Chapter 11

11

Ash

A sh reached for his backpack, then climbed out of his truck, a grin spreading across his face. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Charlie’s face when he showed up for their family picnic. Granted, when he’d been invited, Liam and Mason had asked him to see if his girlfriend could come into town for the outing.

She had a last-minute work thing.

Or at least that was what he would be telling them.

Ash sauntered toward the barn. Lots of voices and loud chatter came from that direction, indicating that they were nearing the time they’d be leaving. The trail ride was supposed to be two hours out and two hours back; Wade wanted to make a day of it.

There was no guarantee that Ash would survive the ride. Sitting in a saddle that long could be problematic. At this point, he was willing to get some sore muscles if it meant spending time in Charlie’s orbit.

No one noticed him right away. The women were all circled around, talking to each other and laughing while the men grumbled about having to ready two horses. It wasn’t until all twelve siblings were crammed into one space that Ash really got a feel for how large their family was. And with all but two of them married or engaged, it was an even larger group.

There were a couple of kids running around as well, and some of the women had babies strapped to their backs.

The Keagan family had come a long way in the last six years.

Daniel caught sight of him first—likely because he was closer to the door. He held onto the reins of two horses. His eyes darted behind Ash and his brows furrowed. “I thought you were bringing your girl.”

The temptation to look for Charlie in the fray tugged at him, but Ash forced himself to stay focused on Daniel. “She couldn’t make it. Too last minute.”

Daniel lifted a brow.

“Work stuff,” Ash amended. He grinned and clapped a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “But between you and me, I don’t think she likes horses all that much.”

Understanding flickered across his face. Then he held up one set of reins. “I guess it’s just as well. We would have had to give her a horse that has a bit of an attitude.” At Ash’s incredulous look, Daniel chuckled. “She’s great with female riders, but there’s no telling with a group this big.” He turned to look over his shoulder. “I probably would have made Charlie ride her. We wouldn’t want to let your girlfriend get hurt.”

“No, we wouldn’t want that.” Ash laughed. He let his eyes scan the group of women and then they locked with a pair of pretty blue eyes. Ash held them for a moment, pinning hers with his own until she broke off their stare and tucked a wayward strand from her face behind her ear. “Where are we headed?” he asked Daniel. “Two hours is a long ride.”

Daniel nodded. “We’re going to head through the Callahan property. They have some fun trails and good picnic areas.”

Ash cocked his head slightly. “I’m assuming that’s where some of the horses have come from?”

His friend nodded. “Yep. Mason brought a couple. And Brielle asked to borrow some from her dad.” Someone called his name and he glanced over. “Here, hold this one too.” He handed Ash the reins, then disappeared into the group.

One of the horses nudged Ash in the arm, and he chuckled before rubbing her nose.

“Do I even want to ask?” Charlie said quietly from beside him.

He jumped and glanced over at her. She was petting her own horse, not looking at him as if to hide the fact that they were chatting. “You don’t have to pretend you don’t know me.” He snickered. “You’re teaching me to cook.”

She faced him then, suspicion in her gaze. “I don’t find it a coincidence that after I told you about this trip, you suddenly showed up.”

He laughed quietly. “I’ve known about the trip for two weeks. Liam and Mason thought I’d like to come along.”

Her brows lifted, and then she glanced toward his truck as if understanding who else her brothers might have invited.

“She couldn’t come,” he said stiffly, still hating the lie.

“Oh.”

He couldn’t tell if there was disappointment in her voice or if he heard a bit of relief. Either way, it didn’t matter. He was here to have some fun with his friends and spend as much time as he could get with a certain girl who lingered in his thoughts.

The ride wasn’t terrible, but Ash knew better than to expect the ride back to be pleasant. They arrived in a clearing with no picnic tables but plenty of flat ground to set up blankets. Surrounded by tall trees, shrubs, and wildflowers, it looked like an escape only dreamed of in fairy tales. Ash hadn’t thought something like this existed anywhere in Colorado—but then his experience in the wooded areas was usually wrought with smoke and flame.

A creek flowed along one side of the clearing, and a large open space allowed the horses to graze. It felt like they’d been deposited in the middle of nowhere—an escape from reality.

The first thing they did was eat. The children had been complaining about their hunger after only twenty minutes of riding, so it was no surprise that it was first on the schedule.

Ash sat on a blanket shared with Daniel and Charlie while the others grouped up with their spouse or children.

Daniel pulled out three sandwiches, a carton of potato salad, a bowl of fruit, and a bag of chips. The second Ash saw the spread, he laughed out loud. “Is there someone else living in your stomach? How many people are you feeding?”

His friend threw him a dirty look, but it was laced with amusement. Everyone knew Daniel could put it away. He could probably compete in a hotdog eating contest and win without breaking a sweat. The funny thing was that he didn’t look like he had the ability to do such a thing. He was tall—the tallest out of his siblings, but he was also fit. There wasn’t an ounce of excess fat anywhere on his body.

Ash observed him while he finished the bite he was working on. “Have you ever considered being a firefighter?”

