BUCKED Box Set: A Bull Rider Western Romance (16 page)

“Alright,
fair enough.” His gaze caught mine for a quick moment and he shifted his weight
a little. I could tell he still had something on his mind.

“Spit it out,”
I instructed.

“What?” he
tried to look clueless, but I knew better.

“I know
you have something else you
want to
say
.”

He shook
his head and smiled. “You can read me as well as I can read you,” he stated. “I
just… Can you tell me your real story? Like, how you guys got involved?”

The
earnest look in his eyes was more than I had ever been able to say no to. And
as well as Mark could read me, I knew it would be best not to lie or even
withhold part of the story.

“Well,
Potter—the dog, in case you haven’t met him yet—swallowed something less than
normal and had to go to the vet the day my flight got in. So, Aunt Sara sent
Noah to pick me up at the airport. I have to say, my first impression was less
than stellar. I thought he was an annoying, pompous ass at first. He’s not
always particularly delicate, and his bluntness kind of pissed me off
initially. He made a few cracks about the fact that I was wearing heels and
makeup to go to a ranch, and with my frame of mind when I arrived, I was pretty
much a bitch to him in return.

“The first
week or so I was here, I refused to get on a horse. I would barely go near
them, much less ride because it made me think of Mom. Because of that, Noah
jumped to the conclusion that I was a spoiled city girl, which he isn’t particularly
fond of. And since I wasn’t giving him the chance to prove my theory that he
was just a stubborn
hick
, I wasn’t
particularly fond of him, either. There were a few moments here and there where
I saw a different side of him, but I was a little too stubborn to admit I might
have been wrong and done the same thing he did, jumped to conclusions.

“Then,
last week, Jack got stuck in a tree and was surrounded by a pack of coyotes; I
jumped on a horse to scare them away, and Noah immediately followed to help. It
was kind of intense. Made me see that there was more to Noah than I had given
him credit for. I apologized for how I’d been behaving and treating him. He
swore that he was the one who should be apologizing, and ever since then, I
think we just saw each other in a different light. We started talking more and
more after that. It didn’t take too long to clear the air. Next thing I know
there’s this chemistry, he kissed me, and as they say, the rest is history.”

Mark just
sat there for a long moment, as though he were processing the story. Then, with
a long, deep sigh, he broke the silence. “Wow. Sounds kind of intense.”

“Yeah, I
guess when I think about it, it kind of was.”

Mark took
my hand in his and offered me a soft, half-hearted smile. “I told you before,
I’m not going to get in the way. Besides, I’ve always heard it said that
relationships formed in times of crisis can be pretty formidable, and we all
know how that love hate thing can go,” he said with a wink. “But just know that
I’m still here if things ever go awry. I meant it when I said my feelings for
you aren’t just going to go away. If it came down to it and I thought he wasn’t
good to you or for you, I’d be willing to fight for you, Lace. I
would
fight for you. But unless Noah
shows me that he isn’t treating you right, I’m not going to put all of that on
you. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

That’s
when I realized that, even though he’s a couple of years younger, Mark is just
as much of a man as Noah. He’s the kind of person who is mature enough to step
back from a situation and see it rationally. His words and his actions not only
made me realize he was such a strong man, but also showed me just how much he
really loves me. They say that loving someone means you want them to be happy no
matter the cost, and he had just told me that he wanted me to be with Noah if
it made me happy, even if it shattered his own heart. Hearing those words come
out of him simultaneously made my heart happy and crushed it.

“You can’t
possibly know how amazing you are, Mark Hannon. You have a heart of gold; you
know that, right?”

He smiled
that dazzling, better-than-Hemsworth smile of his. “Nah, I wouldn’t say that.
I’m just looking out for my best friend.” He stood up, pulling me up with him.
“Now, I want to meet these life-saving horses you speak of.”

