Dylan held onto the curves of Cami’s hips, his pulse bouncing around in his chest like a ping pong ball. Up. Down. Left. Right. Diagonal.

The touch of the woman’s fingers along his scalp sent fire everywhere, and he finally pulled back enough to separate them. “Dang,” he whispered, his eyes opening slowly to see she still had hers closed. She pressed her lips together as if tasting him there, and he couldn’t help himself. He kissed her again.

And she’d started it. Dylan couldn’t believe it, though he had certainly been thinking about kissing Cami before this day ended.

He finally broke their connection, and he rested his forehead against hers. They breathed in tandem, and then she gave a light laugh.

She breathed out heavily, and said, “So horseback riding?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Yep, let’s go.” He helped her into his truck again and when he opened his door to get behind the wheel, she’d scooted across the bench seat so she could sit right next to him.

She linked her hand through his arm and rested her head on his bicep. “Tell me more about what you do at Courage Reins.”

“So I go out on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Pete—he’s the owner—lets me help the veterans get set-up on their horses. I talk to them, and just watch them work with the horses.” He chuckled, because he knew the veterans came out for therapy, and that the horses helped them physically, as well as emotionally and spiritually.

But they did the same for him.

“I sometimes ride, and sometimes I just hang out on the fences. Sometimes Pete has treats, and sometimes I get to stay and eat with his family.”

“Sounds nice,” she said. “I almost always go out to ride Valentine at Brynn’s stables on Friday nights.”

“Really?” Dylan looked at her as he turned right onto the road that led out to the ranch.

“Really.” She snuggled deeper into his side. “Just for a few hours. I love horses.”

“Did your family have horses growing up?” he asked.

“No, but my best friend did. They had a whole boarding stable, and we’d ride every day after school.” She sounded so happy, and Dylan wanted to know everything about her.

“My family had a few horses,” he said. “My dad loves them, and he thought they’d teach us to work.”

“And did they?”

“Oh, yeah. Had to get up before school and do chores. Had to work in the hay fields. Horses required care.” He said the last words in a deeper voice to emulate his father and added a chuckle. “Even the girls had farm chores.”

“I just had my older brother,” she said. “And he’s several years older than me, so I was an only child for a while. I had to do everything.”

“I’m the only boy,” he said. “So I get that. My sisters—they’re great—but they knew how to get out of anything and everything.”

“I bet they did.” She laughed, and Dylan liked the way it filled his cab.

“So, I just want to clear up all the…rumors,” he said, glancing at her. She stiffened beside him, and he thought maybe he shouldn’t ruin their near-perfect day.

But he wanted her to know everything about him too. “So I’m a pretty easy-going guy, and I guess a lot of women like that. For a while there, I liked having a date all the time.”

“I really don’t need to know,” she said, straightening though she kept her arm linked through his. “You explained enough to me already.”

“Did I?”

“Yeah, when you told me about the teacher at the pizzeria.”

“I’m not a player,” he said, needing to say the words. “I like to watch baseball with Boone, and I like to eat good food, and I like my family. I’m hoping to take over the Electric Company when Asher retires. He’s teaching me.”

“That’s great, Dylan.”

“So I know my life is kind of simple, but—”

“I like simple,” she said, cutting him off. “You really don’t need to make yourself look better. You’re already great.”

“Yeah? Is that why you kissed me in broad daylight on Seventeenth Street?”

“Your big head isn’t your most attractive quality,” she said dryly.

He chuckled and turned onto the dirt road that led to the ranch. “So do you only ride Valentine?”

“When I come out here? Yeah, just Valentine. Brynn and I sort of have an agreement.”

“Okay, so I didn’t know that,” he said. “So I called Pete and I asked him if we could ride a couple of his horses, and he said yes. One of them is not Valentine.”

“That’s fine,” she said with a giggle. “I can ride other horses.”

“Great.” Relief flowed through him as he pulled up to Courage Reins. Saturday was one of their busier days, but Pete had assured him they had horses to spare. He grabbed his cowboy hat from the backseat and positioned it on his head once he got out of the truck.

“Oh, wow,” she said with a smile as he rounded the truck. “Look at you. All cowboy’ed up.” She reached up and touched the brim of his hat.

“You like it, admit it.” He added a bit of swagger to his walk.

She rolled her eyes, which made her different than the other women he’d ever dated. Which made him like her so much more than he already did.

“Are we going in?”

“Of course.” He opened the door and waited for Cami to walk through it. No one sat at the reception desk, where Reese usually did. So he took Cami’s hand and led her past the desk and out to the stables.

“He said we can take any horses that are in a stall. Oh, look, Mint Brownie is available. I love him.” He stepped over to the stall and stroked the horse’s face. “You want to pick one?”

She wandered down the aisle away from him, and he called, “There are boots at the end there, if you want to wear some.” He got the tack he needed and started saddling Mint Brownie.

