Chapter Six

Ty’s lips met Ella’s, his mouth firm, unyielding.

Had she misread him?

She froze, her mouth against his. Excuses reeled through her mind as she started to pull away. Then, with a groan, he wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him.

His firm lips softened against hers, and then he was claiming her, tasting her, exploring the terrain of her lips. With his free hand, he cupped the back of her head, burying his fingers in her hair.

A moan escaped her, and Ty took advantage of her parted lips to deepen the kiss, tangling his tongue with hers.

The taste of Ty melted on her tongue, driving her wild. All she could think of was more. The man kissed with such control, everything carefully restrained.

It was crazy, given their past, given who he was and she was, but she wanted him to let go and be as wild as the Montanan lands that surrounded him. As wild as he made her feel.

She arched against him, her hands going to his waistband. She needed to feel him, and she was not going to allow herself to think or analyze or do anything but feel.

The scent of outdoors surrounded them—alfalfa and horses, damp soil and the prairie heat. It blended with the leather and pine scent of Ty.

A slight breeze picked up, cooling her heated skin. She pushed herself closer against him, molding the curves of her body against his granite planes.

With a groan and a curse, he eased her back until her butt was pressed against the back of the pickup truck.

“I want you up here,” he muttered. Before she could respond, he dropped the tailgate and lifted her up to sit on the edge. She spread her thighs, granting him room to fit his body between her legs, pressing her core against the growing hardness in his jeans.

Still it was not enough. She wanted him closer, naked, and next to her. Why? She wasn’t going to waste time answering nagging questions when she wanted him so badly. It was like some primitive force had come alive in her.

He released her lips, grazing his mouth and teeth along her jawline. Holding him close, she tilted her head back, granting him access. Ty buried his hands in the curtain of hair, wrapping his hand in the mass until he cupped the base of her head as he continued to play with the sensitive spots along her ear and jaw.

The wind picked up, swirling around them, trapping them in a world all their own.

She nipped at his earlobe, her teeth grazing along his flesh. The bite was not nice or sweet, and Ty lost it.

Pulling her mouth back to his, the kiss grew harder, firmer, needier.

Ty’s hands dropped to her ribs, bracketing her body as his thumb grazed the soft underside of her breasts.

Her breath hitched at the exploratory touch, and it was all she had to not rip her shirt off to give him access to her skin.

Heat pooled between her legs, and she wrapped her uninjured leg around his thigh, trying to pull him even closer.

She could feel his dick straining against his jeans, pressing up against her denim-clad core. The years of denial were building up to this one moment.

Ty slipped his hands under the hem of her tank. The feel of his calluses against her skin was driving her crazy. She ground her body against his, her hips undulating in a rhythm that he matched. This was all instinct, pure and simple.

His fingers were tracing intoxicating paths up and down her body, she wanted to see where they ended.

More. More. More.

Her body screamed to take this man she kept at bay for so long.

A door slammed shut, echoing across the yard, jolting her back to reality.

Ty released her so quickly, she almost fell off the edge of the tailgate. He caught her just in time.

In seconds flat, he had her shirt straightened, and his button-down tucked neatly back into his jeans.

Her face felt hot, her body was burning with desire, and her lips were beyond swollen.

And she yearned for more.

Ty’s chest expanded as he tried to gather his breath.

“That must be Colton or Ty,” he breathed, bracing his hands on either side of her, dropping his head so his forehead touched hers.

“Probably good timing,” she said, trying to reel herself in. She pulled her hair over her shoulder and ran her fingers through the waves. She couldn’t quite look at him. If she did, she’d probably jump him all over again. “That may have gone a little too far.”

Ty’s face instantly went blank. And just like that the cowboy teetering on the edge of losing control went back to the serious, quiet vet.

Her jaw slackened at his sudden mood change, but she quickly clamped her mouth shut.

Fine then. Two could play at this cool, calm game.

Ty had spent years fantasizing about what it would be like to kiss Ella James Sanders. Years. And the real deal did not even come close to the fantasy. Too bad his brother had to step outside, interrupting them. Then again, it was probably for the best. Who knew where they would have ended up? He had been ready to take her in the bed of his truck, which was not an ideal situation.

The rest of the time at the ranch was quiet and awkward. Ella seemed to be a bit more wary around him. As though she hadn’t expected the kiss to be that explosive either. She kept looking at him like she was expecting something, but what, he didn’t know. And she didn’t seem willing to volunteer it.

