Page 43 of Save A Horse (Texas Rose Ranch #1)

Colt

T he next morning, I lingered around in the house for a little longer so I could see Daisy before we had to start working around the ranch.

My dad had already gone out because he wanted to check on Titan’s leg.

He said he would go ahead and do the feeding and watering for the horses and for me to let Daisy know when she came out of her room.

“Colt? What are you still doing in here?”

“I wanted to see you before we headed out, just in case we didn’t get a chance to be alone today.”

“Oh, really?” I walked closer to her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her in close.

“Yes, really.” I kissed her on the neck and when I raised my head up, her cheeks were a perfect rosy red. “My dad went to check on Titan’s leg and said he would take care of the horses this morning.”

“Oh, that’s nice of him. ”

“I’m sure there’s plenty of other work to be done around here today.”

“Isn’t there always?” She walked closer to the door, me following behind. “Colt?”

“Yes, darlin’?”

“Do you think we could maybe go to my dad’s today? I’d like to go see him and maybe help him out a little bit.”

“I’m sure if I ask my dad about it that he wouldn’t mind. He’d probably like it that you were spending time with your dad.”

“Maybe we could spend a little time together, too, since my dad knows about us? What do you think?”

“I think I could easily pack us some food and we could have a nice picnic after we help your dad with some things.”

“A picnic?”

“What? Do you not like the idea?”

“Oh, no. I like it. I just didn’t picture you as a picnic kind of guy.”

“I’m just full of surprises.”

“Yes, you are.” She leaned in and placed a kiss on my cheek.

“I’ll go out and talk to him. We did so much around here yesterday.

I think the only thing is to just feed and water everything.

He did mention he was going to check on the garden and maybe a little fertilizer to it to help the vegetables we planted.

He should be fine with it. I’ll come back in and let you know. ” I had the door halfway open now.

“Colt?” I turned back, one foot inside the door and one foot outside of it. “Thank you. I really appreciate you. You have been so good to me.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Daisy. You deserve all the good in the world and more.

You deserve nothing but the best.” She smiled at me, tears forming in her eyes.

I hated to see her cry, so I quickly ran out to talk to my dad after saying, “I’ll be right back.

Help yourself to some of the bacon I fried this morning while you wait. ”

Once outside, I put a hand on my chest, feeling how tight it was.

Daisy had a way of making me want to forget about everything to just spend all my time with her.

She made me happy and excited. She made me crave things I have never wanted before.

I continued walking toward the barn, moving my hand off my chest.

“Hey, Colt.”

“How’s Titan’s leg doing?”

“Seems to be pretty good. I was going to go out for a ride later once I took care of the horses and cattle. I’ll probably ride Domino. I wouldn’t want to put too much strain on Titan. He still needs some rest. Would you want to come along?”

“Actually, I came to ask you something?” My dad rose from his kneeling position beside Titan.

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“Well, it’s about Daisy actually.”

“Alright.”

“She mentioned to me that she would like to go see her dad. She’s still nervous about talking to and being around him since they only recently have rekindled their relationship.

She asked if I would go with her. I wanted to see if that was okay with you before we went.

Daisy said she would like to help him out around the ranch some.

If we are needed here today, I can tell her we should wait another time. ”

“If she wants to go see her dad, then I think that’s a fine idea.”

“Really? She’ll be happy to hear that.”

“You go along with her and make sure everything’s good. Hopefully they can keep building their relationship back. I know how much John has missed her. You know, he once mentioned the idea of selling his ranch?”

“What?”

“He said it was small anyway and he wasn’t sure that Daisy would ever come back after being gone for so many years. He didn’t see any reason to keep it.”

“But he loves that place.”

“That’s what I told him. He decided to keep it and held out hope that she would eventually come back.

I know he’s glad she’s here. It’ll be a nice surprise for the two of you to go over there.

You two don’t worry about rushing back here, either.

Let those two have their time together. They both need it. ”

“Thanks, dad. I’ll go let Daisy know and we’ll head out.”

I walked back to the house to tell her the good news. Daisy was still inside, standing in the kitchen, sipping away at some coffee. I stopped in my tracks for a second, taking in how the morning glow was casting a shadow on her face. She is breath-taking. I cleared my throat, getting her attention.

“Oh. What did your dad say?”

“He said we were good to go.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I let him know that you had talked about going to see your dad and help him out a bit, but that you were still a little apprehensive about going since you two just reconciled. I told him you asked me to go with you because of that.”

“And he said that is okay?”

“He did. He said that since we did so much yesterday, besides tending to the animals, there’s not much to do today. He’s going to work in the garden some today is all.”

“So, when do we leave? ”

“As soon as I get this bag packed for our picnic.”

She smiled softly, taking the last sip of her coffee. I grabbed some chips from the cabinet and made two sandwiches to go. I threw in two waters as well. This was going to be a good day. I could feel it.

I looked back up and saw Daisy leaning against the counter.

She had the prettiest smirk on her face, and it made my heart skip a beat.

She could make the simplest things feel like the biggest things.

She was amazing in every way, and I was lucky enough to call her mine, even if it was in secret for now.