Free Sweet and Wild by Cerian Hebert

anything but let her
go. She disappeared through the crowd.
    “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
    Craig turned to the voice behind him.
    Thea stood there, arms across her chest
looking at him with a mixture of cool regard and interest.
    “I don’t want to see her get hurt,” Thea
continued.
    Craig met her gaze. “No, that would
never be my intention.”

Chapter 6
     
    She’d lied. Quinn didn’t need to feed
the horses. In fact, Piper had almost finished all of the hay from the corner
rack. Quinn went in anyway, sat in the corner of the stall and watched the
mare. The only light came from the dim overhead lights out in the aisle, but
that was fine with her. Less chance of discovery. She needed time to think, to
hash and rehash what had just happened.
    Ever since she could remember, she had
wanted to kiss, to be kissed by Craig Lynch. Those had been little kid
fantasies. She had given up any hope it would actually happen, especially when
he up and married and left town for fifteen years.
    Even when he came back, as handsome as
she remembered him, she didn’t think there would be a chance of any of those
schoolgirl dreams coming true.
    But unless she’d been dreaming, he
actually kissed her. It only lasted all of four seconds, but it happened and it
had been sweet, tempting, and sent hot flames all the way down to tickle her
toes. She pressed her fingers lightly to her lips. No, it hadn’t been a dream.
She could still feel his touch. It made her heart ache.
    And she ran away like a yellow-bellied
coward.
    “Chicken.”
    Piper gave her a glance before sinking
her nose into her water bucket.
    What was she supposed to do? Ask him to
do it again? Grab and pull him to her bedroom and…
    “Shit.”
    “Well, I wouldn’t put it that way.”
    Thea appeared out of the shadows beyond
Piper’s stall.
    Good lord, had Thea seen what happened?
    “Why are you hiding out in the dark?” Thea’s
voice remained casual.
    “Too loud out there,” Quinn lied. “Too
many people. I was getting claustrophobic.”
    “He’s gone.”
    “Who’s gone?” Maybe playing dumb would
work.
    “Who do you think? Craig and Marisol
left about five minutes ago.”
    Quinn’s shoulders slumped, suddenly
deflated. Why was she so disappointed that he left? She was the idiot who ran
off after the kiss. “Oh.”
    “He asked me to give you a message. He
said he’s sorry.”
    Quinn snorted. An apology. Just what she
needed to give her ego a boost.
    “I don’t think he meant it that way,” Thea
offered in comfort. She opened the stall door, moved past Piper and took a seat
next to Quinn.
    “Still not exactly what a girl wants to
hear.”
    “Did you want him to kiss you?” Thea
asked gently.
    Quinn paused. Her mind shouted yes! “I
didn’t expect it, but I’ve wanted Craig to kiss me for years.” She suddenly
felt silly for admitting it. “He was the first love of my life.”
    “Oh, really? That’s surprising. I never
would’ve guessed.”
    “Well, when he left town, all those dreams
were a little different then. I think they’ve grown up a bit.” Despite the
situation, Quinn found herself smiling. She’d never been one to get all girly
over a male, not really even Robby back when they dated. Lucky Craig.
    “Please don’t tell Jacob. He’d have a
fit.”
    Thea chuckled. “Your secret is safe with
me.”
    A silence fell over them, broken only by
the sound of Piper nibbling on the remaining hay. All Quinn could think about
was the softness of Craig’s lips, the way his hands felt on her back, the way
her body pressed against his.
    “So, how long are we going to sit here?”
Thea asked.
    ***
    Marisol called the day after the
barbeque and asked Quinn to be at the Shady H when Shelby dropped Sunshine off.
For a moment, Quinn considered saying no. How in the world could she face
Craig? Especially after running away from him. But she couldn’t turn down
Marisol.
    When she rode Piper into the Shady H
yard, the summer sun