His heart hammered just thinking about that sinful kiss. The woman could easily have him wrapped around her finger, and that made him nervous. What happened if he fell for her, and she decided the leave? After the pain of Colton leaving ten years ago, and then his mother leaving shortly after that, he didn’t want to handle the heartbreak of being left again. It wasn’t worth the risk.

After dropping Ella off, he had headed back to work. It was a busy afternoon at the vet practice, but it kept him distracted from Ella and that kiss, so Ty chalked it up as a win. Afterward, he stopped by the feed store to pick up some salt licks and headed home. By the time he came in the front door, Jace was making dinner for everyone.

The eldest Hartman brother had an array of cold cuts laid out and was busy making sub sandwiches. His movements were deft and sharp. Like a guy who didn’t believe in doing anything in a roundabout way.

Colton wasn’t anywhere in sight. This was the first time Ty had a moment to catch up with Jace since the conversation after moving the broken wheel line. Now seemed like a good time to pick it back up.

Ty dropped his boots in the mudroom before wandering to the fridge.

“Beer?” Ty pulled an unopened bottle from the fridge.

“Nah, I’m good.” Jace didn’t stop his movements.

“Mind if we carry on the conversation from the other day?” He grabbed some plates and napkins from the cupboard and set them down next to Jace.

“Sure,” Jace said, giving Ty a wary glance. “But don’t expect me to change my mind. Nothing to do with you and Colton, but I’m pretty set on heading back to Texas at this point.”

“What do you plan to do with the ranch?” Ty braced his hands on the lip of the kitchen counter and squeezed. Part of him didn’t want to hear the answer, even though he asked. Once Jace owned one-third of the property, he could do whatever he wanted with it.

Jace shrugged. “Sell it? I could give you guys the first offer if you would like. I know how much this ranch means to you.”

But not to me.

Jace’s words hung unspoken.

Ty flinched. Despite his best efforts to help his brother feel comfortable at the Rocking H, it was clear Jace didn’t feel that way.

“I used to hate it here too.” Ty rubbed at the back of his neck. “Beau was not a great father. He made Colton’s life hell, and I didn’t seem to exist in his eyes. Hell, I still feel that way. I was the one who stuck around, kept the ranch going, and made sure that we didn’t lose it when Beau hit rock bottom. And yet—” Ty opened his hands, spreading his fingers “—here I am, still fighting for the ranch that I had worked so hard to keep.”

He wanted to say more, but he couldn’t find the magic words to get Jace to change his mind. Heavy boot steps echoed on the porch, announcing Colton’s arrival, followed by the door quickly opening and closing.

Ty glanced at Jace, who looked relieved at the interruption.

“Good, you’re both here,” Colton said. “I have an idea I want to bounce off you.”

Colton’s sudden excitement overwhelmed the room, clashing with the tension between Ty and Jace.

Colton dropped his gloves into the basket and kicked off his boots. “We should consider expanding the livestock herds. I’ve been looking it over, and we can easily double the cows and still manage the work between the three of us. Gus keeps finding ways to save on construction costs, and we may have enough leftover cash to buy more cows.”

Colton stopped short, as though suddenly sensing the tension in the room. The wide smile on his face faded as he looked between Ty and Jace. “What’s up, guys?”

Ty looked at Jace. There was no way he was going to announce Jace’s plans for him. It was on the eldest Hartman to bring it up.

Jace grimaced, as though he could read Ty’s mind.

“Ty and I were talking about my return to Houston after this year is up,” Jace said, his voice firm.

Colton looked to Ty to confirm, and Ty silently nodded.

“Why?” Colton pulled his hat from his head and set it upside down on the kitchen table. “Don’t you like it here?”

“I don’t belong here,” Jace stated matter-of-factly. Like his mind was set, and he wasn’t going to change it. “This isn’t my legacy.”

“Bull,” Colton said quickly, his voice forceful. Both Jace and Ty turned to stare at him. “This land is as much yours as it is ours. If your issue is with Beau, trust me, we all have issues with him.”

Jace’s face went stony, his eyes gray glints of granite. “Look, you guys can buy me out if you like, but I’m not sticking around.”

“What if the ranch is profitable?” Ty blurted. He cringed as he realized what he just said.

“Is the ranch profitable?” Jace asked, setting the mustard knife down.