He wasn’t sure where Cami had gone, but when he led his horse out of the stall, he found her properly booted and leading a black horse named Oreo in front of her.

“Are all the horses named after foods here?” she asked.

“Most here, yeah,” he said. “Obviously not over at Brynn’s, though I don’t get over there very much.” Or ever, really. No wonder he didn’t know Cami came out to the ranch to ride on Fridays.

Pete would never tell him such things. And as Chelsea had more kids, she’d dropped off on all the matchmaking. Still. He wondered if either of them would’ve set him up with Cami anyway. It wasn’t exactly like they got along.

Then he remembered that kiss, and he thought he was doing just fine, thank you very much.

Outside, Cami swung effortlessly into the saddle and glanced over her shoulder. “We just go wherever we want?”

“Yeah,” he said, mounting Mint Brownie and coaching the horse forward so they were side-by-side. “There’s a nice stream about a half-hour ride out, if you want to go there.”

She cast a glance over her shoulder. “I don’t usually ride on this side of the ranch.”

“Well, let’s go then.” And they set off for the river.

“So tell me more about your family,” she said. “I think you’ve only gone over two sisters. The youngest is…?”

“Rose,” he said. “And let me tell you, she’s the easiest one, so I think you’ll be fine.”

Dylan parked in the lot the following morning, the wonderful little church that brought him so much peace in front of him. He’d been brave when he’d dropped her off after horseback riding and asked Cami about sitting by him at the service today. She’d blinked—her only hesitation—and said yes.

He spotted her as he got out of his truck. She wore a sundress in a cacophony of colors and a pair of strappy blue sandals that inched her closer to his height. He strode across the distance between them and swept her into his arms. “Hey, pretty girl.”

She grinned up at him. “Tie and everything.” Cami flipped the turquoise tie his sister had given him for his birthday a few months ago.

“Dress and everything.” He didn’t flip the hem of her skirt though the thought flitted through his mind. “Come on, I think Boone is saving us a seat.”

He sure was, and Dylan appreciated that he and Nicole sat near the back. “Hey, guys,” he said. “This is Camila Cruz. Cami, this is Boone and Nicole.”

Boone, ever the people’s man, stood and shook Cami’s hand, his perfect gentleman smile stuck in place. Nicole was a little more real, and she made room for Cami on the bench. They started talking, and Dylan sat on the end of the row, already anxious to leave.

He enjoyed church, really he did. Pastor Scott said great things, and the general vibe always left Dylan feeling better about his life. For some reason, today he was anxious behind walls. He wanted to get outside, even in the Texas heat, and figure some things out before he had to go over to his parents’ for Sunday dinner alone.

Why did he have to go alone? He could ask Cami, and she’d probably come. She didn’t go visit her family, and he’d learned yesterday at lunch that she often argued with her brother about fair wages for women working the same jobs as men.

Dylan liked her fire, every flame of it, and they’d talked a lot about her job as a plumber. She felt under-appreciated in her field, constantly judged, and like she had to be twice as tough as a male plumber would have to be.

Dylan couldn’t speak to that or not. He didn’t know her fight. Would never have to know it. So he’d held her hand and listened to her and hoped that would be enough.

“You want to come over after church?” she whispered, tucking her arm through his and sliding a bit closer to him.

And he found his way out of the family dinner he didn’t want to attend alone. “Heck yes, I do.”

She giggled and pressed her face into his arm to muffle the sound. When she calmed enough to speak again, she whispered, “I’m not much of a cook, but I can put together a pretty good grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich.”

“Sounds amazing.” Compared to the noise, the glances, and the endless questions he’d endure at his family dinner, a quiet afternoon kissing Cami sounded downright heavenly.

He focused on the pastor, who said, “…so don’t despair, my friends. The Lord knows you, as you are right now. He knows where you’ve been. He knows where you’re going, and He knows the best way to get you there.” Pastor Scott surveyed the crowd as he let his words sink in.

“The real test is to see if you’ll let Him lead you.” The preacher smiled and placed both palms flat against the pulpit. “Let Him lead you, even if you think you know where you’re going.”

Dylan cocked his head, trying to find the meaning in the pastor’s words. He seemed to be looking right at Dylan, though he couldn’t possibly be doing so. Dylan knew where he was going—nowhere. At least not physically. He’d grown up in Three Rivers, and he loved it here. He had a great job that had some room to grow.

He glanced at Cami, sitting beside him. He could definitely use some guidance when it came to her. So he closed his eyes, almost an acquiescence of his own will, and prayed, Help me to know what to say and do with Camila to keep her in my life.

Because he liked her. He liked driving with her at his side, and riding a horse with her nearby. And while he’d felt a connection with other women, none of them were as hot as the one with Cami and he thought maybe she could be part of his grown-up life—if he didn’t mess it up.