Free Fated for Love by Melissa Foster Page A

want to clean her up and make sure she’s okay.” She guided her toward the barn and whispered, “Holy shit. That was brilliant!”
    Callie glared at her.
    Kathie and Bonnie ran after them, leaving Wes alone. Callie was still in a frightened fog. She looked over her shoulder, wanting to be back in his arms.
    “Did you see him? That was like the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. He fricking rescued you.” Kathie’s eyes were wide as she pushed the bathroom door open.
    “ Hot isn’t the word for him.” Bonnie wrapped Callie in her arms. “Oh, honey, you’re shaking all over.”
    “I almost died on that horse, and then he…He’s like the Lone Ranger, and after last night?” She buried her face in her hands. “I’m mortified.”
    “Oh, hon. He probably goes through this stuff all the time. Really. Did you see how easily he did it? The man didn’t hesitate. He knew exactly what to do.” Christine hugged her. “We don’t have to take the trail ride.”
    “Yeah, we can totally skip it,” Bonnie agreed.
    Callie lowered her hands from her face. “Skip it? I’m mortified, not stupid.” A smile spread across her lips. “No way am I missing out on riding up the trail with him.”
    “Ha!” Kathie clapped her hands together. “That’s my girl!”
    “So our pep talk last night worked?” Bonnie asked.
    “Sort of. I just…You guys, I really like him, and not like you guys do, where all you think about is how sexy he is. I mean, yeah, there’s that, but…” She sighed and grabbed a tissue from the sink to pat the tears from her cheeks. “He’s…”
    “Total alpha badass male,” Kathie said.
    “Sexy as hell,” Bonnie added.
    “Looks at you like you’re dessert all wrapped up in a pretty little package?” Christine offered.
    “Sweet.”
    “Sweet?” they asked in unison.
    Callie shrugged. “I think so.” She knew he was a badass, and of course he was sexy as hell. She’d have to be blind not to see that. Sweet wasn’t a reflection of what she saw; it was the person he was, his very nature. He was a caring and compassionate man, and to Callie, that was much more important than sexy or badass ever would be. Sexy and badass could turn her on, but caring and compassionate could love her through sickness and gray hair and look past a few extra pounds. A compassionate man would want to help her through the harsher aspects of life and make her strong enough to deal with them in case he wasn’t around when she stumbled upon them. Yes, Callie had no doubt: Wes was a deeper man than just a sexy badass, and she’d made up her mind. She was staying for the duration of the trip to get to know him better.

Chapter Five
    THERE WAS ONE thing Wes hadn’t taken into consideration when he offered to let Callie ride with him up the trail—how uncomfortable the ride would be with a hard-on. Hell, who was he kidding? There were at least a dozen things he hadn’t considered, like how there was no way in hell he’d be able to hide from the intense feelings he had for her, but when the horse took off with her, his heart had leaped into his throat, and once he had her safely in his arms, he didn’t want to let go.
    She stopped trembling about fifteen minutes into the trail ride, and he was surprised that she wasn’t freaking out by the way the mountain fell away to the right in ripples of yellow flowers, outcroppings of rocks and brush, interspersed with occasional pine trees. The view never failed to take Wes’s breath away, and it was even more beautiful with Callie pressed up against him. He reached around her and pointed at a creek up ahead and just off to their left.
    “That’s where we’re going to stop for lunch.” The creek was about fifty feet wide, and Wes knew that it ran fairly deep in the center. The shoreline was covered with leaves and a few large rocks. The tree line stopped about ten feet from the shore, giving them plenty of space to sit and enjoy their break in the warm afternoon