Chapter 25
RILEY
T hey had spent Cooper’s birthday up at camp.
But he wasn’t the only one itching to get back.
Riley had spent three days replaying the feel of Jules trembling from satisfaction.
He remembered how she moaned his name when she was right on the brink.
Even at the fire at night, he couldn’t help but notice how the blue of the flames matched her gaze.
It was fitting really, how her eyes mirrored the way the hottest fires burned blue.
Everything about her was so alive, and she was bringing him back to life more and more each day.
He could see a future for himself again that involved having something of his own. With Jules lighting his fire, and the arrival of Lucky, Riley had also spent the last three days imagining what it would be like to dedicate his time to working with wild horses again.
Ideally, while remaining here at Hayes Ranch.
After all, Lucky had found his way to Hayes land—and with the ongoing drive to decrease the wild horse population in the state, he had a feeling Lucky wouldn’t be the only one.
They could get ahead of it, prepare for taking on more horses that needed them. But he couldn’t do it alone.
And as the team worked their way back to the compound, finally, all he could think about was finding Jules. Having her in his arms once again, of course. But also, to pitch her this idea. They could continue to be a team of their own, hopefully in all the ways he imagined.
Riley knew some time ago that he was down bad, but it felt like something deeper now. He’d never experienced it before, but he felt like a man in love.
“How do you think Lucky has been doing?” Grey asked, riding up at his side.
He shook himself from his daydream to respond.
“Considering where he’s starting, I think he had a good first night.
He fed well so I am just hoping he kept that up while we were gone.
Wild horses are resilient, I’ve seen worse come in and thrive with some quality care,” he replied.
Looking down the ridge line, he spotted the compound in the distance.
The white farmhouse glistened in the sun, as if calling them home.
“That’s right.” Grey sounded as if he was back in a memory. “You’ve rehabbed wild horses at the sanctuary.”
“Yeah, for a few years before taking off for the rodeo circuit,” he confirmed.
“You didn’t want to go back to it after?”
Riley considered Grey’s question. He had thought about it, of course.
But it would have felt like moving backwards.
“The job here felt like a chance to grow into something. New experiences, responsibilities. But I am damn happy to get to rehab Lucky.” And maybe grow something here along with myself.
“You know,” Grey started, raising his eyebrows. “Brett always talked about adding a wild horse sanctuary onto the operations here. Because of Dune.” Then with a quirk of his lip he rode ahead.
Riley was surprised he didn’t hear an audible click as the confirmation that this could work settled into his brain. He’d been looking for something to work towards. Something that could be his . It was as if this was just waiting for the right time, the right person to share it with.
By the time they arrived back at the compound, he had a full pitch planned out.
It was late in the day, and he knew Jules would more than likely be gone already.
Nevertheless, after he turned out his horses, he did a pass through the compound—the long way—before heading to check on Lucky.
He wanted to talk through his idea with her before approaching Brett.
Partially, it was about wanting her feedback.
Partially, he hoped maybe it would sweeten the idea of her sticking around.
They could run the sanctuary under Brett, she could be a part of a home.
The sun streamed through the wide-open barn door at the far end of the aisle, a fine cloud of dust illuminated in the rays. He passed through the beam to reach the stall in the corner, one that sat empty just a few days ago.
Making a gentle noise with his tongue, Riley alerted his young foal to his presence, hoping to coax him to the stall door. And it worked. That or Lucky was the type of horse that thrived on attention—which meant he was certainly a good match for the foal.
The tiny face appeared just before Riley reached him, blinking up at the cowboy sleepily.
“Hey fella, how ya doing?” He peered into the stall to check the bottle hanging low, so he didn’t lift his head too high to drink.
It was still half full. And above it, a note was tacked to the wood informing him that it was refreshed about two hours prior to his arrival.
The handwriting was smooth, with bubbly curves.
At the bottom was a J with a heart. She was gone for the day, then.
“Did you have a good few days with your fellow wild thing?” he asked, turning back to Lucky. “I’m a little jealous you got to stay here with her.”
A little nicker escaped the foal, as if he was learning how to communicate. It was one of the sweetest sounds, and Riley felt a wide smile stretch across his face in response.
“Did you like having her all to yourself?”
Another nicker.
Lucky was a chatty guy, another clue that he and Riley were well matched.
“Yeah,” he huffed. “I would like to have her all to myself too.”
With everything seeming in order here, Riley gave up on seeing Jules and started out to his truck. He could use a shower and a real bed, his back stiffer than he cared to admit after a few days up at camp.
As he reached his old Ford, he found a pair of boots swinging off the tailgate. But they weren’t gracing familiar slender legs that he hoped to see.
“Coop,” he greeted, approaching the tailgate.
The boots stopped swinging, and a mullet clad head popped up from the bed. He really needed to either cut his hair or grow it out. The thing looked awful. Any time Riley brought it up though, Cooper pointed out that he managed to pull plenty of women with this mullet.
