Nick turned around as she parked, a smile curving his lips, and he tipped his hat.
God, she loved his smile. She swore the smile he flashed every time she arrived was unlike any other and different from the smile he gave everyone else when he greeted them. The special smile he showed her changed all of his features, softening the hard ridges of his cheeks and jaw and doing something miraculous to his eyes. Those dark eyes took on a look that was rugged but somehow also gentle, and familiar in a way that said, Hello, darlin’. Good to see you again. It was even different from the smile he reserved for his family. That one was even more open, while the one he gave her still carried a hint of distance.
His voice whispered through her mind. I’m still a man. Was his reaction at the bar the reason he kept that distance?
She cut the engine, taking a moment to admire him walking toward her truck with an air of confidence that commanded attention, his powerful thighs wrapped in worn denim, his muscles rippling beneath his black T-shirt. Pugsly waddled toward him, and he scooped up his buddy with one hand and nuzzled his face, carrying him against his chest. As Nick rounded her truck, his dark eyes locked on her again, causing butterflies to flutter in her belly. His broad shoulders blocked the sun as he opened her door, that pulse-quickening smile on his lips.
“Hey there, darlin’,” he said as she climbed out. “I’m glad you’re here.”
He drew her against him with one strong arm. It wasn’t just his house that felt like home. It was him. They were like two long-lost friends coming back together, sliding into the place that had been reserved for them the whole time they were apart without fanfare or even conversation.
Forget finding another man to drool over. No one could hold a candle to him.
WHY DID IT always feel so damn good when Trixie showed up? The ever-present knots in his muscles eased at the sight of her. She was the only person who evoked that instant response, but as he embraced her, that calm was obliterated by the other tangled-up feelings she’d been giving him lately.
“Last chance to rescind your offer,” she said as he released her.
“Not happening, darlin’.”
She leaned in to love up Pugsly, and Pugsly licked her face, wiggling and grunting excitedly.
I know how you feel, buddy.
“Hello, my sweet grunty boy. Come to Trixie.” She took Pugsly and covered his furry head with kisses.
Rowdy barked, his tail wagging excitedly as she bent over in her cutoffs and signature short-sleeved button-down shirt tied above her belly button, treating Rowdy to the same loving attention—and giving Nick a glorious view of her ass.
“Don’t be jealous, little man,” she said to Rowdy. “There’s plenty of me to go around.”
Nick gritted his teeth. What was he thinking, offering to let her stay for a month? The longest Trixie had ever visited had been a week, and when she’d stayed for that long two months ago, Nick had been fit to be tied by the time she’d left. He wanted to help her, but how the hell would he survive a month of this?
“My parents invited us over for dinner tomorrow night. Jax and Jilly will be there. Sound okay?” Jax and Jillian were his younger twin siblings, both of whom lived in town. Graham and his wife, Morgyn, were traveling on the West Coast. Beau and Charlotte lived in Colorado during the summer and Pleasant Hill over the winter, and Zev was treasure hunting off the coast of Silver Island with his fiancée, Carly.
“Sounds great. You know I love your family. I brought you peach cobbler, your favorite. You can share it with them.”
He scoffed. “Like hell I will. They can get their own cobbler.” Nobody made peach cobbler like Trixie. She always brought one of his favorite desserts when she stayed with him, and lately that thoughtfulness made her even more irresistible. But he’d bet the taste of her would blow that cobbler away.
“I’ll carry your bags up so you can get settled while I finish grooming Snickers, then we’ll throw some burgers on the grill.”
She snuggled Pugsly. Rowdy rubbed against her leg, whimpering, and she reached down to pet him.
Christ, even his dogs couldn’t get enough of her.
He tore his eyes away and walked around her horse trailer, putting space between them. He’d probably spend the next month keeping his distance, which was a shame, since he loved hanging out with her. But after the way he’d caught fire the other night, he needed to regain control of his own damn body.
“I’ll get my bags,” she said, coming around the truck.
“Last time I looked, I was still a gentleman. Pop the lock, cowgirl.”
Chapter Four
AS NICK GROOMED Snickers, he imagined Trixie blaring her music and dancing around in her Daisy Dukes as she unpacked. Sometime over the years, the second master suite had become her bedroom. Not that Nick had many visitors. He liked his solitude, and his only other occasional overnight guests were extended family, and they stayed upstairs. He hadn’t thought too much about that until Trixie’s last visit, when his late-night thoughts had snuck across the house to the woman behind the door that she always left slightly ajar.
Trixie had never been one to hide behind anything. When she felt safe, it was evident in everything she did, like the way she walked around in her sleeping shorts and skimpy tops, stole food off his plate, and challenged him at every turn. When she was scared, nervous, or insecure, flecks of gold shimmered in her eyes and she reared up like a grizzly bear, unwilling to let anyone smell that fear. But Nick could always sense it. He hadn’t seen her scared often, but there had been a few times, like a couple of years ago, when she’d been up his way for a river rafting race and Jeb had been thrown from a wild horse and knocked unconscious at four in the morning. When her father had called, she’d stomped around packing her things, seething about how stupid her brothers were for riding before dawn. He knew how close she was with her brothers, despite her annoyance at their teasing, and it had been painful watching her try to hide her fears. He’d finally hauled her into his arms. After she’d struggled to get free and called him every bad name in the book, she’d broken down and sobbed. He’d held her until she’d had no more tears to cry, and then he’d driven her home and stayed with her until Jeb was out of the woods. Her trust in him was one reason his dirty thoughts about her made him a dick—and he hated feeling like a dick.
He finished grooming Snickers, and the miniature mare pressed her muzzle into his stomach. He loved her up. “It’s nothing a few cold showers and a couple of shots of whiskey can’t cure. Right, girl? I can get this shit under control.”
Snickers bobbed her head.
There was no greater sounding board than a horse. Nick had fallen in love with horses as a kid when his family was visiting their father’s cousin Hal’s ranch in Weston, Colorado, where Hal had raised his six children. Hal had put Nick on the back of his first horse, and Nick could still remember the feeling of having all that power and beauty beneath him. He had always looked up to his older cousins, especially Rex, who now ran the ranch with his father. Nick had spent time there during school breaks and summers, and Hal and Rex had taught him how to run a ranch. They bred Dutch Warmblood show jumpers, and by the time Nick was ten years old, he’d known he wanted to follow in Hal’s footsteps…with a twist.