Ezra laughed. “You two seem pretty different but it’s so clear how much you care about one another.”

“Some people are meant to be part of each other’s lives. Sure, we’re different in some ways. She’s adorable and petite and white and blonde. I am none of those things.”

He laughed. “Thank God. I like blondes as much as the next guy and she’s beautiful. But you? You’re magnificent. When you’re in the room it’s impossible for me to look at anyone else for longer than a minute or two. Then my attention shifts back to you.”

She turned her head. Her curls, which she’d put up at the top of her head, brushed against the skin of his arm as she did.

“I think it counts for you, too.”

“What does?” He brushed a kiss against her forehead.

“People meant to be in your life. Before I’d met you, Natalie would talk about you with Mary or Paddy and I was already thinking about you. And then when you came around the corner at Damien’s, you felt right. In my life right then.”

Then she laughed and it unfroze his muscles. “I’m sorry, am I freaking you out?” She pushed to the other side of the hot tub to face him.

Her absence was a palpable thing. He liked her moving away from him even less than any wariness at the depth of honesty she dished out on a regular basis. “Don’t go all the way over there. I like you right where you were.”

She moved back and he relaxed again.

“I’m not freaked out. I was caught off guard.” He sighed. “I don’t know how to do this.”

“I bet you hate not knowing things.”

She was teasing, yes, but it was also an honest statement. It was acceptance.

“Not knowing is a form of being out of control. But that’s my stuff. It’s not about you.” She knew how to do this thing way better than he did.

Her features softened. “No pressure. No crazy expectations. Just you and me. We got this.”

She entwined her fingers with his under the water and neither spoke for some time, just floating and relaxing.

“Later this week you should come up for a horseback ride.”

She turned, the water splashing as she straddled his lap. “Really? I’d love to. What day?”

He laughed. She made him really happy and he got the feeling maybe this was the payoff to a real relationship with someone. This connection and general pleased warmth in their presence. “Well, this was unexpected, but certainly a positive turn. Had I known before that asking you to come and ride horses would end up this way, I’d have asked you a lot more before now.”

“I love horseback riding. When I was a kid those long car trips to Kentucky were bearable because we’d be able to spend weeks out on horseback once we arrived. You have such beautiful land to ride on, too. It’s seriously so much fun and I’m absolutely accepting, even if you think I’m creepy now because I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get another invite.”

“Aw, beauty.” He kissed her. He’d known she rode. They’d all gone out as a group a few times and he’d noted she hadn’t appeared to be a novice. But he hadn’t realized how much she liked it. Now that he did, though, well, clearly he needed to spoil Tuesday a little.

“I feel bad that I haven’t asked you before now. I love getting out and riding horses. They love getting out and about. When the weather is nicer I ride out on horseback instead of taking a truck or the ATV. If you want to ride, come on up. Violet and Loopy always come with me.”

She laughed. “I bet. Your women like to keep an eye on you.”

Loopy was currently curled up in her bed in the room behind them. She’d run and played and chased squirrels and birds and got so much attention she’d passed out after dinner.

“Violet is the disciplinarian. She keeps Loopy in line and out of trouble. It’s very sweet.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

“Which secret is that?” He could barely remember his own name just at the moment. Her breasts, the shape and size only accentuated by the royal-blue swimsuit top, bobbed at the water line and so close to his face he dipped to kiss her cleavage.

She did that hum, in the back of her throat, though it seemed to vibrate from her belly.

“You try to be gruff and cranky but I know the real Ezra. Behind all that. The man who took in animals when he was needed. The man with cats named by two silly little girls who love their uncle Ezra very much. The man who makes sure the sweet potatoes he gives to the pigs are made the way they like.”

He paused, surprised she’d noticed. Embarrassed maybe, but also flattered she saw this as a nice thing.

“Big Hoss likes them boiled so they’re soft. It’s not a big deal.”

She cupped his cheeks. “It is a big deal, Ezra.” She brushed her lips over his a moment. “It’s okay, you know, to be proud that you’re a good person.”

Nope.

He changed the subject. “Come up to the ranch on Saturday. You’re starting your new space at the craft fair in Portland, right? Come over in the late afternoon. We’ll go for a ride and then have some dinner afterward.” Natalie was throwing a surprise party for Tuesday to celebrate all her recent business successes that following weekend up at Paddy’s place. It fell to Ezra to lure her up. He’d take her on a ride first and then they’d still have plenty of time to go to the party afterward.

“Yes. I was supposed to start two weeks ago but then there was something weird with the papers and my licensing and all that stuff so I’ll be there bright and early on Saturday morning. I’ll close up at two, so I can be up at your place by five.”