Chapter 8 #2
“If it’s too much trouble for you to go,” she said. “I can just ride one of the horses into town. You know, just like in the Old West. What do you think?”
Grady’s eyebrows shot up. A low, ironic chuckle escaped him before he could stop it. This woman. She was going to be the death of him.
He stepped closer, towering over her, and gave her the look. The one that usually made her squirm and bite her lip. “I think you hopping on a horse and riding all the way into town by yourself is a scary proposition, little girl.”
Sage’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink, but she lifted her chin, that quirky, defiant Little fire flashing in her eyes. “Not to me, it’s not. I’m brave.”
Grady’s hand flexed at his side. The urge to pull her over his knee right there in the barn was almost overwhelming. She had no idea what she did to him, pushing every single one of his Daddy buttons without even trying.
“I’ll take the black one and be back before you know it.”
“I don’t think so, darlin’.” He leaned in, voice dropping to that low, gravelly tone he knew affected her. “You’ll stay on the ranch where I can keep an eye on you. Understood?”
For a second, she looked like she might argue. Then her shoulders softened, and that vulnerable, eager-to-please Little side he didn’t get to see very often peeked through. “Yes, Daddy,” she whispered, the words barely audible.
He clenched his jaw, fighting the overwhelming need to kiss her senseless and remind her exactly who she belonged to.
Two months, he reminded himself. You’ve got two more months to convince her to stay.
“I think you need to pay attention to your attitude, young lady,” Grady said. “I understand you’re excited about this. And I understand that you think Rose is capable. But you need to give me time to think this through without coming up with sassy solutions that are going to get your butt busted.”
When she didn’t argue back, he raised an eyebrow, considering her suggestion. “Do you even know how to ride?”
“Well, not exactly,” Sage admitted, a little sheepishly. Then that bright, trouble-making grin lit up her face again. “Don’t guess you know of a handsome cowboy Daddy who could teach me? If I’m going to be living on a ranch, I should learn.”
She sashayed the few steps it took to reach him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her soft body against his. “There has to be a big, strong cowboy around here somewhere who could, you know… show me the ropes?”
She rubbed against him like a cat against a scratching post. The Daddy in him roared to life so fast it nearly knocked the wind out of him. He could think of plenty of ropes he’d like to show her, and exactly how he’d use them to keep her right where he wanted her.
She knew exactly what she was doing to him. He fought to keep things on track. “Have you even been on a horse before?”
“Nope,” she whispered into his ear. “But I’m a quick learner.”
He just bet she was.
Grady took a slow breath, weighing his options.
Part of him—the cautious, wounded part—wanted to shut this down immediately.
The other part, the Daddy part that refused to stay quiet anymore, knew she was right.
It wasn’t safe for her to live on a ranch without knowing how to ride and handle horses.
He leaned away from her and looked into her eyes.
“All right,” he said finally, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I know just the right guy to ‘show you the ropes’.”
Her pupils dilated, and he watched with dark satisfaction as the double meaning landed. She bit her lip, that vulnerable little spark flashing in her eyes alongside the mischief.
“But you have to follow every instruction,” he added sternly. “No arguments. No shortcuts. No climbing on anything you shouldn’t. You do what I say, when I say it. Understood?”
Sage’s breath caught, and for a moment the playful mask slipped. She looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes, soft, eager, and so damn vulnerable it made his chest ache. “Yes, Daddy,” she whispered, then almost as an afterthought, added, “We are talking about learning how to ride, aren’t we?”
Grady smiled. “Of course we are, what did you think we were talking about?”
“Oh, nothing, I mean riding, I mean… uh—”
“That’s what I thought, babygirl.” Turning away, he grabbed a bridle from the wall.
He pointed to the third stall. “We’ll use Daisy. She’s the gentlest mare in the barn.”
Sage followed him over, her steps light and eager. Grady kept his face stern, trying to keep his focus away from those tight jeans.
“First lesson,” he said, voice steady and low. “You respect the horse. Keep your movements slow and calm. She’ll know if you’re afraid and might take advantage of you.” Daisy wouldn’t, but Sage didn’t need to know that yet.
He walked her through how to approach a horse, then guided her while she put the bridle on Daisy. He had to admit she was a good student.
Sage listened carefully to every instruction as they finished each step. At one point, her fingers brushed his as she took the leather straps. The brief contact sent a jolt straight through him. Even with their agreement, he wanted to proceed carefully with her.
Next, he walked her through saddling. Grady felt the familiar structure of rules creating boundaries. Rules kept things safe. Rules kept feelings in check—or at least that’s what he kept telling himself.
Next, he showed Sage how to check the girth, how to mount safely, and how to hold the reins. She was a natural—light in the saddle, quick to listen, and clearly enjoying herself. Every time she called him “Daddy” while asking a question, the word fed something deep and hungry inside him.
Tricia had been quiet, gentle, and soft-spoken.
She had never needed rules. She had followed his lead naturally from the start, without testing or pushing.
Sage, on the other hand, pushed back every chance she got.
True, it was with a sparkle in her sapphire eyes and a sassy tilt to her chin.
She didn’t just need the structure. She craved it.
And damn if he didn’t crave giving it to her—hard, thorough, and often.
After twenty minutes in the saddle, Grady helped her dismount. They stood close in the stall, the scent of hay and saddle leather thick around them. Sage’s cheeks were flushed, her curls wild from the ride. She looked up at him, eyes bright and soft and so damn vulnerable it made his chest ache.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she said softly. “That was fun.”
He cupped the back of her neck and pulled her to him. His mouth came down on hers in a kiss that was anything but gentle. It was hungry, even ravenous, and full of two years of loneliness.
Sage melted against him instantly, her hands fisting in his shirt as she kissed him back with equal heat. Soft little whimpers escaped her throat that made him want to devour her right there in the stall.
What he wanted was to push her up against the wall, strip her bare, and claim every inch of her until she screamed his name.
Then he’d redden her bottom until she couldn’t sit, before holding her while she cried and called him Daddy like she meant it.
God knows that she’d earned it in a hundred different ways.
Instead, he pulled back, breathing hard, forehead pressed to hers.
“This is not the time or place, little one.”
“Yes, it is… Daddy,” she said earnestly, twisting his shirt tight in her hands.
They parted at the sound of the barn door opening.
Rose stood there looking at them. Had she seen them kissing? How would this affect her? Grady was sure he’d screwed up.
“Sage, I’m done with my lesson. You told me to come get you when I was through.”
Sage ran over and picked her up while Grady blew out a breath of relief.
“You’re done already? You are so smart.” She turned so that both of them could see Grady. “Your pa was just telling me how we’d be going to talk with your teacher soon.”
Rose put on a bright smile and clapped. “So I can be in the second grade with Anna?”
That caught him off guard. The name instantly brought to mind the face of a little girl who’d been in the same Sunday School class as his daughter.
But the knowledge that Rose remembered Anna when they’d not attended services in a long time gave him pause.
Perhaps it was time to think about returning?
He could practically see the grin splitting Pastor Ross’s face if he saw one of his lost sheep returning to the fold of First Community Church.
His Little Wildfire already knew exactly how to play him. Maybe later they’d have a discussion about putting him on the spot to get her way. In this case, he knew.
“Nothing is for sure, Rose, but I’ll let Sage here have a go at it.”
“Yeah!” she cried, giving Rose a big hug. “I know you’ll do great.”
They turned to walk out when Grady made one last comment. “By the way, Sage, we’ll be talking later.”
Sage looked over her shoulder with a wink. “Promises, promises.”
Grady looked after them.
Some promises were meant to be kept.