Page 33 of Wrangled and Tangled (Raven Peak Ranch #1)

I t’s been a quick week. Briar and Pen have been so entertaining to be around every time we went to have dinner at Mawmaw’s.

Spencer and I fall asleep together every night talking, and learning more about each other.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to let him go now.

The more I learn about him, the deeper I fall into this family and their ranch.

It’s Friday, a day I’d usually be getting ready to perform in the rodeo, and all I’ve done today is harvest flowers from Lucy’s garden. Sweat’s caked to my body, along with my shirt and jeans, but it’s the happiest I think I’ve been in a long time.

Spencer smiles at me from atop his mare–she’s a beauty.

Solid black with a mane like liquid night that waves with her movements.

She’s huge, a Dutch Draft, if I had to guess, but he’d have to have a big horse to ride.

He’s a thick man, and God, he’s so sexy, it doesn’t matter what he’s doing.

I’m always looking at him, and I don’t mind getting caught.

“Wanna ride?” He asks. The sun’s shining bright behind him, so I have to hold my hand up to see him.

“Depends,” I shrug.

He tips his head back laughing, “Be good, Cowboy.”

“Briar and Pen are at Clara’s pool for the day,” he says, “figured I’d take you through the ranch.”

Lucy hollers across the garden, “Go on, Heath! I’ll finish up here, then I gotta head to the diner anyway.”

Turning around with a smile, looking back up at him, “I guess I could go for a ride.”

He laughs and takes the bucket of flowers Lucy’s planning on selling at the farmers market tomorrow morning and heads for the barn. The walk’s not long, and by the time I get there, Spencer’s already got another horse saddled for me.

“Heath, meet Rittz,” he says, introducing me to the bay roan Appaloosa I’ve been eyeing since he brought me to the barn.

Offering my hand, palm out, fingers down, he gives me a sniff and huffs in acceptance. Running my hand down his tan snout, he preens and shakes his head.

“Rittz is a retired champion,” Spencer laughs, “and he makes sure everyone knows.”

He stomps his front hoof as if to solidify Spencer's words, and I howl in laughter.

“Ready for a ride, Rittz?” I ask, taking the reins from Spencer’s hands and loading my foot into the stirrup. With an extra hop to clear his height, I throw my leg over and get situated. The stirrups are positioned perfectly. Spencer gives me a wink and climbs onto his horse.

“Storm and Rittz get along well,” he says, patting Storm’s neck, “but she likes to nip at him if he decides to nuzzle her.”

Laughing, I quip, “Kinda reminds me of her owner.”

“Har-Har,” he says with a playful eyeroll.

We take off at a nice walk, learning Rittz’s gait and adjusting accordingly. We make our way over the farmland I’ve only seen glimpses of. Its bright green meadows with overgrown wildflowers stretch for what feels like miles as we continue our walk.

There’s a stream nearby, I can hear the creek bubble before it comes into view. Spencer turns in his saddle, “We’ll go on foot from here.”

Dismounting Rittz, following Spencer, we lead the horses to the water, and they drink. He offers his hand once it’s empty, and I slide mine into his.

“There’s somethin’ I’d like to show you,” he says with a small smile as he leads us up and over to the other side of the creek. There’s a big willow tree among the field, its weeping green stems are in full bloom, and the sight makes my stomach tighten.

The tree’s beautiful but out of place, which makes me wonder if this isn’t the place where the family has chosen to remember Pearl. The mother, sister, wife, and friend they lost.

“Pearl planted this willow here when Briar was born,” he says, splitting the stems and walking under the canopy.

Inside, there’s a bouquet of flowers bundled in twine and butcher paper, blooms in white, purple, and yellow peek out of the top.

“She was by the creek when we found her, so I imagine she was visiting the tree she’d grown for her baby girl. ”

Squeezing his hand, I turn so I can face him. “You don’t have to explain–”

His hands move up my arms, and he grips my neck gently, “I do, I’m not sure when it happened or how the hell to process it, but I’ve found something with you that I never thought I’d ever find again. Something most people only ever dream of finding in this."

In us.

“You’ve been in my life for less than a month, and I already want things I thought I’d never want again. You’ve given me a gift, and I want to make sure I give you everything I can in return.”

