Stella Bagwell - Hitched to the Horseman

Shoving that unwanted thought aside, Gabe watched Mercedes dash the tears away with the back of her hand. “I got into a quarrel of sorts with Mother this morning. I’ve been riding out over the range this afternoon thinking about her and the ranch and—a lot of things.”

His gaze touched the sweet lines of her face. “Coming home isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

Mercedes realized his simple statement completely summed up the emotional turmoil inside her, and she looked at him with new regard. “Sometimes I think I’ve been gone too long, Gabe. Maybe I’ve forgotten how to be a part of this ranch.”

“You haven’t forgotten.”

His gaze was piercing, unsettling, forcing her to look away from him and swallow.

“Mother expects me to make my home—my life—here now.”

“And what do you want, Mercedes?”

She could feel his fingers cease their movement on her shoulder, as though every part of him was waiting for her answer. Could it really matter to him whether she stayed on the ranch or left for parts unknown?

“I rode Mouse all the way to the river,” she said quietly. “And by the time I got back here to the ranch yard, I realized how much I still love this place.”

“Enough to stay?”

A wry smile touched her lips. She’d already made up her mind that the Sandbur was her home now, but she wasn’t comfortable sharing that information with Gabe just yet. It was hard enough for her to have a simple conversation with him. “You’ll have to ask me that later, Gabe. Right now I’d better go make peace with my mother.”

She turned to untie the reins from the hitching post, but Gabe’s hand suddenly swept hers away.

“You go find Geraldine. Let me take care of Mouse for you.”

She hesitated, feeling both awkward and touched that he was being so thoughtful. Maybe he had truly put their cross words of this morning behind him. She hoped so. The sexual tension between them was more than enough to handle without adding hostility to it.

“He needs a bath,” she said of the horse.

His grin was droll. “I know how to give him one.”

The playful look on his face filled Mercedes with relief and a lightheartedness she’d not felt in a long, long time.

Laughing, she rose on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Yes, I guess you do. Thanks, Gabe!”

As she turned and hurried away, Gabe stared after her and, like a fool, wondered how long it would be before he watched her walk away from the Sandbur. From him.

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