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“I knew you’d say yes to Mama’s homemade chicken noodles,” he admits with a sly smirk.

Poppy rolls her eyes, but she’s laughing. “Come on, Charmer.”

They say their goodbyes and her SUV bumps back down the winding driveway.

“You have a minute?” Lincoln asks. “I need some help in the stallion barn.”

“Yeah, of course. What do you need help with?”

He doesn’t answer, simply spins on his heel and starts walking.

I follow him until we reach the barn, and he holds the door open for me. The moment it closes, he presses me against it, one hand cradling my jaw before he plunders my mouth with a kiss. Lincoln removes his hand from my face, pulling me close by the waist before his hands slide down to my backside. He lifts me up easily, and my arms and legs wrap around his solid frame.

Lincoln kisses me like he’s been dreaming about it all day, like he’s been thinking about it as much as I have. His tongue tangles with mine; he tastes like peppermint. He must’ve stolen some from the box of mints Hank keeps for the mares.

Lincoln’s hot mouth moves against my lips, his tongue tasting, his teeth nipping…until I’m breathless and needing more.

He groans, pulling back to look at me. “All I can think about is kissing you, talking to you, taking you to bed, looking at you.” His eyes drip down to my lips. “It’s driving me to distraction. Took me twice as long to finish my work today because I kept forgetting what I was doing.”

My head falls back with a laugh, and he kisses my neck. “I’m sorry?”

Lincoln’s hands move to my waist, and I slowly slide down his strong body. My clothes now share the dust from his, but I don’t mind.

He keeps his arms firmly around my waist, looking down at me. “After dinner, I’d like to show you something.” He quirks his mouth to the side, his brow furrowing with worry. “I’d like it to be…well…a date.” Lincoln clears his throat, adorably flustered. “Not the dinner with my family part, but what I have planned for afterward.”

“I’d love that,” I say quickly to ease his nerves. “I can’t wait.”

“It’s nothing fancy…there isn’t much to do around here. We don’t have any flashy restaurants or—” I press my finger to his lips to stop him.

“I don’t need anything fancy. All I want is time with you, time to talk and get to know you. Time to kiss you and touch you.”

His shoulders relax. “I want that, too.”

With one last kiss, he leaves me in the barn. My body hums in anticipation of what he has planned for us tonight.

CHAPTER 25

Lincoln

When I arrive home, I shower and trim my beard. It’s almost embarrassing how long I take to decide what to wear…Hattie’s teased me about wearing plaid, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t like it, right?

“To hell with it,” I mutter, stepping into a pair of dark jeans I got for Christmas and have never worn. I don’t have anywhere to wear nice jeans, and these are my only pair that aren’t Wranglers.

Glancing in the mirror above my dresser, I turn to see how my ass looks and make sure I don’t have what Wayne calls diaper butt. They seem to fit okay—no diaper butt…I think?

I shake my head at how much I’m overthinking this as I tug a clean white tee over my still damp hair. Then I reach into the back of my closet and remove a green flannel button-down—Poppy says it brings out the green specks in my hazel eyes—and throw it on. I’m comfortable and warm, which is exactly the vibe I want tonight for my and Hattie’s first date. If you can even call it that. What I have planned doesn’t seem like enough for Hattie.

Not enough for her to stay.

Pulling on some wool socks, I make my way downstairs, following the comforting scent of my mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup recipe. I long to see Mom standing by the stove and stirring the large pot…but it’s Poppy instead.

Wayne sweeps past me, dressed and heading out the front door. His eyes widen as he takes me in, then he whistles. “Damn, Linc. Usually, you look like you’ve been surviving in the wild for years…but you almost look civilized. You have a hot date tonight or something?” He smirks as he steps into his boots and shrugs on his jacket.

“None of your damn business.”

His head falls back with a hearty laugh. “That’s a yes. Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He winks.

I roll my eyes. “Drive safe. Don’t lose too much money.”