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“Two, actually.” She shook her head and put the saddle on the stall door while she blanketed her horse. “I wanted customers to have options.”

He pointed to a large piece of equipment in the corner of the room. “And that’s a hay baler?”

“Yep. Well, actually, it—”

“Lemme guess. It cuts the time in half?”

She grinned and shrugged. “By two-thirds. And runs on alternative fuel.”

“You’re brilliant, Maggie. This—this is better than I thought. Regardless of our past, I’m excited for our future together. With Steel Born and MBE, I mean.”

“Of course. Me, too.” She bit her bottom lip and he’d have sworn a stampede took off in his chest.

The rest of the barn was set up with more equipment that gave him a serious case of barn envy. Automatic feeders that took up half the space, birthing stalls with warmers, grooming machinery that made his look like a kid’s scissors and comb.

He rubbed his chin, wondering how he’d look in a beard.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Maggie said.

He shook his head and tried on another smile.

I still care about you, Maggie Newman. But he couldn’t say that out loud.

Instead, he traced the logo on the AI machine. “Nothing much. Just wondering where the name Steel Born comes from.”

Maggie’s cheeks flushed crimson. “Um, you, actually.”

“How’s that?”

“I don’t know if you remember, but the first night we…” she trailed off.

“Kissed?” he offered. She nodded.

“Well, when you dropped me off, you kissed me good night and whispered something to me.”

“I remember. All of it.” Bennett’s insides turned warm and squishy. He took a step closer to Maggie. Every one of his cells ached to hold her in his arms. “I told you our love was born strong as steel and nothing could break us.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Maggie, I meant it.”

Her horse, Golden, whinnied, breaking the tether between him and Maggie. He opened his mouth to bring her back, to finally talk about what had happened between them but she spoke first.

“She’s upset about something. Has been all day.”

“She looks and acts just like her momma, doesn’t she? Remember how sassy Penelope used to get?”

Maggie laughed. “I do. She was the feistiest, but I’ve never met a more loyal horse. I miss her.”

“Your dad did, too. He gave her a good send off, though. You’d have loved it.”

She gazed up at him and there he was, swimming in chocolate again, wishing he never had to leave.

“Anyway, whaddya say we head to the canyon? I’m excited to see if there’s a way to keep my herd safe.”

“You bet. Can you still ride, Newman?”

Heat flashed in her eyes. “Oh, I can do more than that, Marshall. I’ll gallop circles around you even with my dad’s old mare.”