Page 82 of Ride Me Cowboy

I expel a rush of breath, my hands shaking as I close out of the texts and load up insta again. There are a few new comments on the most recent video—a reluctant Caleb was pushed into service, cracking his whip across a field, the setting sun behind him casting him in glowing orange. He looks huge and intimidating, and very, very Cowboy.

I’ve added a text overlay: Sometimes you just have to show the land who’s boss.

The comments are tending to be mostly women, verrrry appreciative of Caleb. A few of them veer into the inappropriate, observing that he could show them who’s boss anytime, that he should bring the whip, that kind of thing. I laugh, wondering how he’ll take that, and shove my phone in my pocket.

That night, after dinner, Cole and I make our way to his truck together. He takes my hand in his and I feel like everything in my life has led me to this moment—to holding the hand of the man who’s putting me back together again.

When he pulls up at the stables, he says to me, “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

I look at him, curiously.

The stables are a large, two-story building, with a big central corridor, horses lined up on each side, in their own little stalls. The wide space that runs between them is covered in a fine, yellow gravel. At the end of the row, there’s a big barn door that’s only ever been closed, when I’ve come here. I’ve never looked too closely down that way, so I’ve never noticed the wrought iron spiral staircase, tacked onto the end of the barn.

Cole leads me to it, glancing at me with a raised brow. “After you.”

“Is it safe?” I ask, looking at the spiral staircase with a sense of vertigo.

“As houses.”

I start up the staircase which, despite his insistence, shakes a bit as I get higher.

“Now that’s quite a view,” he says from behind me, so I forget to be afraid of the rickety old steps and make it to the timber decking that sits suspended over the stables beneath.

He comes up behind me, brushes a hand against my side then pushes open a door, right in front of me.

“It’s a room. No, an apartment,” I say, shaking my head.

“Thought it was about time we get some privacy.”

I look at him, frowning. “I had no idea this was here.”

“I’ve been cleaning it up,” he says.

“Who usually lives here?”

“No one, for a few years. Used to be a full-time stable manager, but…we’ve laid people off.” From the tone of his voice, I can tell how hard that’s been for him, how hard it was for his dad.

“Place was covered in dust, on account of no one having been in here for so long.”

“It’s lovely,” I say, genuinely, taking in the small, neat sofa, the table for two, the double bed. A bed feels like a luxury, after the amount of time we’ve spent in his truck or on a picnic blanket in a field. Not that those experiences don’t hold their own charm, but this is a nice change of pace. The floor is wide-board timber, with gaps between, but a big rug has been thrown over them, with tassels at the edges. “You sure the horses won’t mind?” I ask, flicking him a smile.

“If they do, they can take it up with management,” he jokes, as he draws me toward the bed then kisses me down onto it.

There are three small windows in this apartment, high up, just to let the light in, and when I wake to the sound of Cole dressing, it’s still dark out.

“What time is it?” I mumble, stretching in the surprisingly comfortable—if somewhat small—bed. Fine for a person of my stature, but Cole’s feet must have dangled over the edge.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.”

I prop myself on one elbow, flicking on the lamp at my side. It’s old and casts a weak, warm glow. “You were just going to leave?” I pout, with mock insult.

He comes back to the bed, the mattress depressing as he sits on the side of it.

“For now. I planned to come wake you at a more civilized time, bring you back to the house.”

I look around the little apartment, smiling. “I like it here.”

He doesn’t respond right away, and when I turn to him, he’s staring at me with a look that makes my bones melt. Heat spreads through me. “I’m real glad, Beth. Cause I was thinking we could spend a fair bit of time out this way.”