Avery’s mouth fell open, then pinned her pleading look on me. “Pleeease?” 

“I don’t mind.” A parade would be fun, and it’d give her something to look forward to.

She broke out in a huge, heart-stopping smile. “Yay! Thank you!” 

Callan patted Red’s back once, then dropped his arm and came around to his head, unhooking him from the crossties. “I’m going to put him away, then I have a surprise.”

Avery gasped. “A surprise?”

He looked at me from under the brim of his cowboy hat. “If your mom has the time.”

“She has the time! Right, Mama?” She turned to me, and the pressure of saying yes beat down on me. I didn’t have work today, so I didn’t have anywhere important to be, but did he mean for the date? I wasn’t dressed for a date. I was wearing light washed jeans and an old gray t-shirt tied at the bottom with a hair tie. My hair was air-dried from my shower last night, and I wasn’t wearing makeup. If he had any fancy plans, I’d have to take a rain check.

“I guess I do,” I got out. 

Callan headed over to Red’s stall, leaving me alone with Avery.

“Can you stay here a moment, sweetie?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’ll put away the brushes I used.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Doing these horse lessons was teaching her a level of responsibility I didn’t think it could. She suddenly liked tidying the things she took out, making sure to put them away after she used them.

I followed after Callan, stopping by the door to the stall as he slid the halter off Red’s large head. “Is this the date?”

He glanced at me and must’ve seen the alarmed look on my face because the corners of his lips turned up. “It is.”

My hand grabbed the bars on the upper half of the stall door. “I’m not really ready for a date today.” I looked down at my outfit, continuing to speak. “I didn’t think you’d want to go right now, and I’m not dressed appropriately—”

I stopped talking when two fingers grabbed my chin, guiding my head up gently. My eyes met Callan’s, his gaze soft. “It doesn’t matter what you wear.”

We were so close that the brim of his hat was mere inches from touching me. Though I was probably between five to seven inches shorter than him, with his head turned down to me, his hat was so close to touching my forehead.

I sucked in a breath as our eyes stayed glued to each other. “Where are you taking us?”

“Technically?”

I nodded.

“We’re staying on the ranch.”

My brow furrowed. “What are we doing on the ranch?”

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, would it?” His thumb moved slightly against my chin, the touch like a caress. But I was imagining that. I had to be.

“No,” I said, the word coming out like a whisper. “I guess it wouldn’t.”

He dropped his hand slowly, the movement seeming forced, like he didn’t want to pull away. But that would be crazy, right?

He didn’t step back. “Let me just go get some things from the house, and I’ll be right back.”

I nodded unconsciously, lost in his gaze. Hazel eyes had never been so hypnotizing, the swirl of various browns and golds stealing my breath just like before.

“I have to get by, Sage,” he said, and fuck if his lips didn’t wrap around my name like a goddamn purr.

“Right,” I replied, but I couldn’t get my feet to obey. From the looks of it, he didn’t really mind. He looked just as lost as I was.

To my utter surprise, he lifted his hands and cupped my cheeks, but instead of closing the distance, he led me backwards into the aisle, removing one hand only to close the stall door behind him, not once taking his eyes off me. 

Fuck. Why was that so hot?

“Mama?” Avery’s voice filled the barn, and I jumped out of my stupor, inhaling a sharp breath as I pulled away from Callan.

“Yes, Aves?” I called back. 

Her tiny form came out into the aisle. “Are we going?”

I worked to catch my breath, not realizing that I’d been holding it that whole time. “Yes, sweetie. We’re going.”

That was too close.

If Avery had seen Callan and I that close, it would only confuse her. Yet, I was going on a date with him, with Avery. She didn’t know it was a date, though, which was for the better. Maybe it wasn’t as serious to Callan as I thought it was. Maybe he was just being friendly, wanting to get to know me better without strings attached later on.

But if that was the case, we had to get on the same page.

Because wanting more with Callan Bronson wasn’t what I needed to be focusing on right now. Wanting more with anyone only led to disappointment in the long run, and I didn’t need any distractions from being the best mom I could be for Avery. 

Callan and I would stay strictly friends, if we could even be considered that.

Acquaintances.

Yeah, that’s what we were.

Just acquaintances.

19

Callan

Touching Sage was a bad idea. 

My arms ached to reach out to her, my hand itching to feel her soft skin against my palms again. I shouldn’t want her like this. I hadn’t wanted anyone like this in…well, since my ex packed up and left. 

So four years.

But even when I was with her, she didn’t stop my heart like Sage did. She didn’t steal the breath from my lungs, make my cheeks heat, just from being in the same room as her. Sage’s presence could never fly under the radar. Her whole being demanded to be seen like the north star in an ink black sky. 

You could look away, but you’d still feel her around you.