Ty actually couldn’t remember the last time the ranch was in the black. “I think we’ll break even this year.” Fingers crossed.

“Why would I keep a share of the ranch if it isn’t profitable?” Jace asked.

“It’s not profitable yet,” Colton said, catching on to Ty’s thinking. “We could start a breeding and training program and sell horses. However, it would be something we would need to build up to.”

Ty felt a little jolt of relief that Colton wanted to start a training program. It proved that Colton planned to stick around.

If the pressure point therapy was successful with Red, there was a chance that he could expand his vet practice to the ranch. If cowboys such as Josh and Roy really did send their horses to him as part of the recovery process, the practice could be successful enough to make the ranch profitable.

If Jace kept ownership of the ranch for a few years, and the practice was profitable, Ty could probably pull enough savings together again to take out a loan to buy Jace out. That way, he could have his dream of expanding his vet practice and keep the ranch in the family.

Granted that scenario would involve a lot of debt that he hadn’t planned through yet. A better scenario would be to convince Jace the ranch was worth sticking around for.

Jace went back to making the sub sandwiches, a furrow between his brows. The eldest Hartman did not look remotely convinced about Colton’s idea.

Ty had to do something.

“I want to expand my vet practice to the ranch.” He blurted out the words.

Jace looked up, eyebrows raised. He looked intrigued by the idea.

Emboldened by his brother’s expression, Ty continued. “If this pressure point therapy with Red is successful, I could expand to the ranch. It will give me room to keep more animals, to invest time in new medicine and therapies, and to hire on more veterinarians.”

“You want to expand your practice to the Rocking H?” Colton asked. He ran his hand over his chin as Ty nodded. “You’ve never mentioned this before. It’s actually not a bad idea.”

“So Red would need to recover in order for this idea to be successful?” Jace asked.

“If the horse has a successful recovery by the NFR,” Ty pointed out. It was still too early to tell if Red would have a successful recovery, but Ty was willing to go out on a limb here. If they could get Jace to stop thinking about selling the place, maybe they could get him to focus on the things he did love about the ranch. It was always harder to sell something you love. “I don’t have a doubt in my mind she will be recovered by then. I’ve been talking with a few cowboys at the rodeos, and they said if this therapy is successful, they would send their horses to me.”

It was a bit of a stretch, but Jace didn’t need to know what. Ty just needed a distraction to keep Jace from considering selling the ranch and focus instead on what the ranch could be turned into. If Red was that distraction, then Ty was going to run with it.

“If Red recovers quickly,” Ty continued, “it would be a great way to build up a large base of clientele and it would help us break into a sport therapy market for horses.”

“And what benefit is this to the Rocking H?” Jace asked, ever savvy.

“To start, I’ll have my practice lease the land. You can receive a portion of the lease. If you do me the favor of holding the land for now, I can start saving to buy you out in a few years.” Ideally by then, Jace would decide he didn’t want to sell.

There it was—his half-baked plan on the table.

Jace drummed his fingers against the counter, and Ty could tell his brother was thinking it over carefully.

Ty hated the fact his brother viewed this as a business transaction. It was frustrating that despite how far the three of them had come since finding out each other existed, there was still a long way to go.

And after the year was up, they may never get that chance again.

He hated that Beau did this to them.

“If you can get the horse to heal on time, prove that you can get a client list going, and that the ranch will start operating in the black, I’ll hold onto my share,” Jace said. “Otherwise, there’s no reason why I should keep it. The cash would be a nice investment into my business.”

“How much time are you willing to give us?” Ty asked. He needed to know how much time he had to work with to expand the practice and to save up more cash.

“Let’s see how the horse heals first. If she makes it to the NRF, I’m willing to talk.” Jace grabbed a plate and set a sub sandwich on it before heading toward the back porch. “I’m eating outside.”

“I had no idea Jace felt that way,” Colton muttered as soon as Jace was out of earshot. He grabbed a sandwich and some chips before dropping down onto the kitchen stool next to Ty.

“I think he’s dealing with the same issues we’ve been dealing with. Same father, different scars. This is how he’s sorting it out. He doesn’t feel like he belongs here. In a way, I don’t blame him,” Ty said, grabbing a plate.

His brother shook his head. “I still find it hard to believe. Jace looks happy on the ranch, and I know Hailey loves it here.”

