Page 57

CHAPTER SIXTEEN-CASEY

I can’t believe I just went for a ride on a horse with a cowboy in New Jersey.

What the what now? How is this even my life?

I bite my lip and watch Zeke move his powerful body with an effortless grace I could never match.

“Um, I have to change, but I’ll meet you by the pool, okay?”

Zeke nods, he is acting like he’s distracted with checking the tack on the last horse, but I know he is listening.

I take a moment to simply stare as he brushes his hand over the animal’s flank like it’s a living treasure.

Of course he does that.

Of course, he’s good with animals.

Gentle with his hands when he wants to be.

Those same big, rough palms that were on me just hours ago. The ones he used to make me see stars.

God. Focus, Casey.

I make my way across the grass, back to Avery’s, feeling the heat of the day soaked into my skin—and something else simmering deeper.

Zeke Gordon is a living, breathing contradiction.

This broody cowboy with smirky one-liners and the most gorgeous pair of eyes I’ve ever seen has cracked something wide open in me.

And I like it.

I really like it.

Too much.

Inside the guest room, I peel off my dusty riding clothes, tossing them into the corner, and reach for the bag I packed like this was just any other weekend trip.

Like this wasn’t a runaway moment.

Like I wasn’t hiding from a life I don’t even know how to go back to.

Because that’s the thing.

I do have to go back.

Eventually.

My testimony against my ex, Michael—God, I can barely think his name—could be called any day.

And once it’s over, well, then what?

Back to being a not-quite-doctor with no hospital willing to take me?

Back to a town where everybody whispers behind their coffee cups?

Back to a life I barely had the energy to hold together even before everything fell apart?

What am I even doing here?