“Hey,” his friend replied. “Want to hit Wrangler’s? Since we missed my birthday party there.”
“Yeah, it’ll be on me,” he offered.
With a satisfied smile, Cooper jumped down and headed in the direction of his cottage. “Where are you going?” Riley asked, expecting him to have moved around to the passenger side door.
“Meet you in an hour,” Cooper called over his shoulder. “Gotta get cleaned up for the ladies.”
Riley chuckled. The rate at which he managed to find attractive girls from out of town never ceased to amaze him. And he seemed to do it from a Wrangler’s Tavern barstool each time, as if they simply came and found him. As far as he was concerned, Cooper could have every out of towner—except one.
“Hey,” Riley called after him. “I’ll pick you up, don’t need you driving home after all those birthday shots you’ll manage to swindle.”
“No, don’t worry, I called Maddie from your tailgate.” Then with that smart ass grin of his, Cooper added, “Her and Jules are my ride tonight.”
Maybe he didn’t need to give up on seeing her after all.
Jules
She recapped the mascara and stepped back to look at her outfit in the mirror.
It had taken her way too long to decide if she should wear the dress that first caught Riley’s attention or not.
It would be fitting. And tonight, she wanted to look irresistible for him—but her black denim skirt would be more successful at achieving that, she decided.
Across the room, her phone rang, and she hurried to reach it. Based on the time, she assumed it was Maddie informing her that she was on her way over. Hurriedly, she swiped it open before noticing what name was flashing across the screen.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Jules Graham? My name is Michelle, I am the liaison between site coordinators and contractors at Rustic and Ranch Magazine. I’m calling because there has been a slight change in plans.”
So, not Maddie calling.
“Slight change, how ?” She dropped down onto her bed, desperate to settle the sudden spike in her heart rate.
“Long story short, we are having to push up the feature with the estancia in Argentina. I spoke with the team down there; they are on board with the new plan. We just need our photographer.”
Pushed up ? Her chest knotted. She wasn’t ready to leave, and besides her confusing jumble of emotions, the team needed her here.
“When?”
Michelle let out a hum before responding. As if she was reading something to confirm the date. “Well, the change is that it’ll now be the cover story. And it’ll be the cover of our September issue. To get it out in time for that? We would need you there in about a week’s time.”
Jules’s stomach plummeted. She felt as if she was free falling in the worst way.
A week.
What did that mean with the things developing between her and Riley?
What about Lucky?
What about the summer she was supposed to get at a place where she finally felt as if she belonged?
She wasn’t ready to leave. She had wasted too much time fighting her own heart. And she had no plan worked out. Her role here was temporary, and she hadn’t worked through any of the issues that pushed back to the surface during that dinner at the vineyard.
“Ms. Graham? Are you still there?”
She fell back against the bed, her head hitting the duvet with a light thud, and sighed. “Yes, I’m here.”
Pleased, Michelle from Rustic and Ranch Magazine continued, “Wonderful. So, compensation and shoot list remain the same. We’d still handle all your travel as well. It looks like you were slated to fly out of the Denver airport. Is that still the plan?”
“Can I call you back to confirm before you book any new travel arrangements?” she asked, staring up at the ceiling.
“Oh. I can give you a day, I suppose. But there isn’t much time,” the liaison replied hesitantly. There was an air to her tone—as if she couldn’t imagine anything would stop Jules from agreeing. And at the start of summer, nothing would have.
“I was just about to run out the door. I’ll call you back when it’s a better time,” Jules assured her. She wouldn’t commit to anything until she talked to Riley. She couldn’t.
The moment the call ended, she glanced at the two messages gracing on the home screen. The first was Maddie saying she was on her way. The second was Riley confirming that he was indeed going to see her tonight, as apparently Cooper had suggested.
It felt as if a fist was squeezing her heart. Tears threatened to ruin her freshly applied makeup.
A week. That wasn’t enough time to move forward with Riley, to figure out what this was before she left for three months.
She was going to have to run away from him again .
Like a drawn-out version of what she did to him in Texas.
And he had already told her that he was hesitant to pick things up because of that.
He’d said it that very first day she arrived here.
If she did it now, she worried that he wouldn’t give her a third chance.
The fist around her heart tightened further. As if prepared to squeeze until it disappeared into oblivion.
Her fingers hoovered over the message from Riley. How could she see him tonight without having a clear plan to offer up?
Another message came in from Maddie— here .
She sat up and looked out the window at the white Jeep parked below. Maddie and Cooper looked so happy, chatting away while they waited for her.
She could do it. She could fake happy tonight. After all, Jules had plenty of practice doing just that each time she returned to Denver. Then tomorrow, she would deal with everything.
One day. She could hold it together for one day.
Her eyes flitted over Riley’s name on her screen once again. His crooked grin and mischievous glint appeared in her thoughts. Her stomach swooping involuntarily.
She had spent the last few days on edge, eager to see him again. Tonight could just be about fun, they were certainly good at that.