Page 36 of Wilde Ride

Why did it heat my body to hear Levi say those words?

Rhett kicked at nothing on the ground, then looked up at me and flashed a smile. “You don’t have to wait for me, Ms. Emeline. But if you’re not married in…” He closed his eyes and started counting on his fingers before looking at me and saying, “Twelve years, maybe we can talk then.”

“Dear God,” Levi said, scrubbing his hands down his face.

Smiling, I held out my hand again. As we shook, I said, “It’s a deal.”

Rhett grinned, then added, “And if you and my dad fall in love and get married, I’d be okay with that, too.”

My eyes shot back to Levi. He simply shook his head and gave me a look that said, Let it go.

Clearing my throat, I said, “Shall we go see Aurora?”

Rhett fist pumped. “Yes!”

I motioned for Rhett to head back out of my office, where we ran into my mother.

“Mom!” I said, a little too eager. “Levi brought Rhett to see Aurora.”

My mother bent down to say hi to Rhett. “My goodness, you’ve grown since the last time I saw you.”

The little boy looked slightly concerned. “I don’t remember you. I’m sorry.”

Laughing, Mom said, “You were pretty young when your daddy brought you to visit, when your sister was just a baby, so I’m not surprised you don’t remember.”

I looked at Levi to see if my mother’s mention of Brooke caused any pain, and it didn’t appear that it did. As if he could feel my eyes on him, he returned my gaze.

I forced a casual smile, then looked back at my mother and asked, “Have you seen Aurora this morning?”

“I was here early enough to see you’d slept in her stall last night, Emeline Wilde.”

I felt my cheeks heat.

“You slept in her stall?” Levi asked.

“I think she’s close, and I wanted to make sure she was okay. Marshall took the first half of the night, and I came in around one in the morning to take over. He’s back out there with her now.”

Levi nodded. “Is she showing signs?”

I rolled my eyes. “She’s a horse, and a stubborn one. She’ll drop that baby while she’s eating her oats, most likely.”

We all laughed, and a second later, Rhett joined in, having no idea why we were laughing.

My mother took the boy’s hand. “Come on, Rhett, let’s go see how she’s doing.”

They started down the aisle of the barn. Levi took hold of my hand to keep me in place, and I ignored the flutter in my stomach at the contact.

“If we could hold back for just a moment,” he said. His brown eyes were filled with worry.

“Sure, what’s up?” I hoped my voice sounded void of any jitters, but if he didn’t let go of my hand soon, I’d be swooning at any moment.

Seeming to realize he was still holding my hand, Levi dropped it like it was a hot potato. “I’m sorry about what Rhett said, about you and me.”

I waved off his concern. “Don’t even worry about it.”

“I haven’t talked to him at all about moving on with anyone, let alone you.”

Don’t let your feelings show on your face, Emeline.