Page 55

Grady grinned. “We could practice.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan.”

She'd barely gotten the words out when he leaned toward her again.

This time, Amanda kept one hand wrapped around the saddle horn as she met his mouth, determined not to be caught off guard if Penny decided she'd had enough standing around. Grady's hand returned to the back of her neck, and Amanda angled her head, opening for him when his tongue sought hers again.

The kiss quickly pulled her back under its spell. She slid her free hand from his shoulder to the side of his neck, savoring the scrape of his whiskers beneath her fingertips and wishing there weren't twelve hundred pounds of horseflesh beneath each of them keeping her from getting any closer.

Penny took a step forward.

Amanda pulled back with another laugh. “I think she's trying to tell us something.”

“Yeah.” Grady glared at Penny, then met Amanda's gaze again. “We should probably start heading back.”

Probably.

Amanda gathered her reins, and they turned back toward the trail.

On the way back to the main part of the ranch, she caught Grady looking at her every so often, and each time, anticipation stirred at the thought of what might happen once they were on solid ground again.

For the first time all morning, she wished the barn was a hell of a lot closer.

Chapter Twenty-Three

By the time the barn came back into view, Grady had decided his daughter’s meddling wasn’t entirely unwelcome.

He still planned to give her shit about it, though.

Amanda rode beside him, looking far more comfortable in the saddle than she had when they’d started. Several strands of hair had escaped her ponytail, and she’d stopped gripping the reins as if Penny might take off without warning.

She’d spent most of the ride back smiling and teasing him as their conversation wandered from one subject to another. She’d told him stories about some of the places her work had taken her, and before he knew it, she had him talking about the trips he hoped to take once Rissa was out on her own. He’d never been to many of those places, and listening to Amanda describe a few of them made him want to change that.

For a woman whose face appeared on television and across social media, she had seemed perfectly content spending the past couple of hours where no one could see her.

And he liked having her to himself. Probably more than he should.

They rode into the barnyard and found Rissa near one of the paddocks. She spotted them almost immediately and waved before heading their way.

“Have fun?”

Grady dismounted and gave her a pointed look. “We managed without you.”

“I knew you would.”

Of course she had. The smug look on her face told him she'd never doubted it for a second.

He was about to go around and help Amanda down when she swung her leg over Penny and beat him to it. The instant her boots touched the ground, she took a step and winced, her gait noticeably stiffer than it had been that morning.

Grady bit back a grin. “Sore?”

She straightened and shot him a look. “Not one word.”

“Wouldn't dream of it.”

“Somehow, I doubt that.”

“Smart woman.”