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“As long as I won't be in the way.” He didn’t sound bothered by the prospect of showing her around.

Boone stopped in his tracks. “Look at me, bluebell. You are never in the way. Not ever.”

And there he went, filling her chest with warmth.

CHAPTER 10

Boone sauntered behind Tildi as she skipped toward the barn, scattering snow in her wake. As soon as she realized they’d be riding horses, she bolted for the door. He thought he was going to have to toast her ass to get one of Kenzie’s coats on her. She’d still managed to get out the door before he got her earmuffs on her.

How she could jump around like that after eating one of Ruby’s famous cowboy chipwiches was beyond him. He’d only taken two bites, but since she’d insisted on filling the center of her ice cream sandwich with rocky road ice cream instead of vanilla, he’d let her eat it all by herself.

Besides, he’d just thawed all the way out from patching fencing in the cold morning air. It was the coldest November he could remember in decades. He was going to have to watch her closely until she understood the dangers of going out in the cold.

He hoped that cast iron stomach of hers lasted because they had a lot of ground to cover before they’d reach the spot he wanted to share with her. He’d taken care of most of the fence patching required that morning so he could introduce his girl to his favorite spot on the ranch.

Up ahead, she tugged on the door to the barn, not paying enough attention to what she was doing. “You need to wait for me, Tildi.”

Without turning to look at him, she called out, “I got it.”

Shaking his head, he slowed his pace. Sometimes things were easier when he let her learn the hard way. Turned out that was most things with his girl. She wasn’t a brat. Far from it. But she was a tad on the headstrong side.

By the time he caught up with her, she’d planted one tennis shoe covered foot on the left hand door and was grunting from her efforts to pull open the door.

“You sure you don’t want my help?”

“Is it stuck or something? What if there was an emergency and the horses needed to get out fast?” She turned to face him, face red from her efforts and hands fisted on her hips.

He grabbed her under her arms and hoisted her out of the way. It probably said something about him with how much he loved moving her where he wanted her.

Reaching for the handle on the door, he slid it open. “After you, babygirl.”

She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, but he met it head on with a grin. She tried to hold onto her mad, but she couldn’t, laughing as she passed by him. “You could have told me it was a sliding door.”

After all she’d been through, she could still find humor in things. Most people couldn’t laugh at themselves, but his Tildi could. He loved that about her.

Warmth welcomed them into the stable. It had cost a shit ton of money to build, especially with the medical bay Trace had wanted. Now he could properly tend to the stock where they were stabled. Days like today made him appreciate the decision they’d made. It had been worth every penny.

Tildi’s laughter dried up as soon as she stepped inside the stable. She stared at the horses in their stalls for a full minute before glancing at him. When she spoke, she did it as if she were confessing some terrible flaw in her character. “I love horses, but I’ve never ridden one.”

Her words and the look that accompanied them pissed him off. Not at her, he was pissed at the people in her life who’d taught her she had to be the best at something coming out of the gate.

She stared at the scuffed wooden floor, waiting for… what? What was she used to when she couldn’t do something no reasonable person would expect of her in the first place? Fuck that.

He turned her to face him and pulled her close. “Tildi, I didn’t expect you’d know how to ride a horse. I’ve been looking forward to teaching you how for weeks. But, darlin’, even if I’d thought you did know how to ride, I wouldn’t be upset if you didn’t. We all have to learn new things. Look at me, bluebell. You are already as close to perfect as you’ll ever have to be for me. I wouldn’t want you learning in this weather anyway, for your sake and the sake of your mount.”

He took her hand and led her to Dollar’s stall. “This is Dollar. When I was growing up, other than my brothers, Dollar was my best friend. I promised to teach you how to ride, and if you still want to learn, that’s what I’m going to do. Once it’s warmer and you’re settled.”

He wasn’t sure she’d heard anything he said. Her eyes were trained on Dollar. And they were huge. He got it. At sixteen hands tall, Dollar was a lot to take in. Tildi didn’t even come to Dollar’s shoulder.

When he thought back on it, he couldn’t believe his pop had let him have Dollar. He’d just turned seventeen at the time. Dollar was so full of piss and vinegar his dad was about to geldhim. Boone had volunteered to try and break him in and to his shock, his dad had let him try.

He didn’t know how he’d managed it, but he had. And Dollar had been the only horse he’d ridden since.

Tildi stared into Dollar’s eyes, and Boone wasn’t sure who was going to break eye contact first. They were both stubborn enough for them to be there a long time. He knew what his girl was going to do before she moved. She wasn’t about to back down, even when she was obviously terrified by his horse.

Sure enough, she extended a trembling hand toward Dollar’s muzzle. He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. “That’s my brave girl. Let me make a proper introduction.”

Weaving his fingers between hers, he curled his other arm around her shoulder and edged her closer to the stall. After he pulled back the upper half of the stall door, he extended both their hands, making sure his knuckles touched Dollar first.