Thank god no one was at the farm, though she didn’t have much time. If her horse made it back without her . . . well, there’d be hell to pay. They’d call her father.

Like he needed one more disappointment in his life.

Layne sat up on the trail, dusting off her breeches, assessing damages. Nothing hurt too badly. She looked back to see what could have frightened the animal though sometimes it didn’t take much.

But there was someone sitting in the middle of the trail. Sitting up, dusting himself off, doing the same things she was doing.

Holy crap, she’d run into a man.

She’d left her glasses on her tack trunk next to her phone, so she wasn’t able to make out features, but the filtered sunlight let her identify shorts, a sweatshirt. Athletic shoes.

For a second, she considered the implications of being alone in the woods with a man, but she’d just plowed into him with her horse, and a little courtesy probably wasn’t out of line.

Layne stood up and started walking toward him. Her knees weren’t a big fan of this activity, and her head wasn’t feeling much better. She unsnapped her helmet and clipped the strap through a belt loop, shaking her hair free so it wouldn’t be matted with sweat across her forehead.

“You all right?” she called. “God, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention ” She broke off the apology, hearing her father’s voice in her head. If you’re ever in an accident, don’t apologize.

It immediately implies guilt. . . .

But how could she not apologize?

He was staring at her now, and she was relieved to see that he wasn’t a man man, but a teenager, with dark hair and features that were slowly coming into focus as she got closer.

Features that shifted into something like surprise. “Layne?”

She stopped short on the path. “Gabriel?” Then she hesitated. “Or Nick? I’m sorry ”

“It’s me.” His voice was rough. “Gabriel.”

And just then, all her rationalizing went straight out the window. He looked . . . overwrought. Rumpled sweatshirt, disheveled hair. That shadow across his jaw had turned into true stubble overnight.

Regret twisted her gut. She should have called. He’d apologized and left his number, and then she’d as good as smacked him in the face.

No, she’d trampled him with her horse.

Get over yourself, Layne. He’s probably hungover.

She straightened, folding her arms. “Are you hurt?”

He must have heard her voice turn flat, because his expression hardened. “I’m all right. You?”

“I’m great.”

And then he was standing, looming over her, an abrupt shift from vulnerable and wounded to vaguely threatening. “What are you doing out here?”

She always had to battle with her emotions when he looked like that. One part of her wanted to back away to get a little more air. The other part wanted to step into him, just to see what it felt like to share his warmth.

“Riding,” she said. “What are you doing out here?”

“Running,” he said, like it should have been obvious and really, it kind of was. His eyes flicked down her form, and she wished riding breeches weren’t quite so formfitting. “I guess I should be glad you weren’t driving a car.”

“Shut up.” Then she realized what he’d said. “Wait. You live around here?”

He lifted one shoulder and looked around though they were surrounded by trees, so she had no idea what he was looking for. “Nah. I’ve been running for a while.” He pulled an iPod out of the pocket of his hoodie and glanced at it. “Four miles, maybe.”

Layne blinked. “You ran . . . four . . . miles? ”

“Yeah. I didn’t realize my morning run could get f**ked up, too, but maybe that’s just my week.”

His voice was sharp enough for her to feel an edge against her skin. But somehow it didn’t seem directed at her. He’d reacted the way an animal would lash out if it was in pain. Layne frowned, afraid to dig at an open wound but kind of afraid not to.

She opened her mouth to ask, but her words died at his expression. Eyes hard, jaw set. His hands were in his pockets, but it didn’t make him look relaxed. It made him look like he was trying not to hit something.

Layne let the air out of her lungs. She smoothed her jacket against her hips. “I need to walk back . . . catch my horse ”

“How far?”

“What?” Her eyebrows went up. “Oh, he probably ran back to the barn. Half a mile, I guess. The trail’s a loop. I just don’t want someone to find him and call my dad. If they knew I was out here alone . . .”

Her voice trailed off again. Gabriel was simply looking at her with that inscrutable expression, so Layne turned and started walking, calling over her shoulder. “Hey, I’m really sorry about running into you. I guess I’ll see you around school.”

He didn’t say anything. Sneakers ground against dirt behind her, and she knew he was taking off, running for home or wher-ever.

Then he drew up beside her, falling into step.

Her breath caught. “What are you doing?”

“You think I’m going to leave you alone in the middle of the woods? What the hell kind of guy do you think I am?”

She glanced up at him. A streak of dirt ran across his face, and it took everything she had not to reach up and rub it off.

She wondered what his cheek would feel like.