Claim Me, Cowboy

“Is it?” he asked.

“Yes. Everybody knows what that means. It means that I think you might be a serial killer.”

“You don’t really think I’m a serial killer, or you wouldn’t be here.”

“I am pretty desperate.” She lifted her hand and licked off a remnant of jam. “I mean, obviously.”

“There are no Pop-Tarts left,” he said, his tone filled with annoyance.

“You said I could have whatever I wanted. I wanted Pop-Tarts.”

“You ate all of them.”

“Why do you even have Pop-Tarts?” She stood up, crossing her arms, mimicking his stance. “You don’t look like a man who eats Pop-Tarts.”

“I like them. I like to eat them after I work outside.”

“You work outside?”

“Yes,” he said. “I have horses.”

Suddenly, all of her annoyance fell away. Like it had been melted by magic. Equine magic. “You have horses?” She tried to keep the awe out of her voice, but it was nearly impossible.

“Yes,” he said.

“Can I... Can I see them?”

“If you want to.”

She had checked the range on the baby monitor, so depending on how far away from the house the horses were, she could go while Riley was napping.

“Could we see the house from the barn? Or wherever you keep them?”

“Yeah,” he said, “it’s just right across the driveway.”

“Can I see them now?”

“I don’t know. You ate my Pop-Tarts. Actually, more egregious than eating my Pop-Tarts, you threw the last half of one on the ground.”

“Sorry about your Pop-Tarts. But I’m sure that a man who can have an entire nursery outfitted in less than twenty-four hours can certainly acquire Pop-Tarts at a moment’s notice.”

“Or I could just go to the store.”

She had a hard time picturing a man like Joshua Grayson walking through the grocery store. In fact, the image almost made her laugh. He was way too commanding to do something as mundane as pick up a head of lettuce and try to figure out how fresh it was. Far too...masculine to go around squeezing avocados.

“What?” he asked, his eyebrows drawing together.

“I just can’t imagine you going to the grocery store. That’s all.”

“Well, I do. Because I like food. Food like Pop-Tarts.”

“My mom would never buy those for me,” she said. “They were too expensive.”

He huffed out a laugh. “My mom would never buy them for me.”

“This is why being an adult is cool, even when it sucks.”

“Pop-Tarts whenever you want?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

“That seems like a low bar.”

She lifted a shoulder. “Maybe it is, but it’s a tasty one.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. Now, why don’t we go look at the horses.”

* * *

Joshua didn’t know what to expect by taking Danielle outside to see the horses. He had been irritated that she had eaten his preferred afternoon snack, and then, perversely, even more irritated that she had questioned the fact that it was his preferred afternoon snack. Irritated that he was put in the position of explaining to someone what he did with his time and what he put into his body.

He didn’t like explaining himself.

But then she saw the horses. And all his irritation faded as he took in the look on her face. She was filled with...wonder. Absolute wonder over this thing he took for granted.

The fact that he owned horses at all, that he had felt compelled to acquire some once he had moved into this place, was a source of consternation. He had hated doing farm chores when he was a kid. Hadn’t been able to get away from home and to the city fast enough. But in recent years, those feelings had started to change. And he’d found himself seeking out roots. Seeking out home.

For better or worse, this was home. Not just the misty Oregon coast, not just the town of Copper Ridge. But a ranch. Horses. A morning spent riding until the sun rose over the mountains, washing everything in a pale gold.

Yeah, that was home.

He could tell this ranch he loved was something beyond a temporary home for Danielle, who was looking at the horses and the barn like they were magical things.

She wasn’t wearing her beanie today. Her dark brown hair hung limply around her face. She was pale, her chin pointed, her nose slightly pointed, as well. She was elfin, and he wasn’t tempted to call her beautiful, but there was something captivating about her. Something fascinating. Watching her with the large animals was somehow just as entertaining as watching football and he couldn’t quite figure out why.

“You didn’t grow up around horses?”

“No,” she said, taking a timid step toward the paddock. “I grew up in Portland.”

He nodded. “Right.”

“Always in apartments,” she said. Then she frowned. “I think one time we had a house. I can’t really remember it. We moved a lot. But sometimes when we lived with my mom’s boyfriends, we had nicer places. It had its perks.”

“What did?”

“My mom being a codependent hussy,” she said, her voice toneless so it was impossible to say whether or not she was teasing.

“Right.” He had grown up in one house. His family had never moved. His parents were still in that same farmhouse, the one his family had owned for a couple of generations. He had moved away to go to college and then to start the business, but that was different. He had always known he could come back here. He’d always had roots.