Free Wild About the Wrangler by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page B

neck.” He glanced past Jasper’s nose so he could look at her and he was gratified to see a tiny smile blooming. “Ready?”
    â€œReady.”
    â€œThen here we go.” He started forward.
    â€œIn case you wondered, I slept in my clothes.”
    â€œNever would have guessed.”
    Her smile widened. “You’re either a liar or incredibly unobservant.”
    â€œOkay, I guessed. And for the record, I had no idea what I was asking of you.”
    â€œI don’t function well at this hour, so I showered and dressed before I went to bed. Otherwise I might have shown up with no clothes at all.”
    And he pictured that because he couldn’t help himself. He’d never seen her naked, but he had a good imagination, and the view was breathtaking. He took a mental cold shower and focused on the task at hand. “And look at that. You made it on time.”
    â€œMy body was here. My brain was not.”
    â€œHow about now?”
    â€œThe coffee helped, but that energy bar was nasty. Ed was so sweet to bring it, though. I had to eat some. Tonight I’ll make a P B and J and set the timer on the coffeemaker. There’s no way I can get up in time to make breakfast, but I can do that before I go to bed.”
    He’d been about to offer the same thing, but he held back. Having her supply her own coffee and snack was more empowering. Somehow he had to stifle his natural impulse to take care of her. It would be an ongoing project.
    As they walked through the double doors and into the yard, she sucked in a breath.
    He went on alert. “What’s wrong?”
    â€œMac, look at the
sky.
”
    He’d been too engrossed in thinking about the next step to notice the sky. A few scattered clouds were tinged with pink and orange. He always enjoyed looking, but it wasn’t the most spectacular sunrise ever. “Very nice.”
    â€œNice? It’s gorgeous!”
    That’s when he realized that although he’d seen hundreds of sunrises, she had not. Sure, she’d been forced to wake up for a few. She couldn’t have reached this age without witnessing some along the way. But depending on the circumstances, she might not have been in a mood to enjoy them.
    â€œYou’re right,” he said. “It’s gorgeous.” But he wasn’t looking at the sunrise. He was looking at the glow reflected on her upturned face. With her hair coming undone, he didn’t have to stretch very far to picture waking up with her after a night of making love. Then they’d step outside to greet the dawn, just as they were doing now. Dangerous thoughts.
    â€œIf I got up at sunrise more often, I’d see a sky like this. I could do some sunrise watercolors.”
    â€œYou could.”
    She blew out a breath. “Forget it. Making it over here nearly killed me. Sunsets are beautiful, too.”
    â€œYep.”
    â€œBut totally different.” She continued to gaze at the sky. “These colors are more subtle and they change much faster. A sunrise would be harder to capture than a sunset.”
    He didn’t respond. He loved them equally for different reasons, and because he wasn’t an artist, he’d never thought in terms of capturing anything. He counted on people like Anastasia to give him a permanent record of those things.
    But he’d just thought of another way to push her out of her comfort zone. Because she was so involved in the sunrise, he decided to try it. “Hold on to Jasper for a minute. I need to get the tote with the brushes and currycombs.”
    â€œYou’re leaving?”
    â€œFor just a minute. Stand right here and hold on to his halter and the rope. It’ll be fine.”
    â€œEasy for you to say.”
    It wasn’t at all easy for him to say. He wanted to coddle her exactly as Georgie had been doing for twenty years. But Anastasia wanted out of her cocoon, and he’d help her make the break.
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