“I’m not playing, Skylar. I’ve seen too many kidnapping, rape, and murder cases coming across my desk. Who knows what you are wearing? Did your dad see you leave your house?”
I rolled my eyes. “No. You do realize you’re Serena’s Daddy, not mine, right?”
He laughed. “I’m well-aware whose Daddy I am, but you are my wife’s best friend. I don’t want anything happening to you. If you had a Daddy, he’d never have let you go alone, and if you went alone, you wouldn’t be sitting for a week.”
I laughed. “I’m not interested in a Daddy, Tyson.”
“I know. You want a cowboy. Serena told me.”
I blushed, wondering how much my friend had told her fiancé about me. Did he know I didn’t just want a cowboy, that I was actually obsessed with them? None of the guys at school appealed to me because while they were country, they weren’t cowboys. I wanted a guy that rode horses, wore chaps, tight jeans, and a cowboy hat.
“Take a selfie,” Tyson said. “Send it to Serena. Also, set your alarm and send either a text or call on the phone every hour. Let us know when you start heading home.”
“You don’t think that’s going overboard?”
“You can’t be too careful, Skylar. Give your friend and me both a little peace of mind, especially since you didn’t tell your dad you were going alone.”
“Fine. I’ll call or text.”
“Good girl.” There was more shuffling as Tyson handed the phone back to Serena.
“You’re the only friend of mine he likes,” Serena said when she came back on the line.
“Lucky m—”
I never finished saying ‘lucky me’ because I didn’t see him coming. A rock-hard body plowed into me and sent me flying into a horse stall, landing me straight into a pile of hay. My breath whooshed out of me at the jarring impact, and the phone flew from my hand, shattering when it hit the wall.
‘Maybe I should have taken Serena and Tyson more seriously’ I thought as I tried to breathe through the pain and the weight on my chest.
Chapter Two
“You ok?” I asked when I pulled back enough to look into her beautiful blue eyes. They were a vibrant hue I’d never seen before. I didn’t think eyes could be that fucking blue.
She didn’t say anything. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to talk, but she couldn’t. Fuck, I’d probably scared the shit out of her. Lord knows she had no clue the jeopardy her life was in. She wasn’t paying attention to the fact that a horse was barreling down on her.
I shuddered at the thought that I may not have reached her in time. When she still didn’t speak, I pushed up off of her and started checking her over. I did my best to stay clinical, but fuck, this girl was hot. Silently, I prayed she was over eighteen and I wasn’t being a creeper.
“Why did you do that?” Her voice was hoarse and breathy. She had the wind knocked out of her from the impact, but other than that, she seemed fine.
“You weren’t paying attention to your surroundings, Sweetheart.”
Her brow furrowed and she moved to get up and straighten her skewed skirt that had ridden up her thighs.
“And that gives you the right to tackle me?”
I laughed because she was so disgruntled it was cute, and she obviously had no clue that she had hay sticking out of her hair.
“No, but the fact that you weren’t paying attention to your surroundings almost got you killed.”
She paused and looked around for the first time, noticing the audience around us. I noticed them or I’d have been happy to stay on top of her and in between her creamy thighs. God, she was beautiful.
“What did I miss?” Her voice dropped as a flush of embarrassment spread across her cheeks.
I turned around, giving her my back to look at the spectators. Some were talking, others were just concerned, and some had already moved on and went about their business.
“She’s all right y’all. Let’s give her some space to catch her breath.”
I waited for everyone to move on before turning back to her. She was still disheveled, but better off than she’d been before. The hay was still in her hair, so I reached up to snag the straw, but she shied away.