His words threaten to choke me up, and I bite my lip to keep the emotions at bay, “I don’t know what it is about you and Briar, but you both feel like home to me. Like two people I didn’t know I needed to make my life mean something more than just the rodeo.”

We stand there, his hands on my neck and mine holding tight to his wrists, just looking at each other.

No more words are needed because the feelings are there whether we’re ready to voice them or not.

What we’re building is heading in that direction, and I’ll wait as long as I have to to hear those three words fall from his lips.

Spencer and I cleaned up the barn, got everything Lucy couldn’t, and loaded her truck down with flowers. Covering them with the soft tarp she had laying on the porch waiting for us, she’s ready to go in the morning.

We both have to clean up after that and despite the chemistry in the air, we manage to keep our hands to ourselves. I’m a smidge disappointed, but he wants slow, and I’m willing to wait.

Briar and Pen are still at Clara’s by the time we’re both dressed and ready for dinner. So Spencer calls Briar to warn her that we’re on the way, and to be ready by the time we get there.

She grumbles a little, but Pen’s excited to eat at Maxine’s Diner.

Pulling up to the infamous Clara’s house, Spencer honks the horn, and after a few minutes, the girls come out dressed in shorts and t-shirts. Their hair’s wet and pulled back. Briar throws their bag into the truck bed and hops in.

“I still can’t get over knowin’ you’re datin’ The Heath Macabe , Uncle Spence,” Pen says, eyeing me from the back seat.

He chuckles but doesn’t say anything. To Spencer, I’m only Heath, and that makes everything so much sweeter with him.

“How was the pool?” I ask, turning around to look at the two. They aren’t talking, which is strange for them. All they’ve done this week is talk.

Pen eyes Briar but doesn’t say anything, so Briar mumbles, “Fine.”

Spencer looks at his daughter from the rearview but doesn’t comment on her lack of enthusiasm about the pool.

The diner is within view as the truck’s silence grows thicker. Whatever happened at the pool has the girls in weird moods.

“Who’s ready to eat?” Spencer asks, and neither of them say much.

Pen heads straight to Mawmaw once she’s in the door, as Lucy’s delivering food.

“What’s goin’ on with those two?” I lean over and whisper to Spencer.

“I’m not sure,” he says, shrugging his shoulders and picking the same booth we ate at the night everything went down. Though, that night feels like months ago now. Lucy’s even come around, she’s still not back to the lively blonde I met the first night, but I can tell she doesn’t fucking hate me.

Progress.

Pen comes over and slides into the booth while Briar’s off in the bathroom. She leans in, eyes moving to the bathroom door and back to us.

“Briar’s ‘friends’ aren’t very nice,” she starts, and Spencer’s dad-senses must be going off, because he sits straight up and looks over at the bathroom.

“I mean, they aren’t out-right mean,” she stops and sighs, licking her lips and starting again.

“They just made some comments that felt shady, you know?”

“What did they say?” Spencer asks, and by the tone of his voice, I recognize the dad mode going into effect.

“Just little snarky things and Briar laughed it off, but I think they were makin’ fun’a her,” Pen leans back in the booth the second the door opens, and Briar steps out. She lets her hair down. It's wavy, something I’ve come to realize is natural for her.

“We’ll talk more about this,” Spencer promises, and Pen nods. The whole dinner is tense after that. Mawmaw must notice because she looks at Briar and lifts a brow.

“What’s goin’ on?” She says, setting down the tea pitcher she’s using to refill glasses.

“Nothin’,” Briar answers, looking down at her lap.

Pen nudges her shoulder and smiles at her, and the interaction feels like there’s something going on that might have been going on for a while.

“We’re goin’ to the farmers market in the mornin’ Mawmaw,” Pen says, redirecting the attention to her.

Briar relaxes a little, and I make a mental note to talk to Spencer about it.

Since he explained to me why he was upset after I lied to Briar the first time, I’ve tried really hard not to cross any more boundaries with their relationship.

I’m not a parent, and I have no idea how to even go about it. However, Spencer’s gentle encouragement and smiles when Briar and I do spend time together makes me think I’ve gained that trust back.

Then it hits me. I’ve not checked into the rodeo at all this past week.

Not once. The thought alone would make me run for the hills if it were anyone else. But with them, I know I’m in the right place.