“Something is very wrong with our brother. He wants to get to know Timberlynn,” Ty said into the phone. “Yeah. No. Not like that. Yes. No, I’m serious. He admitted he liked her. I’m dead serious. You owe me a hundred bucks.”
He walked up to me and pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. I slapped it away. “Get the fuck away from me.”
“No fever,” Ty said, then swept his gaze over me. “He looks normal too.”
“For fuck’s sake, you two are assholes,” I mumbled as I put the pad on Pogo and then went to get his saddle. Jimmy came walking around the corner with Rosie saddled up.
“Got her ready to go for you, Tanner. You’ll just have to adjust the stirrups for Miss Holden.”
Jimmy was one of the ranch hands who had worked for my father for as long as I could remember. I swore the man never slept. He was up before anyone and last to call it a night, every single day. When I was home with a broken ankle, I bunked with him and Greg, and they taught me a thing or two about drinking, card playing, and how to be the best cowboy you could be. They were rough around the edges, but damn good guys. I saw why my father trusted Jimmy like he did.
“Thank you, Jimmy, I appreciate you getting her ready.”
He tipped his cowboy hat at me and replied, “It’s good having you back home, son. You got Pogo?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll get him ready. Thanks.”
“Enjoy the ride. It looks to be a nice morning.”
I glanced past him out into the field and smiled. Although it was brisk out, the sun was shining full force, making it the perfect day to ride. “It does, indeed.”
When I didn’t hear Ty talking anymore, I turned to see he was nowhere to be found. Thank you, baby Jesus, he was gone. I finished getting Pogo ready and pulled out my phone. I told Timberlynn to meet me at the barn at eight. It was almost that time, and I suddenly felt nervous.
“Okay, you two. We’re taking a pretty girl out to show her the ranch. Pogo, no flirting.”
The seven-year-old gray thoroughbred snorted and bounced his head, almost as if he was offended. He was a retired racehorse my mother had rescued a few years back. He loved riding the trails but get him to an open pasture and he practically shook to be let loose. He was my second favorite horse on the ranch.
“Yeah, you act like you won’t, but I know you will.”
I walked up and ran my hand over Rosie. She was an eight-year-old standard breed mare with an attitude, but she was one hell of a horse. She had a beautiful canter, and she loved a good run when she was set free. “What about you, girl? You ready to show off some?”
Rosie looked me straight in the eyes, and I knew her answer.
“I thought so. Let’s take care of her, okay?”
Rosie nickered and I laughed.
“So, are you some sort of horse whisperer?”
The sound of Timberlynn’s voice made my chest squeeze slightly. I attempted to ignore it, but when I turned and saw her, the tightness grew, and my voice got lost for a moment. I barely managed to walk over to her without falling on my face.
She looked beautiful, dressed in riding pants, a black vest, and a pink hat with a yarn ball on top of it. She gave me a smile, and I was pretty sure something inside me cracked. Right then I knew nothing was ever going to be the same again. She was fucking adorable, and I wanted to know everything about her.
“You look cute,” I heard myself saying before I could think better of it.
She tilted her head as she let her eyes roam over me. “You look handsome, as usual.”
I lifted my brows and then laughed as I tipped my cowboy hat at her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say cute.”
“No? I don’t look cute?” she teased as she spun around and motioned with her hands down her body.
“No, I mean, you do look cute. I mean, yeah, you look adorable in that. Um, I mean, you’re pretty…looking. You look pretty adorable looking. No, wait.”
Timberlynn laughed and walked up to me. She placed her hand over my mouth and softly said, “Thank you, Tanner.”
A shot of heat raced through my body, starting from her hand on my mouth. I wanted to grab it and slowly kiss up her arm, hoping that it led to other places on her body I could kiss. Too bad she was covered up with clothes.
When she saw the way I looked at her, she backed away and dropped her hand. Her face flushed, and she cleared her throat. She had let her guard down, and that was something she must not do often. I was going to make it my mission to get her to let it down completely.
“Kaylee let me borrow a pair of her riding pants.”
“Will they keep you warm enough?” I asked.
She glanced down and then looked back up at me. “I think so. How long will we be out riding?”
“Not long. The temperature is unseasonably warm, but still not warm enough to make it a longer ride.”
Her eyes widened in both shock and amusement. “Unseasonably warm? It’s thirty-eight degrees outside, Tanner. I can barely feel my toes!”
“It’s gonna get up to forty, though.”
Timberlynn laughed, and it sounded better than anything I’d ever heard. I mentally made a note to do whatever I could to hear it more often. It surprised me how much I wanted to be around her. Hear her laugh, see her smile. It should have made me want to run for the hills, but it didn’t. I honestly didn’t want to think too much about the reasons why. At least not right now. Or later. I’d think about it after our date was over.
She may
