Page 9 of Wilde Hearts

“Wow, talk about an instant family,” Doug said with wide eyes.

I chuckled. “Yeah. A family of four kids, plus all the horses and her chocolate lab, Moose.”

“And I heard Caden got married to Lilibeth Asher. She owns Wonderland Whimsy or something like that?”

I chuckled. “You got it right. And yes, they got married, and they have a two-month-old baby, as well.”

His brows rose. “I guess I’m not up on all the local gossip. So what about you?”

“What about me?” I asked, pushing my plate away and sitting back in the booth.

“Dating anyone?”

I laughed. “No.”

He narrowed one eye as he asked, “Sleeping with anyone?”

“I wish.”

Doug tossed his head back and laughed. “I’ve missed you, Ensley.”

Leaning forward, I asked, “Are you volunteering?”

“To sleep with you?” he asked.

“I was thinking more along the lines of fucking rather than sleeping.”

His eyes turned dark. “Is that all you’re looking for?”

I sat back again. I needed to be honest with him. “For now.”

We stared at one another for what felt like an eternity.

“You know I care about you, Ensley. You also know that if you told me you wanted more, I’d be on the same page as you.”

I swallowed the instant lump in my throat. My head was screaming at me to tell him I wanted the same. Wanted more. That I wanted to settle down and start a relationship.

My damn heart, on the other hand, was on the floor, throwing a fit.

“I know.”

He exhaled and shook his head. “I should tell you no. You broke my heart once, Ensley Wilde, and I’m not sure I’m willing to go down that road again.”

I nodded. “That’s fair. I want to give you more, Doug, as I said before. I’m trying to move on from a past that I can’t seem to shake.”

“I think you mean from a love you haven’t gotten over.”

This time, it felt like I’d swallowed a brick. “That, too.”

The waitress brought the check, and I left her cash. We slipped out of the booth and started to walk back toward the fire station. Neither of us said anything for a few minutes, and once we were in front of the firehouse, I expected him to thank me for breakfast and send me on my way. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he did just that.

Instead, he smiled down at me. “I’ll meet you at my place in ten minutes.”

Grinning, I said, “See you then.”

As I turned and headed back toward Main Street and my car, I told myself the past was the past. It was time to move forward, and Doug was the perfect man to move forward with.

I slipped into the driver’s seat of my truck as my phone rang. I smiled, thinking it might be Doug. I frowned when I saw it was Lynn Owens calling. Lynn was the wife of Jacob, the same man who’d taught me everything I knew about being a farrier. Lynn was also the mother of Colt.