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Damaris and him, alone in San Diego, no horses, no clients, nothing to do but relax and have fun. Perfect opportunity to grow closer to her. “If I can get the time off to stay a few days I’ll ask her.”

“That’s my boy.”

Sure, he could ask her. Whether she’d go was a different matter.

*

Damaris was in the barn, saddling her mare Cinnamon when she heard Nate’s voice calling her. Damn it, why did her stomach do that little tumble when she heard his voice or thought about him? When she thought about what had—and hadn’t—happened that day in the car. Or at Levi’s party. Or any of several other times she’d wondered where they were going. To bed together, was her almost inevitable conclusion.

“Hi. What’s up?”

Nate wore a short-sleeved T-shirt, one of about a hundred he had of various colors, all with the Devil’s Rock Airport logo stamped on them. He wore jeans instead of shorts and boots rather than tennis shoes. He looked like a cowboy, and very at home on the ranch, which amused her since he’d never been on a horse until he met her. But he’d been around enough that he was almost as good as one of the hands when she needed help. And his riding had improved by light-years over time. He was a quick learner, not only with the horses, but with anything else he attempted. He was athletic enough and smart enough to do anything he wanted.

“I have the afternoon off and wondered if you wanted to go riding.” He looked at Cinnamon and added, “I haven’t been in a long time.”

“Sure. I’ll get Whimsy and you go get the tack.”

They worked together, brushing and saddling the young gelding. “Was there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah, but it can wait.”

She shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

He didn’t say much until they were some distance from the barn, on one of her favorite trails.

“I’m going to fly Grandma to San Diego.”

She looked over at him, thinking he looked natural on horseback. “Oh, I didn’t realize your grandma traveled. Seems like a lot of people her age don’t.”

“Usually, she doesn’t. She hasn’t gone anywhere in a long time. But she has a cousin she hasn’t seen in years who lives in San Diego and she invited Grandma to her granddaughter’s wedding and to stay for a few days.”

“She’ll be a lot more comfortable flying with you than trying to go on a commercial airline. It will sure be easier on her than commercial.”

He smiled. “I kind of had to browbeat her to let me take her. She asked me for help making a reservation on one of the airlines. She didn’t know what airport to ask for either. Can you imagine her in a busy airport assuming she did manage to make a reservation? Because you know she wouldn’t ask for or even allow extra help. She’s still very capable but flying commercial when I can take her? My mother would have a stroke.”

“You wouldn’t let her do that either.”

“You’re right about that. It took me a while to convince her, though. I’m going to take a few days off. Want to come with us? Grandma will stay with her cousin so we could stay in a hotel. We could sightsee or go to the beach or whatever. There’s a lot to do in San Diego.”

“I don’t want to horn in on your time with Grandma K. But it sounds like fun.” And very tempting.

“Grandma told me to ask you. Her exact words were, ‘You need to romance that girl. Bring her with us.’”

She could hear Grandma K saying that. Unfortunately, it made her wonder what it would be like to have Nate have free rein to ‘romance’ her. “That’s sweet but I don’t know if I can get away. When is it?”

“Weekend after this one. We’d leave next Thursday and come back Monday.”

“I’d have to get one or both of my brothers to take care of the horses and everything for me. For four-plus days. That’s a lot.”

“Damaris, I know for a fact you’ve covered for both of them more times than I can count.”

“Well…that’s true.”

“You deserve a break. When’s the last time you took a vacation?”

Never? Not that she’d admit it. “I’ve been leaving the ranch a lot more lately than I usually do.”

“They still owe you. I know how many invitations you’ve either turned down or backed out of because you had to take care of the horses and the ranch.”