He smiled. Delicious? She’d taste delicious when he kissed her. That was for sure. He shifted his hat lower over his eyes. He needed to get her out of here. Maybe exploring the picturesque trails south of the lake on horses would give him some space to calm down. He couldn’t stare into her eyes if she was riding a horse on a trail that wasn’t wide enough to ride side by side.
Turning, he walked to his tack closet and started pulling out bits and bridles. Movement came from behind him, and he glanced back to make sure she wasn’t coming at him with a knife.
Of course she wasn’t. Emery was smiling broadly as she sidled in next to him and bumped his shoulder with hers. “How can I help?”
Greer paused and could only stare at her. How could she help? She could stop being so perfectly intriguing and making his heart long for something that would never happen. He couldn’t trust her as she might plunge a knife into his back, and he definitely couldn’t fall for her and love her as he already longed to do after knowing her for less than twenty-four hours. She was Travis’s sister. He could protect her like he’d promised because Greer always kept his promises.
He’d also promised to protect the secret. Would that put him in a quandary?
He handed over the halter, bit, and harness and then grabbed a pad and a saddle. They walked side by side over to Brooks, his most gentle horse.
“Pants,” he muttered, sneaking a glance at her perfect legs.
She cocked her head. “Sorry, I’m all out of pants.”
“You’ll chafe.”
She shrugged as if she didn’t have a solution. He didn’t have an ideal one either. He’d lay an extra blanket over her saddle and hope that helped.
“Have you ridden?” he asked.
She shook her head, gently stroking Brooks’s mane as the horse came to greet them at the gate. “I’m a newbie. You’ll have to teach me. I love to learn new things.” For some reason, she trailed the tip of her tongue across her bottom lip and then grinned appealingly at him.
Greer went hot and cold all over. What was she doing with her lips? Did that mean she wanted to kiss him? Was he reading into everything she did and said? He kind of was, but who could blame him? There’d never been a womanly puzzle as intriguing and baffling as Emery Reeder. She was innocent and sexy at the same time. She was more incredible than any woman he’d ever met. And no way could he let down his guard and kiss her.
Please help me, he begged heaven above. Out of his element didn’t begin to describe how messed up he was right now.