Relieved
that he wanted to change the subject, I gratefully agreed and pulled on his arm
as I led him out of the room. “Come on, I’ll take you to the barn. We can
continue our tour there.”

We walked
into the stables and approached the horse’s stalls. “Hey, Lisa! How’s it going,
girl?” I greeted the filly as I ambled up. I began to stroke her neck and
continue my conversation with her as I usually had, like she was a person.

“Are you
really talking to a horse?” Mark asked, laughing lightly. I smiled over at him,
feeling a little less awful about the whole situation with me and Noah. One of
the things that had drawn me to Noah was the fact that he talks to horses, too.
And while I know Mark didn’t mean anything disrespectful by his question, the
fact still remained that he didn’t understand horses the way Noah did, the way
I did. Because of that, it meant Mark didn’t understand a part of me. The
moment reassured me that I was doing what made me happy and I was with someone
who understood me in a way many people never had.

For some
odd reason, I could suddenly almost hear Emily’s sassy tone in my head saying,
“Girl, do your thang!” in her best impersonation of Rosie Perez. Then, it
dawned on me that I hadn’t actually told her about all of this yet. The last
time I had talked to her was the day before the whole saving Jack from coyotes
situation had happened. One of the great things about my relationship with
Emily is that we can spend every waking second together or not talk for a week
and things will always be the same between us. I made a mental note to call her
so I could get her caught up on the latest happenings. My thoughts jumped back
to Mark and his questions, so I gave him “the look.”

“Yes, I’m
talking to a horse; got a problem with that?”

He eyed me
like he was just seeing me for the first time and threw his hands up as though
he were going to back off. “No. No problem. I guess I just think it’s a little
odd, that’s all.”

“You used
to talk to your dog all the time. How is talking to a horse any different?”

He shook
his head. “Well, my dog was there all day, every day. He was a regular part of
my life. These horses, on the other hand, I mean… You’ve only been here a few
weeks. They’re just horses.”

“They may
be ‘just horses,’ but they’ve been here all day, every day for me. And they’re
better listeners than dogs. Dogs just run off and leave you talking to yourself
when a car or cat comes along,” I
joked
.

“Alright,
fair enough. So, can we ride them?”

“These two,
sure,” I said, pointing to Greg and Stella. “But Rosie just gave birth to
little Lisa there like a week and a half ago, so obviously neither of them can
be ridden yet.”

He smiled.
“Lisa, huh? That your idea?”

“Nope.
Jack’s, actually. But suffice it to say, I was pretty happy he suggested it.”

“I don’t
blame you; I would be, too.” He paused for a brief moment before his eyes
caught mine. “How are you holding up? I know I’ve asked on the phone, but now I
can see for myself when you answer.”

I shuffled
my feet a little. “Better.”

“Better?
Is that all you’re gonna give me? Your best friend of eleven
years
and all I get to an emotional question is
a single word answer?” he teased.

“Actually,
Em’s my
best
friend, but you’ll do in
a pinch, I guess.” I winked before continuing. “I guess I just don’t know what
to say. It’s still not easy. I still cry sometimes. But things have gotten
easier over the last couple of weeks. But what can I expect? I lost my parents.
It’s not like I’m going to ever fully get over it. Riding helps.”

“Well,
then, I say we saddle up!”

“Aww, you
guys are gonna ride?” We both turned to the voice behind us and saw Noah and
Jackson walking toward us. “We wanted to ride,” Jackson
pouted
.

“Well,
it’s not like we can’t still ride, Bud. Let’s just go get Simon and Ella,” Noah
suggested.

“Or, we
could double up,” Mark suggested. “
Me
and
Lace can take one and you and Jack can ride the other.”

Noah’s jaw
tightened again, so hard I was shocked he didn’t crack something. But he held
it together and put on a strained smile. “No, that’s alright. Simon’s probably
itching to stretch his legs; he hasn’t been ridden in a couple of days.” He
looked at me for what I assumed was confirmation, so I jumped right on that
bandwagon
.

