Chapter Twelve
Kat stared at the large horse who moved through the fenced-off area. It had been a couple days since arriving at Bradley’s ranch but she hadn’t gathered the courage to actually interact with the larger animals.
This horse had drawn her, though, and she’d sketched it out there as she watched it gallop around. It bucked, flinging its back legs out, having itself a great time.
“Figures you’d like this one.” Bradley’s rough voice surprised her, since he’d mostly avoided her.
Kat twisted to look over her shoulder, finding him standing there, his arms crossed. He looked so much more at home there on the farm than he had anywhere else. It was as if he finally fit in, that rough masculinity he carried so easily matching his surroundings and a sense of confidence. “It looks like it’s having fun.”
Bradley leaned against the fence, then crooked his fingers at Kat. “She, not it.”
Kat rose from the ground, leaving her closed sketch book behind as she went to stand beside Bradley. “She, huh?”
“Yep. Most difficult horse I’ve ever owned. Has a mind of her own and likes to do her own thing.”
Kat chuckled at that. “Seems she and I have a few things in common. Makes me wonder why you keep her around.”
Bradley lifted his eyebrow but kept his gaze on the horse. “Easy never meant much to me. She’s feisty, sure, but that doesn’t make her worthless.”
“You’re the only one who thinks that.”
He clicked his tongue, and the horse trotted closer, though not all at once, as if she wasn’t willing to give in too fast. “I learned a long time ago that obedient doesn’t always make for the best animals. Had a dog before who listened to every word I said. People kept saying he was the perfect pet, so obedient, so submissive.”
“Sounds like what everyone wants.” Kat ignored the pain in her chest at that, at the reality. How many Doms had decided she was too much work?How often in her life had people turned away from her because she wasn’t meek and quiet?
“Maybe, but then a pack of feral dogs attacked—this pack that had been running the desert a while. They went after the goats, and that dog, it was supposed to sound the alarm and protect the livestock.” Bradley shook his head. “Turns out beasts who are too timid don’t make for the best guards. Lost more than a couple goats that night.”
Kat frowned as she tried to make sense of his meaning.
Bradley let out a rare chuckle after giving her a side-eye. “Don’t get it, huh? If I wanted easy, I’d never have lasted a single day with you. I kept that mare because I know that the best of anything isn’t always easy, isn’t always comfortable, but maybe that’s what makes ’em worth it.”
The horse came over the rest of the way, pushing her face against Bradley’s open palm.
His expression held fondness as he petted the large horse, a smile making his face seem softer than usual.
“But what about when you get sick of that? When you decide that someone who isn’t always testing you is better?”
He wrapped his other arm around Kat, pulling her to his side so she could reach through the fence to pet the horse as well. Despite a snort, as if a token protest, the mare accepted her touch with ease. “Every damn day makes me laugh. I don’t think I ever realized just how boring life can be until you have someone interesting in it, you know?”
She stole a glance at Bradley’s face, but found that instead of staring at the horse, he was staring right at her… It made her chest tight, made her head spin.
He leaned in, brushing his lips against hers with a surprisingly gentle kiss, as though he were trying to explain something with the touch. Whatever it was, Kat didn’t get it. Maybe because she refused to, because understanding was too dangerous, so she just accepted the kiss and returned it, unsure.
The horse trotted away, as though they’d grown boring and she planned to go find better things to do. It left Kat there with Bradley, the moment surprisingly sweet.
He pulled away too fast, long before Kat had her fill of his lips or his touch or his taste. He grinned at whatever he saw on her face, and that only made Kat thankful for the setting sun—it should help to hide the blush she wassurewas on her cheeks.
“I’ll see you inside,” he said. “You and Brat can hang out a while longer if you want.”
“Brat?”
Bradley chuckled as he walked away, speaking without turning back toward her. “Named her after another difficult female I know. Like I said, fitting you two started to get along.”
Kat watched him go, the horse’s name ringing in her ears. Brat…like Kat? Bradley had named the horse after her?
Something warm sprang up inside her, but it only frightened Kat. Bradley had said such sweet things, but sweet words never lasted all that long. The truth was that Bradley would get sick of her eventually—she’d learned that everyone did, that they all had their limits, that no one could tolerate her for long.
So that warmth inside her, that voice whispering that maybe there was some happily ever after for her felt like nothing more than a cruel joke.