Funny to hear Colton say that when less than six months ago, his older brother wanted nothing more than to walk away from his legacy. While part of him kept expecting Colton to just up and disappear again without any notice, his brother had been going out of his way to prove how dedicated he was to the ranch.

“Jace thinks the legacy is ours and not his,” he added.

“Because our terrible father abandoned him?” Colton asked.

“I guess he doesn’t realize what a blessing it was,” Ty added drily.

Colton grabbed the bag of chips and munched on them thoughtfully. “I can’t afford to buy him out. Not when I’m trying to start this new company branch. We could pool our cash together and buy him out now.”

“That kills my plan to expand the vet practice. I’ve been saving for this for years,” Ty said, studying his knuckles. It was the first time he came close to admitting how much he wanted this dream.

“I’d hate to take that off the plate then,” Colton said without hesitation. “The best we can do is try to make this ranch profitable as quickly as possible, and then buy him out as soon as we can.”

Ty pressed the tips of his fingers together. “Let’s think about this for a bit. Hailey loves it here, and the more Jace is tied to the land, the harder it will be for him to leave. If we can come up with a way to make the ranch more profitable, great. However, if we can convince Jace to keep his share, that would be ideal.”

Because Ty really did want his brother to stay. He liked having his family in one spot. It made life at the ranch richer. And whether Jace saw it or not, he was one of the Hartman brothers.

Colton tapped his fingers on the countertop.

“We can wait and see if Red makes a full recovery,” Colton said after a minute. “But I think we should also be proactive. One thing we know about Jace is that he likes to build things from the ground up. There’s nothing on the ranch that wasn’t here before him.”

Normally it grated on Ty when Colton tried to take charge. It drove him nuts his brother disappeared for ten years and then came back expecting everyone to follow his lead when Ty was the one who held the ranch together. However, this time he knew Colton was onto something.

“We need to get Jace onto something that is new and that he can create from scratch,” Ty said, his mind already running through possible ideas.

“Exactly,” Colton agreed. “Let’s spend some time thinking about it and see what we can come up with. We have seven months to change Jace’s mind. Let’s figure something out.”

The stubborn cowboy was back the following morning, tossing hay into Mickey’s feeder like nothing had happened. As though he hadn’t kissed her senseless yesterday.

That kiss had been on replay in her head. Her eyes felt swollen from lack of sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, the feel of his hands sliding across her body came racing back, and it left her wanting more.

There was no way she’d let herself have more. Not now, when everything was up in the air with her career. Everything was good while she was the top barrel racer in the state, but what happened if Red didn’t recover and she was back to being Ella James Sanders, the girl from the wrong end of town?

Part of her hoped that the awkwardness after their kiss would be reason enough for him to stop showing up.

Apparently, Ty always followed through, no matter the circumstance.

“Morning,” he called out, his voice perfectly normal.

A car drove by, gave a honk and the person inside waved. She didn’t recognize who it was, but Ty must have because he waved back.

She kept her hands firmly on her crutch grips.

“Morning,” she tried, but her throat felt tight, and the word came out more as a croak. Ty looked amazing this morning. Dark Wranglers, a light blue button-up, and a straw hat. No doubt that blue shirt did incredible things to his eyes, and there was no way she was foolish enough to get close enough to confirm. Just having him here was doing funny little things low in her belly. She was determined to ignore it, and to not complicate her life further when it was already a mess.

Even if every time Ty tossed a flake of hay, his muscles flexed to perfection.

Mickey let out a high-pitched whinny, breaking Ella from her thoughts.

Her mare was ignoring the hay. Instead, she pressed against the fence, her neck stretched high, sniffing at the air.

A smaller, higher whinny came back in response.

What the—?

She’d been so busy looking at Ty, she hadn’t even looked at his truck.

Or noticed the tiny two-horse trailer behind it.

A trailer that shifted as the animal inside once again whinnied back.

“Is there a horse in that trailer?” she asked, suddenly curious as she headed down the crooked porch steps. Her movements had become more fluid after a week on the crutches.

“It’s a pony.” Ty wasn’t smiling, but there was a softness in his eyes that she’d never noticed before. Or maybe she’d never wanted to notice. Who could say?

Quickly she looked away.

Ty appeared undeterred. He ambled over, thumbs in his front pockets, and stopped a few feet away, legs planted in the ground. “You left your door open.”

Crinkling her nose, she looked up. “Excuse me?”

