Page 99 of Savage Heart

“Riding Lady?”

“Everything.”

“Yes, I do,” I told him. “So much.”

He reaches for my hand.

“Then I’m extra glad we’re doing this today.”

My boy. He’s got such a good heart.

I pull him into a quick hug. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

“I’m almost ready. You can grab your boots.”

His eyes light up, and he dashes out, yelling, “I’m so excited that you get to ride Lady!”

I laugh and take a deep breath, spritzing on a light perfume.

You’ve got this. It’s just a day hanging out at the ranch.

With the man who made you fall apart last night . . . outside Hog Heaven, when anyone could’ve come around the side of the restaurant.

No big deal, right?

I roll my eyes at myself. There’s no sugarcoating it. I was impulsive last night. We both were.

But it was so much fun.

The drive to the ranch feels shorter than usual, the familiar winding roads lined with fences and grazing cattle blurring by as Linc chatters nonstop about horses and what he and Maverick did this morning. My heart picks up speed as we crest the hill and the gate comes into view. We drive down the long path, and there’s Maverick, leaning against the barn door in his form-fitting jeans and a blue shirt rolled up to his elbows, looking every bit the rugged cowboy that sets my pulse racing. He spots us and straightens, an easy grin spreading across his face as I pull up and park.

Linc is out and bounding toward Maverick before I’ve even turned off the car. Pickle barks and runs over, and Linc drops to his knees to pet him—he’s obsessed and has begun angling for a dog of his own.

“Hey, Maverick!” Linc calls.

“Hey, buddy. How are you?” Maverick asks.

“I’m great!”

I take a second to compose myself, smoothing my shirt, then step out. Maverick’s eyes lock on mine, and he walks over.

“Damn, Iris, I’ve been waiting all morning to see that smile,” he says so only I can hear.

Heat rushes to my cheeks. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and try to contain my smile.

“Flatterer. Linc couldn’t wait to get here.”

He chuckles, and then he closes the distance between us, his hand brushing my arm in a way that’s casual, but I feel it to my bones.

“I couldn’t wait either,” he says.

We head into the barn, the scent of hay and horses wrapping around me. And then I see Lady in her stall, her coat gleaming under the light filtering through the windows. My breath catches.

“She wasn’t here the last time I was in this barn,” I whisper.

She felt like mine once, before everything shattered. I approach slowly, hand outstretched, and she moves toward me, nickering softly and nuzzling my palm like no time has passed.