She groans, fluttering her eyes open. Releasing a breath when she remembers I’m here with her.
“Am I late again, boss?”
I swallow. “Stay in bed.” I kiss her temple lightly. “I’ll check in on you later.” I slide out, feeling enough of the chill for the both of us.
“No. No, I’m going to work.”
“Come in later then,” I say softly, careful not to treat her like a victim.
“I want to go with you. Remember? Bonus points if I show up before you do?”
I grin down at her but the smile she gives me right back nearly wrecks me. “Fine. Get dressed,” I tell her as I zip up my pants.
She slides out of bed in that black nightie she was in last night, and I don’t bother turning away this time. I take her all in as she moves to the closet all sleepy and in broad daylight. She pulls on a long-sleeve plaid shirt.
“It’s going to be hot today,” I remind her, then gesture to her arm. “You don’t need to hide that from me.”
“It’s better to shield from the sun,” she tells me without a second thought and slides her arms in.
I imagine it comes naturally to her, making excuses for covering her arms.
I look out her bedroom window and see my men moving about in the distance. I can be careful about slipping out of the house, but us walking onto the field from the same direction as her cottage will raise some brows for sure.
“Is it better if I meet you at the Saddle Room?” she asks, noticing me peeking out the window.
I grind my teeth. It’s bad enough she spent the last few years ashamed about her scars and what happened. I’m not letting her feel ashamed now.
I shake my head. “I picked you up this morning. Hauled you out of bed to get to work on time.”
She smiles. “Works for me.”
She quickly makes a coffee to go and meets me by the front door. Pushing her tumbler into my hand, she slides on what looks like a pair of boots I haven’t seen.
“Those new?”
“I got them in town yesterday. Actually, a very kind man by the name of Connor Thorne bought them for me. He was out shopping with Ginger—they ran into me at the street fair.”
I rub the back of my neck. “With Ginger, eh?” That one’s going to be hard to explain since it’s something my brothers and I have been trying to figure out.
She perks her brow at me. “Is that something new?”
“No. They’re keeping something from us, that much is clear. I think Dad thinks it’s weird since she was a good friend of mom’s and works for me and Dallas.”
“I think it’s sweet that they have each other.”
A part of me agrees. But there’s another part that wonders if the attraction was there before mom.
I know full well that’s a me problem. “Yeah, well, they don’t have to be all secretive about it.”
Her lips twitch as she looks up at me—eyes dancing with unspoken irony.
With my hand on the door, I roll my eyes with a smirk. “Yeah, well.” I scan her—one last look before leaving whatever is happening between us on pause. “You OK?”
She smiles up at me with a reassuring nod. “Thank you, Wilder. For last night. It was good to get that off my chest with someone.”
I fight the urge to touch her again. “You call me if you ever need me. If anything scares you at night, you hear anything, just call. I’m not far.”
She lowers her chin with a nod and I’m not sure she knows how serious I am. She moves to open the door, but I stop her. “I mean it, Rose.”
