but he didn’t think she’d appreciate his suggestion of going to bed. He looked at the road again and her unprotected head. “No jumping, no messing around or taking chances. And stay on the damn horse!”

Sarabeth flashed him a quick smile, dug her heels into Bella’s flanks, and she and her horse accelerated away. Brett took a moment to watch her before urging Ty to do the same. He enjoyed the rocking motion of his canter and grinned when Sarabeth urged Bella into a gallop. Standing up in his stirrups, he leaned forward, feeling like a bird skimming the ground. Brett felt Ty bunch and release his muscles, steady and sure, his hooves hitting the ground as he easily caught up to and overtook Sarabeth.

Since leaving the stables the wind had picked up, and over the sound rushing in his ears, he heard Sarabeth’s joyous laughter. Feeling his eyes watering, he blinked and brushed a strand of Ty’s mane off his cheek, his breath starting to shorten. He could feel his thigh and arm muscles burning and he grinned, enjoying every minute of Ty’s disturbingly fast pace.

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