Page 31 of Seaside Cowboy's Second Chance

Huh? Did she look like a good candidate for said job?

“Well, are you coming or staying?” He called over his shoulder as he walked into the hall.

In a way, she did promise Mrs. Lawrence, didn’t she? Skylar hurried after him.

She walked outside, squinted against the sun, and found the four-wheeler waiting for her. “Um, we’re going on this?”

“Would you prefer to do it on foot? You do remember this is how we move around the ranch, right?”

“Right.” And she did remember. But she also remembered she couldn’t get behind him there without touching him. And while in motion, she’d have to hold onto him. Of course, it had never been a problem before, rather the opposite.

Oh boy.

She managed to climb behind him with minimal touching, then placed her hands on her knees, avoiding the muscular man right in front of her. Because how could one physically hold onto something without touching anything? She jerked back as they took off but stayed on the seat. Her heart was beating erratically as he darted onto the gravel road.

After some time, he yelled back over the growl of the motor. “Are you there, or did you fall off?”

“Well, if I fell off, how would I answer you, then?” she yelled back.

“That’s my answer! Finally, some of your spunk is back!”

Seriously? Did he think she became a pushover? Or as bland as her clothes? She scoffed. “You should watch where you’re going! Or we’ll end up in a ditch!”

That would help neither the runaway horse nor them. She kind of hoped he looked around, as well, because her primary concentration was on not falling off. Which wasn’t much help to Garnet.

Why would a horse run away? Was she looking for a greener pasture like Skylar’s childhood girlfriends who’d left their hometown? Did Garnet wander off from the dear and familiar by accident?

Or had something spooked her so badly it had sent her running for a long time? A shiver went down Skylar’s back as she recalled the night of the storm. A danger, unclear but no less scary, or maybe even scarier because of that.

Okay, she shouldn’t be projecting her fears on a horse. She was far from the best candidate for a search party, and it was a surprise she was asked. Dallas had grown up in the reality of hard labor and outdoor work. She’d grown up in the fantasy of colors and hues that later had become her escape when her parents disappeared.

And Dallas. Like watercolors and oil paints, he’d become her escape. Except unlike her paints and the imaginary worlds they’d unlocked, he’d been real, solid, her rock to hold onto in the storm. But not any longer.

“Argh.” She grunted as they jumped over a bump, and she latched onto him before she could think of it. “Oh. Oops.” She let him go. Touching him created a whirlwind of emotions she didn’t dare examine.

“I’d rather you hold onto me than fall off,” he yelled over his shoulder.

Right. Because the only reason for her to touch him now would be to avoid falling off a vehicle. “Um, thanks!”

He went uphill. She had zero desire to roll down the same hill, so she snatched fistfuls of his T-shirt. Thankfully without snagging skin in the process. A compromise. But she still leaned into him too much, and it made her heart thump.

The air smelled of fresh flowers and fresh promises mixed with the intoxicating scent of his cologne because of his proximity.

“What does Garnet look like?” she yelled. Great. Just the way to have a conversation.

“An American quarter horse. Bay coloring.”

Usually, Skylar associated the wordbaywith the ocean, not with horses.

“She’s calm and gentle. I don’t know why she’d run away,” he yelled back again.

Then she spotted something near the creek. “Could that be her?”

“Yes! Great job!” He turned to the left.

Her chest swelled like when she’d won an art competition in sixth grade. When she’d gone to the stage to receive the award, she’d waved at her grandmother first. Then her gaze switched to the Lawrence family. They’d all cheered the loudest in the crowd, and Dallas’s cheering was the strongest of them all.

He went downhill now, just like their relationship, and she got plastered against him against her will. Well, not exactly against her will, and she took a moment to shift back. Her nostrils stayed filled with his scent, and even the scent of grass didn’t push it away. Her pulse went erratic again.

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