Page 157 of Knot my First Rodeo

The idea of somebody watching her, without her knowing about it, has me burning with rage and unease.

The next morning, I find her in the barn.

Bruce stands half asleep in the cross ties while she brushes him. Autumn looks up when she hears me, and for a second, neither of us says anything. The brush continues its path down Bruce's shoulder before pausing halfway through the stroke.

"You okay?"

The question feels inadequate the second it leaves my mouth.

Autumn lets out a breath and looks back at the horse. When she answers, her voice is quiet enough that I almost miss it.

"No."

The honesty catches me off guard. Most people would've lied. Hell, I would've lied.

She runs the brush down Bruce's shoulder again, and watches the bristles move through his coat.

"I thought I was safe. My brother sent me here to avoid things like this. Everyone went on lockdown and I wouldn’t go to the clubhouse, so he sent me to Montana.”

I know exactly what she means. Everything Hunter had been hiding her from when she came here. Montana was supposed to be far enough away from all of it. Instead, somebody was standing outside motel windows taking photographs.

Her hand tightens slightly around the brush.

"I don't know who it is. I don't know if they're local, I don't know if they followed me from Virginia." She swallows before shaking her head. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to do."

The brush stops at Bruce's shoulder. A week ago, she'd been arguing with me. Yesterday, she was planning what kind of horse she wanted to buy. Now, she's staring at the barn floor like the wind’s been sucked from her sails.

I move closer until our shoulders are almost touching.

"Hey."

She looks at me.

"Whatever this is," I tell her quietly, "you're not dealing with it alone."

The corner of her mouth trembles before she gives a small nod.

But standing there beside her, I realize something I should've figured out a long time ago. If something happened to her, I'd never forgive myself. Not because she's our scent match. Not because she's our omega. Because she's Autumn; she’s the woman who turned a house into a home.

I follow her back to the house after she puts Bruce back in the pasture. She sits at the kitchen island scrolling through her phone while Clint sets up the motion detectors that showed up this morning.

I watch her scroll as I lean against the wall. I don't take my eyes off of her. Not even when Tripp comes in the kitchen announcing he’s got the trail cams put up on all the buildings and in the treeline.

Eventually, she glances up and catches me staring.

"What?"

I shake my head.

"Just thinkin'."

Her expression softens slightly, but neither of us says anything after that.

The sound of living fills the silence between us. Clint is kneeling beside the back door, installing another sensor when Tripp comes in from outside carrying a ladder over one shoulder. He's already talking before the door shuts behind him, complaining about camera instructions and something that apparently arrived without batteries.

Normally I'd tune half of it out, but today, I don't.

My attention keeps drifting back to Autumn. She's sitting at the island scrolling through her phone, one foot hooked around the leg of the stool.