Chapter 22
JULES
T here was nothing cuter than her new foal finally relaxed enough to get some sleep.
Her and Riley’s foal, actually. She was still trying to settle the flutter in her stomach at that development.
In fact, the rush of emotion she was feeling for this horse and the steady reassurance Riley provided had led to her kissing him. That’s all it was, she reasoned.
Grabbing the bedroll Cooper left behind, she positioned it in the corner and unlatched the hooks.
This was a set up for long nights in the mountains—canvas construction, flannel lined, and a foam pad inside.
She stretched it out and took a seat atop it.
With her knees drawn up to her chest, she folded her arms around them and dropped her chin down.
She trailed her eyes over the sweet little animal.
Based on his appearance, the way he was still clinging to that fuzz of his baby coat, she guessed he was only around four months old.
He was right in that exciting stage where he would grow and change rapidly from cute and gangly to strong and majestic.
And she would miss most of it when she left for Argentina, then whatever job was scheduled after that—she couldn’t remember at the moment.
A disheartened sigh escaped her. Of course, she would be back in town from time to time. Her best friend lived here. But would that be enough now? In her heart, she knew the answer was no. She just couldn’t tell which guy was responsible for that feeling—Riley or their young mustang.
Maybe if she accepted more local jobs back in Colorado, then she could spend her weekends here. It was a reasonable drive. It could work. So why was the thought making her feel sick?
Footsteps echoed on the brick aisle, alerting her to Riley’s return. From her seat on the freshly unrolled bed, she turned her attention to the open doorway just as he appeared. His shirt was crumpled from the way she had clawed at him, his eyes still dark with desire.
Crossing his arms, he leaned against the vertical support beam and allowed his gaze to sweep over her. “Coop won’t say anything. So, if I didn’t persuade you enough, we can still just hit the brakes. No one will ever know.”
“I don’t want to hit the brakes. But,” she paused, turning back to the sleeping animal. “Maybe no more accelerating tonight.”
He dropped onto the bed beside her and his posture relaxed. She could tell just by looking in his eyes that he had been worried about what her response would be.
“Cute, ain’t he?”
“Yeah,” she smiled. “You’re just a big softie, huh?”
He squeezed her knee, the corner of his lip slipping up into his mustache. “Yeah, I mean, look at that little face.”
The foal’s head was tucked into his front legs, his breathing was steady, and she swore that she spied a smile.
“Do you think it’s possible for someone to take up residence in your heart after a single night?” she asked absently, watching the rise and fall of the horse’s flank.
“Sure do,” he replied quietly. There was a reverence to his tone that caught her by surprise.
She turned to find him watching her with abundant warmth in his eyes.
Her heart stuttered, her core clenched. She never imagined a simple response could elicit such a full body reaction.
But that’s what she was experiencing. Her skin heated under his gaze and her body remembered the pressure of his embrace from moments ago.
She never imagined any of this if she was being honest. Her life plan was always about the next destination. The next adventure in the wide open. Suddenly, she was finding herself reimagining the word home. New feelings being attached to the familiar concept.
And speaking of home… the twin pillars that represented her past notions of it hung at the edge of her thoughts.
She wondered how much backlash there might be for running out like she did tonight.
It was more of a musing than a worry, though.
And she was certain that had something to do with the man sitting beside her.
Tilting her head to his shoulder, she said, “Thank you for tonight. For going, and for listening to all of our issues. And really, thank you for speaking up when my mom started in about my job.”
“I meant what I said. Including my offer to continue educating her on how special of a daughter she has.”
“Her story sounded eerily similar to my own. I was always interested in photography, but in the back of my mind I figured I’d just end up working at the equine center.
The trips out of town for shoots used to be occasional, and I spent my time working for my dad in between.
But it felt worse and worse being there, not like home anymore.
I couldn’t stand it, so I took off. Pretty shitty of me, right? Hypocritical too.”
Riley paused for a moment, considering her question. “It doesn’t sound shitty of you. Or hypocritical. You lost a lot, Jules. And you did what you needed to get through it.”
“I get tired of it sometimes, the constant traveling. But I don’t know if I can trust my heart to connect with a home again.”
“You’ll know when something is worth trusting. Or someone.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder and met his stare. Jules opened her mouth to tell him that maybe she had found someone worth trying. But no sound came out.