“Yeah,
that sounds like a good idea. Greg’s probably not ready to be doubled up on,
anyway,” I offered.

“We’ll
head over to get Simon and Ella. Meet us there?” Noah asked.

“Yeah,
sounds good,” I replied. Noah stepped forward, cupped his hands around my face,
and kissed me—gently, but with enough passion
to
get the point I was certain he was trying to make across
. Jack let out a
snicker. When Noah was done turning my legs to jelly, he turned and started to
walk away, then paused and motioned for Jack to follow him. Jack glanced back
and forth between us, then snickered again and trotted away after Noah.

As we
watched their retreat, I could feel Mark glaring at me with a sideways stare.

“What?” I
questioned, looking at him.

“What the
hell was that all about?”

“What, the
kiss?”

“Uhh.
Yeah.”

“I guess
he just wanted to kiss me. Don’t read into it so much.” I knew well and good it
was more than that, but I didn’t really want to get into the underlying
reasons.

“I take it
you missed the look he gave me after he kissed you? Before he walked away?”

“What
look?”

“He gave
me a ‘she is definitely mine and don’t you forget it’ kind of look. I just feel
like it was pretty passive-aggressive, that’s all I’m saying.”

I rolled
my eyes and headed over to grab the saddles. “Okay, maybe it was a little. But try
putting yourself in his shoes. Imagine how you’d feel. Say you just met this
girl,” I started, handing him Stella’s saddle. “Things were a little uneasy at
first, then something happens and you start to click and it all seems to start
falling into place. But right as that happens, in walks her best friend of
eleven years-”

“You just
said I’m not your
best
friend,” he
interrupted.

“Oh hush,”
I said, swatting his arm playfully. “So, in walks her best friend, and he’s
super hot, super funny, just an all-around great guy,
and
he has the same interests as her. Do you mean to tell me you
wouldn’t feel the slightest bit intimidated? Especially, when he suggests
things like ‘we should ride a horse together, where we will need to have our
arms wrapped around one another?’”

He stopped
fiddling with the saddle and looked at me. “So, you think I’m super hot, huh?”
He grinned.

“That is
not the point.” I finished putting Greg’s saddle on, then reached over and
showed Mark how to tighten Stella’s saddle.

“Okay,
fine. You’re right,” he admitted. “I guess I can’t really deny that I’d be
pretty upset. Especially, if this best friend were
super hot
.” His smile widened again playfully.

I laughed.
“Exactly. Now, you’re too dense to figure out how to put a saddle on, but do
you know how to ride so we can get over there?”

“For your
information, Miss I-Can-Do-It-All, I’ve never put a saddle on a horse before,
but I have ridden one, thank you very much.”

“Well,
show me what you’ve got, Saddle Boy.”

Much to my
surprise, he actually did know how to ride. He mounted correctly then gave a
short whistle and got Stella to obey his command to move with no problem. The
only issue was that he took off in the wrong direction. I sped up, cut him off,
and told him that their ranch was the other way. With a laugh, he said, “I
know. I just wanted to make sure you did.”

“Hah, nice
try. Keep up if you can,” I gave him a mischievous grin before breaking out
into a gallop. I don’t know what it is, but getting a horse at an all-out sprint
is pretty thrilling. Unsurprisingly, I beat him there, and we arrived just in
time to see Noah and Jack leading Simon and Ella out into the warm sunlight.
After helping Jack onto the mare’s back and climbing onto his stallion, they
trotted over to us.

“Where are
we riding to?” Jackson asked.

“No idea,”
I told him. Looking to Noah, I asked, “Thoughts?”

“Wanna go
to the lake? There’s a field right next to it that we can let the horses graze
in and keep an eye on ‘em while we go swimming.” He looked at Mark. “You got a
pair of swim trunks with you?”

Mark
nodded and flashed his pearly whites. “Yeah, of
course,
I do.”