Page 34 of Her Bachelor Cowboy Billionaire

“That’s the idea, sweetheart. I don’t want you to resist me. I don’t want you towantto resist me.”

With her heart hammering, she raised her lips to his. “Kiss me. Really kiss me, like you mean all the words you’re saying.”

He studied her face. “Jessica. I do mean all the words I’m saying. I won’t ever lie to you. Never.”

She closed her eyes and thought a minute.Can I trust him or believe him? How will I know if I don’t give him the chance? I’ll go on the camping trip. If nothing else, I’ll get in some fishing.“I want to believe you. I do. Let’s revisit this after the camping trip.”

He kissed her again. “You’re staying? Thank God. I’m in favor of anything that means you’ll give me a chance.”

She reached up and cupped one side of his face. “We’ll see if we can’t work this out.” Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him, deeply with all the love—yes, love—she felt for him. But she couldn’t stand on just love. She thought she’d loved Joseph, and yet, now she knew what she felt for him was so far away from true love. So far removed from what she felt for Roark, how could she even compare the two?

“As much as I’d like to do this all day, I really want you to see the place I want to bring us to camp.”

“Okay. Let’s mount up.” She put her left foot in the stirrup and bounced on her right leg just enough to give her a little lift, so she was up and her right leg was over the saddle. She sat and put her right foot into its stirrup. She smiled, still amazed she remembered how to mount.

“Ready?”

“I was born ready.”

He laughed. “Okay, Miss Kirby. Let’s gallop to the tree line, then we’ll have to walk through the trees. There’s not really a path. You’ll just have to follow my lead.”

“Ready? Let’s go.” She tapped Sunny’s sides, and the horse started trotting. Jessica kept tapping until Sunny was galloping as fast as she could go. Jessica couldn’t help it. She whooped again.

Roark laughed and caught up to her and then passed her…easily.

He’d been holding Apollo back, that jerk. She didn’t want to win except by her and Sunny’s abilities. She leaned over the saddle and talked to the horse. “Sunny, girl time to prove your son is not better than you. Come on now, let’s go.”

The horse took off like a streak. She still had a lot of power. Sunny caught her colt in no time and pulled ahead.

Roark wasn’t laughing now. He had Apollo going at full speed.

Sunny was, too…now.

Jessica should have let her run as fast as she wanted before. Not that it mattered, because the tree line was coming up fast.

She and Sunny reached the tree line and came to a stop.

Roark and Apollo were just a second or two behind…but still behind.

Jessica laughed. Her heart was light, and she admitted she was having the time of her life…with Roark. She didn’t care about his money.

Roark would not understand when she told him she wanted nothing to do with his money. He thought everyone wanted his money, but she didn’t. She knew people came out of the woodwork to borrow money, or to just have him give them money, because he could afford it. She didn’t want to be one of those people, someone who used him for his money.

She might not be wealthy, but she owned her home and made enough to live comfortably. Some months, she even put some in savings. Jessica was interested in the man. Was he her Prince Charming? She could use this in a book. How would she end it? What sort of suspense would she have in the novel? She always put some suspense in her books, even if it was just a little who-done-it, like someone was stealing hay for their parents whose ranch was failing…or…

“Jessica?”

She turned toward him and blinked several times. “What? Oh, I’m sorry. My mind was wandering, going over a plot for a book. That’s the bane of an author’s life…the imagination is always going. So, where is this camping spot?”

“Right this way.” He turned Apollo, so they skimmed along the edge of the forest for a bit, and then he turned onto the skinniest path into the forest.

Clearly, no one came this way very often. It was only wide enough for one horse at a time, so Jessica followed Roark. They walked the horses through trees so thick she felt them closing in around her.

Shortly, the path gave way to a lush green meadow surrounded by the dense forest she’d just ridden through. It thrilled her to see the unobstructed blue sky again.

“Come this way.” He waved his arm and rode toward the other side of the field.

Jessica followed, and when she reached the other side, she heard the sounds of rushing water. “Roark, listen.” She shouted as she rode in the sound’s direction.