Charlie choked on her food, drawing the attention of her brother and Ash. She scowled at Ash and swallowed hard. “Absolutely not .”

Daniel lifted both brows, then laughed out loud. “You’re ten years younger than me, baby sister. You don’t get a say in what I do with my life.”

“ Nine ,” she corrected. “And I have every right to tell you that you’re making a mistake or that you’re planning something unwise.” She shot Ash a warning look before turning her focus once more on her brother. “You should know better than to even consider doing a job that could get you killed.”

“Being a cowboy can get me killed,” he challenged.

She huffed and took another bite of her food.

Ash bit back the amusement he felt over her protective nature. It was cute, really. He knew better than to push the issue. Charlie wasn’t going to accept her brothers being trained to be firefighters even if his boss was currently hiring.

After their meal, the guys got competitive. But Ash didn’t expect anything less. Lucas and Henry started it. First, they placed bets on who could jump in the saddle the fastest. Then it turned into racing around the clearing. At some point they did a modified version of barrel racing but with trees and bushes. The ropes came out and they roped each other, timing themselves on how long it took to capture this brother or that.

Although he grew up around horses and used to ride quite a bit, Ash had no interest in any of it. His gaze continuously moved to where Charlie sat beside Emma. She seemed to be closest to the country star out of all her new sisters-in-law. That was surprising seeing as how Charlie had always been so introverted. He’d only seen her get out of her shell when she was with her family. Outsiders were more difficult to talk to.

She must have felt his attention because she glanced over her shoulder toward him. Again, their gazes locked. So many things could have been said during that span of time. Their surroundings fell away, and the desire to tell her exactly how he felt hit him like a punch to the gut. So many scenarios played in his head when he thought about what might happen if he finally got up the courage to say something.

He’d probably be lying in a ditch within twenty-four hours of the confession. He didn’t doubt that her brothers wouldn’t think twice about banning him from the Keagan farm—and that would be without discovering the truth about their first kiss.

Ash shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets as if confining them would also confine everything else he knew he couldn’t do.

But when he caught her looking at him again, he couldn’t help that wandering possibility. They were both older now. Yes, they were still six years apart in age, but it didn’t seem nearly so bad now that she was in her twenties.

She leaned in and spoke to Emma for a moment. The woman nodded, giving her a smile. Then Charlie stood. She started walking toward him.

No. Not toward him.

Charlie pushed past him. He knew she didn’t intend to let her arm brush against his, but one of her nephews darted along her other side, forcing her closer to Ash.

Even in that brief moment, he could feel how warm she was. He turned to watch her as she headed for the trees at the edge of the clearing. Did she want him to follow?

No. The look in her eyes didn’t quite indicate that.

Charlie wanted some space—some peace and quiet.

Once again, Ash clenched his hands tightly in his pockets and turned to watch the festivities. About twenty minutes later, they were cleaning up. Emma was the one to take stock and commented, “Charlie isn’t back from her walk yet.”

Before anyone else could volunteer, Ash held up a hand. “I saw where she went. I’ll get her.” He turned on his heel and headed into the wooded area.

Charlie wasn’t hard to spot. While she was shielded from the others in the clearing, she was only just within the grove of trees. He caught sight of her hand first, wrapped around the trunk of the tree she leaned against.

He drew closer, not speaking at first. He wasn’t sure if she was resting or if something else was going on.

His boot snapped a twig, and her eyes flew wide just as he came into full view of her. She let out a soft laugh and placed her hand on her chest. “You startled me.”

Ash moved closer, studying her. She didn’t look like she was feeling very well. “You okay?”

She laughed again and nodded, breathing in deeply. “I’m fine,” she said on exhale. “Just a headache.”

He nodded, then jerked his chin toward the clearing. “I brought some aspirin if you need it.”

Charlie waved him off. “I’m fine. Is everyone getting ready?”

The answer didn’t come right away. The more he studied her face, the harder it became to maintain control of his thoughts, his desires. His feet shuffled forward as if against his will. “Charlie,” he murmured.

The whispered word caught her attention and she stilled, her back pressed against the tree. He was blocking the path of her escape, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Yes,” she rasped, her throat bobbing as she swallowed hard. “Did you need something?”

Ash let his gaze drift to her mouth, those lips that he’d kissed only once before. It had been the most innocent and yet exhilarating kisses he’d ever experienced in his life, and not for lack of finding something to compare. For nearly two years, he’d tried to find someone who could stir such feelings inside him. He’d had several first dates, but none of those women could compare to how he’d felt after kissing Charlie.

He’d berated himself for it, hated himself for how inappropriate it had been. He’d told himself the universe was punishing him for something he knew he shouldn’t have done.

And yet here she was, unattached, free for the taking.

He moved in a little closer. She sucked in a sharp breath but didn’t pull away to escape him.

“You find her, Ash?” Liam’s voice called from the clearing.

Ash froze, half-expecting Liam to march into the area and explode with fury and indignation.

Before Ash could utter a word, Charlie ducked away from him and escaped.

What was he thinking? Where was his control?

Gone . And he wasn’t sure he really wanted it back.

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