Page 16 of Trusting a Cowgirl

“No, I don’t suppose you would have.”

Riley faced her. “Seriously. I didn’t think horses could do much of anything besides be trained to ride.”

Dolly let out a sharp breath between her lips and tossed her head. Riley jumped as if realizing that she was still there and she was missing out on all the fun. He jumped into action and unclipped the lead rope.

His horse was off like a shot. She chased down the other ball, pushing it forward and darting in front of it.

For the first time since she’d met Riley, she heard him chuckle. He wore a grin similar to her own. When his features were relaxed this way, it was a lot easier to see the man behind the angry mask. He wasn’t a veteran who had a chip on his shoulder. He wasn’t hurting or dwelling on his past. He was present. Not only that, but he was actually really handsome.

Her stomach flipped and she pulled her gaze from him.

Inappropriate.

There was more to this man than his looks; even she could see that.

Her attraction to him was childish at best. It was just a crush. He was ten years older than her, for heaven’s sake. It didn’t matter that they could spend time together in comfortable silence or have small talk. Even if the age difference wasn’t an issue, he was a client.

Her face burned beneath the surface and she set her jaw tight as she watched the horses.

Just a silly childish crush.

Dolly kicked at the ball with her front leg and it rumbled toward them. Riley chuckled again and rolled it back. These antics lasted most of the session, and Riley barely spoke to her.

The old her would have thought she was still doing something wrong. But now she understood a little better. Riley needed a safe place so he could start tearing down the walls he’d created.

Once the horses tired out, they walked them back to the barn. Rather than talk to Grace, Riley focused on talking softly to Dolly. A heaviness in Grace’s heart gave her pause. As she watched him with his horse, she almost felt jealous. But that was ridiculous. It was just one more bit of proof that she was letting her fantasies get away from her.

Grace put away the ropes and the brush and then waited on a bench outside of the stall for Riley to finish. He was sweeter with his horse than a lot of the cowboys around here. The way he took his time to brush her gently and speak to her tugged at Grace’s heartstrings even more.

Deep down he was a softy.

Riley stepped from the stall and froze. His eyes met hers and the softness of his expression faded into something unreadable. “What?” he grunted.

She got to her feet and shrugged. “Nothing. I’ll walk you out.” She turned, doing everything in her power not to let her feelings affect her. The last thing she needed was for him to know she liked him. She’d probably never hear the end of that.

And another thing. She needed to work on not staring at him, too.

He hurried after her, his voice gruff. “No. Not Nothing. What’s the matter? I can tell you’re hiding something. You know that, right? I was trained to read people.”

That did it. Her face burst with heat. She turned to look over her shoulder, away from him so that he couldn’t seethat. “Really. I was just waiting for you. That’s all.”

His hand landed on her shoulder, successfully stopping her from being able to turn or walk away. Seeking any form of escape, she set her gaze on the ground.

“Did I do something wrong?” His voice was quieter now, so much so that she snapped her head up to meet those blue eyes of his.

“No. Of course not.”

“Then what’s the matter?”

“Nothing. For heaven’s sake, Riley. I was just waiting for you to be done so I didn’t leave you in there alone.” Why couldn’t she get this blush to dissipate? They were out in the cold now; she should be able to get some kind of relief.

He didn’t look convinced. The way his eyes narrowed as he studied her, she could tell he wasn’t going to give up easily. He wanted to know what was going on. She couldn’t blame him. He had trust issues. It was understandable that he’d want to know everything upfront.

Grace gnawed on her lower lip and forced a smile. “You want to know why I was staring?”

“That’s why we’re standing here, isn’t it?”

“I thought you were good with her—Dolly, I mean. You clearly adore her.”

---