Page 26 of Cowboy Daddies

“Oh, nothing, I mean riding, I mean… uh⁠—”

“That’s what I thought, babygirl.” Turning away, he grabbed a bridle from the wall.

He pointed to the third stall. “We’ll use Daisy. She’s the gentlest mare in the barn.”

Sage followed him over, her steps light and eager. Grady kept his face stern, trying to keep his focus away from those tight jeans.

“First lesson,” he said, voice steady and low. “You respect the horse. Keep your movements slow and calm. She’ll know if you’re afraid and might take advantage of you.” Daisy wouldn’t, but Sage didn’t need to know that yet.

He walked her through how to approach a horse, then guided her while she put the bridle on Daisy. He had to admit she was a good student.

Sage listened carefully to every instruction as they finished each step. At one point, her fingers brushed his as she took the leather straps. The brief contact sent a jolt straight through him. Even with their agreement, he wanted to proceed carefully with her.

Next, he walked her through saddling. Grady felt the familiar structure of rules creating boundaries. Rules kept things safe. Rules kept feelings in check—or at least that’s what he kept telling himself.

Next, he showed Sage how to check the girth, how to mount safely, and how to hold the reins. She was a natural—light in the saddle, quick to listen, and clearly enjoying herself. Every time she called him “Daddy” while asking a question, the word fed something deep and hungry inside him.

Tricia had been quiet, gentle, and soft-spoken. She had never needed rules. She had followed his lead naturally from the start, without testing or pushing. Sage, on the other hand, pushed back every chance she got. True, it was with a sparkle in her sapphire eyes and a sassy tilt to her chin. She didn’t just need the structure. She craved it. And damn if he didn’t crave giving it to her—hard, thorough, and often.

After twenty minutes in the saddle, Grady helped her dismount. They stood close in the stall, the scent of hay and saddle leather thick around them. Sage’s cheeks were flushed, her curls wild from the ride. She looked up at him, eyes bright and soft and so damn vulnerable it made his chest ache.

“Thank you, Daddy,” she said softly. “That was fun.”

He cupped the back of her neck and pulled her to him. His mouth came down on hers in a kiss that was anything but gentle. It was hungry, even ravenous, and full of two years of loneliness.

Sage melted against him instantly, her hands fisting in his shirt as she kissed him back with equal heat. Soft little whimpers escaped her throat that made him want to devour her right there in the stall.

What he wanted was to push her up against the wall, strip her bare, and claim every inch of her until she screamed his name. Then he’d redden her bottom until she couldn’t sit, before holding her while she cried and called him Daddy like she meant it. God knows that she’d earned it in a hundred different ways.

Instead, he pulled back, breathing hard, forehead pressed to hers.

“This is not the time or place, little one.”

“Yes, it is… Daddy,” she said earnestly, twisting his shirt tight in her hands.

They parted at the sound of the barn door opening.

Rose stood there looking at them. Had she seen them kissing? How would this affect her? Grady was sure he’d screwed up.

“Sage, I’m done with my lesson. You told me to come get you when I was through.”

Sage ran over and picked her up while Grady blew out a breath of relief.

“You’re done already? You are so smart.” She turned so that both of them could see Grady. “Your pa was just telling me how we’d be going to talk with your teacher soon.”

Rose put on a bright smile and clapped. “So I can be in the second grade with Anna?”

That caught him off guard. The name instantly brought to mind the face of a little girl who’d been in the same Sunday School class as his daughter. But the knowledge that Rose remembered Anna when they’d not attended services in a long time gave him pause. Perhaps it was time to think about returning? He could practically see the grin splitting Pastor Ross’s face if he saw one of his lost sheep returning to the fold of First Community Church.

His Little Wildfire already knew exactly how to play him. Maybe later they’d have a discussion about putting him on the spot to get her way. In this case, he knew.

“Nothing is for sure, Rose, but I’ll let Sage here have a go at it.”

“Yeah!” she cried, giving Rose a big hug. “I know you’ll do great.”

They turned to walk out when Grady made one last comment. “By the way, Sage, we’ll be talking later.”

Sage looked over her shoulder with a wink. “Promises, promises.”