Page 72 of Ride Me Reckless

“No.” His voice was gentle, but steady. “It’s not for that.”

I searched his face, but he didn’t flinch. Didn’t look away.

“It’s for you,” he said simply. “And your mama.”

A lump rose in my throat, sharp and sudden. I looked back at the house. At the porch. The barn. The fresh welcome mat at the front door.

“You did all this… for me?”

He didn’t answer with words. Just held my gaze, quiet and sure.

That’s when I knew—this wasn’t just about giving me a place to land. This was about giving me a soft place to fall. Even if I didn’t stay forever. Even if he wasn’t sure what came next.

But something in his eyes told me he might be hoping I’d stay longer than just a little while.

Colt didn’t say a word as he led me toward the barn. The sun slanted through the trees now, casting golden light across the fresh white fencing and long shadows on the stone path.

It wasn’t just the house he’d fixed. The barn, too—fresh paint, new gate latches, the air clean and sweet like cedar shavingsand hay. The kind of barn that didn’t just house animals. It welcomed them home.

And then I heard it.

That soft nicker. Low, familiar.

I froze.

He opened the stall door, stepped back, and out she came—Biscuit.

My Biscuit.

She trotted right toward me, ears forward, her dusty coat gleaming in the last rays of sun. And just like that, I was gone.

I opened my arms. “Oh my God… girl—hey, hey—look at you. You’re back home,” I choked out, burying my face in her neck as she came right up and nudged me like she did the last time I saw her not long ago.

She smelled the same. Felt the same. Warm and steady and safe.

I pressed my cheek against her mane and just let the tears come.

It wasn’t graceful. It wasn’t pretty. But it was real. And I didn’t care that Colt was standing there, probably watching me fall apart.

I stroked Biscuit’s neck, my words barely making sense. “Thank you. Thank you.”

“One of the reasons I kept her close was that I hoped she’d be back with you one day.”

I turned slowly and my vision blurred with tears. Then, I crossed the space between us without thinking. I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him in like I needed his heartbeat next to mine, like it was the only thing holding me together.

He caught me easily, his arms sliding around my waist. One hand went up to cradle the back of my head like he used to, fingers tangled in my hair.

We just stood there for a moment, the barn behind us, Biscuit snorting softly nearby, the world going still.

Colt pulled back slightly and gave me that sideways grin that always made my chest tighten. “Well,” he said, “I’m real glad to see where your true love lies. Didn’t even get a glance before you were off running to that horse.”

I laughed through the tears, wiping my cheeks. “That was the warm-up, cowboy.”

“Oh yeah?”

I leaned up and kissed his cheek—soft, slow, lingering. “I saved my best hugs…” Then another kiss, this one at the corner of his mouth. “…and kisses…”

I pressed my lips fully to his, finally, like I meant it. Like we were still standing in the ashes of everything we lost, but something new was growing there. “…for you,” I whispered.