The rustle of hay pulled their attention back to the foal. He stirred, waking.
“Hey you,” she cooed, her heart melting at his dazed expression and mused fuzz from sleep. “I’ll go make a bottle.”
She rose to return to the feed room, locating the horse-specific milk replacer that Maddie showed her only minutes ago. As she prepared the bottle, she swore she could hear Riley talking in a dulcet tone to the horse.
Oh, she needed to fortify her defenses tonight. Because the only thing hotter than the rugged side of him, was the side that spoke with her about what was on her heart and comforted baby animals.
And she’d be here overnight with that version of Riley.
Taking a deep breath, she tightened her grip on the bottle and strolled confidently back across the aisle.
The confidence didn’t last long.
As she entered the stall, she found Riley sitting with the horse’s head on his lap, stroking him and murmuring sweet nothings to the frail animal. He lifted his gaze at her return, stealing her breath with his tender expression.
“He cozied right up to me,” Riley started hurriedly. “I fully believe imprinting is bad, but he has no one. We can’t even introduce him to the herd until we’re sure he’s not carrying an infection.”
Jules smiled, dropping to her knees at his side.
“You don’t have to explain anything to me.
” She held out the bottle to him. “But soon we will need to put the bottle in a bucket instead of holding it. We don’t want him associating humans with food and getting an attitude.
Tonight though, it looks like you’re his mama. ”
He accepted the milk with a soft chuckle.
Then he sat the horse up and cradled his jaw.
“He needs a name,” Riley said. She didn’t register his words, though.
Instead, she watched him feed their foal, devastatingly gentle with those strong, rugged hands of his.
Her heart swelled to the point of bursting.
“Jules?”
She blinked back at him. “Yes?”
“Any names coming to you right out the gate here?” he asked.
“A name, right.” She nodded, her eyes trailing over the animal. “Well, with all things considered, what do you think about Lucky? Plus, I swear he was smiling while he slept. Like maybe when he’s healthy, he will be a pretty happy go lucky fella.”
“Yeah, that’s perfect,” Riley agreed, angling the bottle under his arm until the last of the milk reached the soft nipple cap. It seemed feeding was not going to be too big of a concern with Lucky, and her shoulders relaxed seeing the animal consume the milk from the bottle so readily.
Once the container was empty, Riley rose, gently easing Lucky’s head back onto the soft pile of hay. “I’m going to get my bedroll,” he explained, starting for the stall door.
“Cooper’s is big enough for two,” she replied quickly.
Her stomach swooped when he paused mid-step and turned to look at her over his shoulder. His eyes searched her expression, as if trying to ensure it was really okay to say yes.
“We’re going to be up all night with Lucky anyway,” she continued. “Besides, the stall will get too crowded otherwise.”
She was bordering on begging for his closeness. But with Riley, she didn’t feel as if she was being weak or desperate. The way he reacted to her wanting him, it was like his own wanting only increased with her openness.
“I can’t argue with that logic,” he replied, the corner of his lip teasing up. In only a few smooth steps, he was back in front of her.
She rose, motioning for him to climb under the canvas cover first. “This way we can both keep an eye on him.”
Riley kicked off his boots and slid in. Settling onto his side, he propped himself up on an elbow. She followed suit, taking the space he left and quickly snuggling in—pressing her back against his chest.
Wordlessly, he lifted a hand, hooking his arm over her side and holding her tight to him.
Her breathing hitched when his fingers began dancing along the curve of her body.
He moved slowly, giving her ample time to stop his caress.
Instead, a soft whimper escaped her as his touch trailed along her ribs. She shifted to provide him more access.
Reaching her waist, his finger curled into the softness of her side for a moment before continuing on. Finally coming to rest on her hip, his hand slid under the hem of her shirt. His fingers ignited desire in her, as if sparks were catching where his hand met her skin.
His touch slid up along her skin, heading back the way he came until his palm flattened across her stomach. It was there he stopped, his fingers splayed out and his thumb gently dragging back and forth against her abdomen.
The way he held her, it didn’t feel like he expected more tonight. Instead, it was as if he was savoring her closeness. And it was a marvelous feeling to be savored by Riley.
It was late into the night by now. And when he leaned in, his lips grazing her ear, and said, “get some rest. I’ll watch him first,” she suddenly felt too exhausted to argue. He had Lucky, she could trust that. But he had her too. Oh, how he had her.