He pointed at the door. “Your door is open. You always leave it shut.”

Biting her lip, she stared at the door. Sure enough, she had left it open, granting a view of the worn brown carpet and tiny ancient kitchen. Letting him see where she actually lived was like giving him a glimpse of her life and into things she wanted to hide, or change.

Mickey called again, still not interested in her breakfast when there was a new friend to be made. The mare’s strong dark body glistened in the morning light as she paced back and forth.

“So did you bring the pony here to torture my lonely horse?” she asked, turning back to him. His hat was pulled low so that she couldn’t see his eyes. Only the firm cut of those full lips that she had kissed yesterday.

And wanted to kiss again.

Damn it.

“The Millers are retiring and selling their herds. All the horses have been sold; however, they still have this pony they had bought for their grandchildren,” Ty explained.

She nodded slowly. “And you have the pony because?”

Ty shrugged. “I told them you had a lonely mare, and I offered to take the pony off their hands.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” She held up her hands, clutching the crutches close with her elbows. “I don’t need any favors. From you or the Millers.”

“Hey, I’m just helping out two lonely herd animals. I don’t like the habits Mickey is picking up,” Ty said. His calm voice held an air of authority, like he was in vet mode.

She was not going to be fooled by vet mode.

Mickey let out another shrill greeting.

“I can’t afford one more mouth to feed, and we can’t just put the pony in with Mickey. We don’t know if they’ll get along.”

“I’ve solved that problem already,” Ty called over his shoulder, heading to the trailer as though she hadn’t turned down the pony. “And I brought you breakfast.”

He nodded toward the foil-wrapped package on the hood of the truck.

Her traitorous stomach growled. “Colton cooked again?”

“I did. Pancakes and bacon. Hope that works for you.” Ty handed the warm foil package over to her. It smelled sweet and savory.

Her mouth watered. “You trying to butter me up?”

“If it makes it so you don’t freak out and reject the pony, then yes, I’m trying to butter you up.”

Ty headed to the trailer and opened one door. The pony did not appear. Instead, Ty pulled out some green fence panels.

“You brought a fence?” Did this guy think of everything?

She tried to ignore the little blooms of heat that were bubbling through her body as he went about setting up six panels into a little enclosure.

“Just until these two get used to each other,” he explained.

“I haven’t agreed to the pony,” she reminded him. She opened the foil packet, slipped a piece of bacon out, and bit into it. Oh god. It was amazing. Crispy, meaty, salty.

“You haven’t seen Maverick yet,” Ty said, his voice echoing in the tiny metal trailer. Seconds later, small hooves hit the packed gravel driveway, clopping daintily.

The ‘hello’ the tiny silver Shetland pony screeched was not at all small, though.

“Ms. Minna is going to kill me,” she muttered. Closing her eyes, she popped the last bit of bacon into her mouth. Damn the man was good. The plan to butter her up was working.

Ty led the pony into the makeshift pen where Maverick and Mickey were close enough that they could check each other out, but not close enough that they could cause damage if they didn’t like each other.

Mickey looked thrilled. She paced back and forth, pausing to check out the tiny pony across the fence. Maverick ducked his head before reaching out his delicate nose to greet Mickey in return.

Damn it. The vet did good.

Somehow, he managed to help both of her horses.

And her.

A warm thrill rushed through her.

“The Millers don’t mind?” she asked reluctantly.

He shook his head. “I told them I would buy him if no seller came up. I can’t imagine he’ll be available for much longer. He’s a pretty sweet little guy. A good 4-H pony.”

The pony was cute, and he didn’t take up too much room.

“I’ll give him a one-week trial,” she finally relented.

“The Millers will give him to you at a discount—”

She held up her hands, stopping him. “I don’t need a discount.” She was capable of paying for her animals—even if it did take a little more out of her savings.

Ty shot her an exasperated look. “It was a friends discount, not a sympathy discount.”

“Right,” she dragged out, but she let it drop and went for a change in subject. “Thanks for the breakfast.”

Ty motioned toward the small stack of hay. She followed, grateful to get off her crutches, and sat down next to him, the sweet scent of hay blurring with Ty’s leather and pine scent.

He shifted on the hay bale until there was only an inch gap between his jean-clad leg and her bare one.

The foil packet containing her breakfast felt warm and heavy in her hand. Or maybe it was her whole body that felt warm and heavy. She wanted to lean into him, sink her weight against him, and, yes, damn it, kiss him.

