Page 9 of Bride ’N Boots

He lifted me like I weighed nothing and set me in the saddle.

It took me a moment to fix the dress and make sure the skirt fell the right way and displayed the boots.

Stratton grasped my calf and gave it a squeeze, smiling.

Thank God I’d shaved the day before.

He took the lead rope that was tied around the fence post and started to walk. Honeysuckle followed him easily.

“So, are you from Coeur d'Alene?” Stratton asked me.

I stroked the mare's silky mane.

“Not originally,” I said. “I'm actually from Seattle, but my parents moved to Idaho when I was in high school and that’s where I met Arden. I went back to Seattle for college, but after I graduated, I came back to Coeur d'Alene to be near my parents. They’re a little older, so I kinda want to be close to them. Plus, Arden was already here, so when I came back after college we started the business together.”

I didn’t mention Ethan. Either because I didn’t want to mess with the easy flow of conversation or because I genuinely had forgotten he was an unresolved tether in my life.

“You're from Seattle?” Stratton asked. “Wouldn’t have guessed that.”

“No? Why not?”

“You don't have the Seattle freeze.”

I laughed. “Yeah. I've been told that before. Are you from Idaho?”

“Wyoming,” he explained. “I grew up in Jackson Hole.”

“Oh yeah?”

“My mom was a housekeeper for a billionaire who liked the idea of horses and being a country boy, but he was far from it. He was only at the ranch a few times a year. But it worked out for me, because I learned early how much I love horses and working on a ranch.”

“What brought you to Idaho?” I asked.

“I like it here better,” he said with a shrug. “You didn’t mention your boyfriend in your little backstory.”

“No. I didn’t,” I agreed.

“Did you do that on purpose? Or do my natural good looks make every thought go out of your head?”

“So arrogant,” I drawled.

He chuckled. “But really . . . this boyfriend of yours . . .”

“College,” I replied. “We met in college.”

“Did he move to Coeur d’Alene with you?”

“No. He stayed in Seattle. He works for a tech company.”

Stratton shook his head.

“What?” I asked.

“Didn't peg you as the kind of woman that would date a tech guy.”

“Oh? And what kind of guy should I date then?”

He turned his head and flashed me a mega-watt grin.