Page 159 of Lost Trust

He swings down from his saddle with the easy grace of a man who has spent his entire life around horses, then walks over to Rowdy and rubs a hand along his neck.

My gaze drops to the saddlebags hanging from both horses. “What’s in those?”

He glances at me. “Everything we need.”

“For what?”

He smiles. “Don’t ask so many questions. Just get your ass in the saddle and be surprised.”

I narrow my eyes. “Royce.”

“Rina.”

The way he says my name makes something warm curl low in my stomach. It sounds like a promise.

I glance back toward the door. Mom is peeking out, and she gives me a little wave before pulling the door, shutting her and Ryder inside.

I step off the porch and walk toward Rowdy. “You’re really committed to this thing.”

His expression softens. There’s something different about him tonight. Something deliberate.

This isn’t Royce Trust asking if I want to go grab dinner with him at the dining hall.

He planned this. For me. And I have no idea what to do with that.

I should remind myself that this is dangerous territory. That I’ve spent years building walls high enough to keep disappointment out. That I have a four-year-old whose heart is attached to mine and no room in our lives for another man who might eventually decide he wants something else.

But I look at Royce, and those walls feel a whole lot less sturdy than they did a month ago.

“Where are we going?”

He swings into the saddle. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

I sigh. “You know you’re irritating, right?” I say as I climb onto Rowdy’s back.

His grin flashes. “Just part of my charm, darlin’.”

“I’m not convinced you have any charm, cowboy.”

“That wasn’t the tune you were singing a few hours ago,” he says.

The reminder of how needy I was this morning makes me blush, and I’m thankful he and his stallion are in front of us.

“Temporary insanity,” I say.

He glances over his shoulder at me. “Keep the sass coming, and I won’t be fulfilling that promise I made.”

I gasp. “You wouldn’t dare.”

He smirks. “Follow me, cowgirl. And try to keep up.”

I settle in my saddle and kick my heels.

Let’s ride.

The trail winds away from the ranch, through the trees, and into the foothills.

The evening sun filters through the branches, painting gold across the trail. Rowdy’s familiar rhythm settles beneath me, and little by little, the tension I didn’t realize I had been carrying begins to disappear.