Chapter 15 #2
“Oh. Right. I asked Marielle to find some potential equine rescues for a charity proposal. I wanted to know if you have any thoughts on a place called Charlie’s Chance?”
A charity proposal? Oh. He wanted to put his money to good use.
“Absolutely. We work with them from time to time. The gelding Mal is training right now, Rowdy? He’s from there. In fact, you should talk to Mal about Charlie’s Chance. He has a personal relationship with them, too.”
“Okay. That sounds good. I’ll do that tomorrow.” He took another long look at me. “Let me drive you to the house. It’s about dinnertime and you need to eat and rest.”
The gentle concern in his tone had me hugging him again. He chuckled a little, the sound a bit surprised but fond.
Then he held me close, and I burrowed against him, feeling the warmth of him and his jacket. The evenings had become cold, and I was wearing a hoodie instead of a proper jacket because I found most of those too constricting.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that. When I finally sighed and moved back to look at him, I could see the emotions in his eyes.
This time, when he looked at my lips, then made eye contact again, there was a question in his expression.
I swallowed hard, then nodded minutely.
Giving me ample time to pull away, he leaned down to press his lips to mine.
The rush of want and need that rolled through me made me gasp. I could feel Carter’s lips curl against mine, and then his tongue swept my lower lip, as if asking for entry.
Smiling right back, I opened my lips and tilted my head, and the kiss went from kind of sweet to hot in an instant.
I groaned as he held me even closer, controlled the kiss, and gave me everything he had. The man could kiss better than I’d ever experienced before, and my stomach swooped.
Then one of the horses in the closest stalls kicked a wall, and we startled apart.
I snickered, Carter snorted softly, and then we started to laugh quietly.
“Well that was certainly… something,” he murmured when we could talk again.
“It was… perfect,” I admitted, blushing a little.
“Will you come have dinner with me at my place once we can figure out a schedule?” he asked, before quickly adding, “No agenda. I’d just like to have a dinner and some conversation with you.”
Grinning, I asked, “What if I’d like the agenda?”
He chuckled and shook his head fondly. “I’m sure that can be arranged.”
“Yeah, okay.” I started to open my mouth to talk schedule, but a huge yawn ripped out of me, making my jaw hurt.
“Let’s get you to the house.” Carter pecked my lips and let go of me, and I could see the reluctance in his gaze.
I felt the same, I would’ve gladly just walked up the stairs and fallen asleep in his arms on my couch instead.
“Yeah, okay,” I repeated, then took his hand and let him lead me to his truck.
We didn’t kiss when he dropped me off at the house, mostly because someone would’ve seen for sure.
He squeezed my hand, though.
“Goodnight, Hawk. Get some rest.”
I smiled. “See you tomorrow. Goodnight.”
When I told Mom and Dad that Carter’s assistant/friend and her wife were going to be in Colorado for a couple of weeks, they both insisted on having them over for dinner. I was sure they’d both tell Carter the same thing, so I didn’t feel the need to forward the invitation.
Somehow, Carter had become everyone’s favorite new person, which I understood.
Just like Mal had from the start, Carter fit with us, too.
The next day, I was switching horses at the barn and found Mal and Carter talking as they cleaned stalls together.
Mal was telling him how he’d had to take Jaina to Charlie’s Chance, and I could see how affected by the story Carter was.
“Do you think that’s something people have to do a lot?” he asked.
I was saddling Snoopy for some riding training on the agility course—he needed more experience on the seesaw and the wobbly bridge—so I listened in on their conversation.
“In this economy?” Mal snorted softly.
Yeah, he wasn’t wrong.
“Do you think the rescue would like a fund for that sort of thing? Like to help out owners who aim to get their animals back when they’re back on their feet?”
I cleared my throat. “I feel like that’d be an excellent idea.”
“Yeah,” Mal agreed. “I think they don’t ask money when people can come get their horses, because let’s face it, the lack of funds is why people bring them in. So, asking them to pay anything wouldn’t be setting them up for success, right?”
“It can be a strain for a rescue to take in new animals in general. I know they have some funding, but like Mal said, the economy is what it is, and a lot of people struggle right now,” I concluded.
“I’ll make contact with them when Marielle and I get to work.”
He’d explained that it was a working vacation, basically, and I could understand that. If Marielle’s wife was at all horsey or interested in the ranch in any capacity, someone would no doubt ask if she wanted to hang out here while Carter and Marielle worked.
I got Snoopy ready and grabbed a radio.
“We’ll be at the agility course, but I’ll take him for a ride after.”
Mal nodded as he stepped out of the stall he’d been cleaning. “Okay! We’ll finish here, and then I’ll give Carter his riding lesson. On Ruger, per Demi’s instructions.”
Carter winked at me, and I blushed lightly.
It turned out that being able to give in to those fluttery feelings was, in fact, really fucking nice.