Ty’s phone buzzed, breaking into her thoughts before her mind traveled too far down the wrong dirt road.

Ty scanned the name on the screen, hit the red X to ignore the call, and dropped his hands between his knees, clasping the device between his palms.

Ella felt the back of her neck grow warm. “You can’t ignore Mom. If you want privacy, I can head into the house—”

“Mom left me at seventeen to move to Idaho to marry some guy. I’m okay ignoring her.” Ty leaned back, bracing his body against the stack of hay behind them, not quite looking at her.

Ella turned to stare at him. “Your mom left you? I thought you stuck around to finish high school.” She dropped her gaze back to her hands. “Although, I guess that’s what I heard. I never actually asked you.”

Was this the second story about Ty she had misinterpreted? She shifted on the hay. Maybe she should have given Ty more credit back then.

“I did decide to stay here. It’s my home. My heritage is here. My legacy. I thought if I stayed, she’d—” He broke off, pulling his hat even lower.

“But she didn’t stay.” Ella pulled a small piece of buttery pancake from the foil and chewed thoughtfully. “When was the last time you saw her?”

“We hadn’t talked in years, but after Dad’s funeral, she started calling again. She tried calling the first couple years after she left, but I was so angry, I never answered.”

“So that’s why you moved to the ranch your senior year?” she said, recalling how withdrawn Ty had become during school—the usually outgoing teen had seemed sullen those first few months of the school year. Even she’d noticed.

“She left town so fast to marry this dude, it was a blur. She dropped me at the Rocking H and didn’t look back.”

She couldn’t imagine not talking to her parents for years. Despite the fact her parents had moved to Oregon two years ago, she still spoke with them weekly. She liked to hear the happiness in her dad’s voice as he talked about the hardware store he was managing, and the calm in her mom’s voice after a day of working in her bookstore. They’d both had a chance to start over, and it had really changed them.

Like Ty, she had chosen to stay. Despite never measuring up for some people, there were things about the place that she couldn’t imagine leaving—her neighbors, her roots, the life she planned for herself. Yes, she had things to prove to those people, and frankly, she was enjoying doing just that. Her father had felt his wrong-side-of-the-tracks legacy strongly, and he’d needed a new locale to find his true self, but Ella…she could prove her worth right here. Lindsey and Jeff and all the snobs could bite it.

“Maybe she wants to reconcile,” she tried.

“I’m not sure if I’m ready.” Ty leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, and opened his hands, palms up. The tips of his fingers touched, and she found herself staring at the hands that less than twenty-four hours ago were clamped around her waist and creating a delicious friction that still left traces of desire burning low in her belly.

Suddenly her heart ached for the younger, teenaged Ty. The guy she’d thought who had it all—popularity, horses, money, confidence. Turned out he was struggling as well. His struggle was very much different from hers, but it was a struggle nonetheless.

Unsure of what to do, but still wanting to provide comfort, she twisted on the bale, the bits of hay poking into the backs of her legs where her black shorts exposed her bare legs. Quietly, she placed her hand on his shoulder.

Even through his tee, she could feel the warmth of his skin. Some crazy part of her wanted to slip her fingers under the sleeve.

Ty let out a soft laugh. “I’m not even sure why I’m sharing this with you.”

Ella shrugged. “Maybe you trust me?”

He snorted. “Ironic considering you don’t trust me.”

She pushed his hat back, revealing those bright blue eyes that put the Montana sky to shame. The blue shirt did offset them to perfection. “Thanks for bringing the pony. I’m sure Mickey will love having a friend.”

One corner of his mouth crooked up wryly. “I know what it’s like to be alone. I’d hate for any of the creatures in my care to feel lonely as well.”

He ran the pad of his thumb softly along her jawline. Just that single, simple touch was enough to spark warmth flooding through her body, hurtling to her core, heating her skin at his touch.

She was sinking fast, and her resolve was melting away as quickly as ice on a summer day.

Clearing his throat, Ty climbed to his feet. “May as well finish up. I can drive you out to see Red.”

Just like that, Ty made it clear that he wasn’t interested in more.

She prayed that her face didn’t show her disappointment as she watched the cowboy walk away.

However, she knew now why his barriers were up. He was protecting himself.

Despite what he said, he didn’t trust her. And the reality of that truth stung to her core.