Sean made his way down the road, leaving Christine in his dust. Frustration grew inside of him the farther he got.

What was her problem? He wasn’t invading her life, trying to destroy the only place she’d ever known. If anything, she should be nice to him. Or at least ask for his help.

He slowed Jersey to a trot. There was no reason to wear his horse out just because he was angry. Besides, it wasn’t like he was going to go far. In a few minutes, when he’d had time to calm himself down, he’d turn around and head back to Christine.

He hadn’t been taught by his mom or grandmother to leave a woman in distress. Even if she was hell-bent on convincing him that she was fine and could get back to town by herself.

Apparently, hiking wasn’t something she’d been taught in scouts. If it was, she’d realize that there was still twenty miles between her and town. She’d be rolling into Moose Falls Motel at about two in the morning.

“Whoa, girl,” he said, pulling on Jersey’s reins to stop her. He patted her shoulders and gave her a quick rub down. “Do you think we should go get the dragon?”

Jersey nickered and tossed her head.

Sean smiled. “Yeah. My thoughts exactly,” he said as he patted her back again. He glanced behind him and groaned, his grandmother’s voice echoing in his mind.

A gentleman never leaves a lady. He helps her. No matter what.

He could see his grandmother standing in the kitchen with her hands on her hips. She was scolding him because he’d raced Jane, his kid sister, from the tree house and won. Gran never understood how racing went.

But now he was grown up. He knew what the right thing was. So, he clicked his tongue and tapped Jersey’s sides.

“Come on, girl. Let’s go get the dragon.”

A few minutes later, at the top of a hill, he saw Christine making her way toward him. He saw her look at him and then drop her gaze. He smiled, enjoying the shocked expression that raced across her face.

As he approached, he glanced down at her. “Well, I figured I didn’t need the government after me for taxes and murder.” He pulled on Jersey’s reins and she stopped right next to Christine. “Need a ride?”

Christine scoffed. “So, you abandoned me as what, a joke?”

Sean stared at her. What was this lady’s problem? She had no reason to dislike him. He’d done nothing wrong. “I guess I wanted to give you some time to figure out if you wanted some help.”

She wiped her brow and squinted up at him. “I think I’ve got this under control.”

He scoffed as he glanced around. “Do you even know where you are going?” Man, this woman was stubborn. Hadn’t he given her enough time to realize that, maybe, she had no idea what she as doing? But from the way her gaze met his head on, he realized that she just might be as bull-headed as him.

He smirked at her as he took her in. A feeling arose in his gut that he couldn’t quite push away. One that said he’d be lying if he told himself she didn’t intrigue him. A woman who spoke her mind was refreshing.

Christine stopped walking, pulled both bags from off her shoulders, and set them down on the ground next to her. Sean tried to ignore how soft her skin looked underneath her lace camisole. She pulled her hair from the tie and shook it out.

Crap. He should have continued the ride to town instead of coming back. His mind was racing, so he swallowed and glanced down the road. He needed to remember what she was here to do. Focus on that.

After her hair was pulled back up into a ponytail and her bags returned to her shoulders, Sean looked down at her. She was studying him. Heat rushed across his body. Had she seen his reaction toward her?

From the mischievous glint in her eye, he knew that the chance was pretty high.

“Do you want a ride or not?” he asked, leaning forward and staring down at her. He had things to do and arguing with Christine was not one of them. No matter how fun it was.

She glanced over at Jersey and then back up to him. “Is there room?” She eyed the saddle.

Sean swung his leg over and hopped off Jersey. “There is definitely room,” he said, moving closer to her.

Christine’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?” she asked, taking a step back.

“If I’m going to give you a ride, you’re going to have to get up onto the horse.” He extended his hand while grasping onto the saddle with the other.

Christine’s skin paled as she stared at his hand. “I’ve never”—her voice dropped to a whisper—“ridden a horse before.”

He laughed. “It’s easy. Besides, I’ll be right behind you doing most of the work.”

She paused. From the look on her face, he could tell she was having an internal battle. He wanted to laugh and poke fun at her but decided against it.

The decision to get onto the horse seemed to win out because she shook her head, reached out, and took his hand. Sean tried to ignore the zap of electricity that raced up his skin from the contact. Silently, he cursed himself. This was the last thing he needed to be thinking about.

“Now, slip your foot into the stirrup,” he said, motioning toward the horse.

Christine nodded, lifted her foot up, and slipped it onto the stirrup. Just as she got it situated, Jersey shifted and threw her off balance. She yelped and began to tip toward him.

Out of instinct, Sean reached out and grabbed onto her. He let his hand rest on the small of her back as he met her gaze. “You okay?” he asked, cursing his voice for coming out so deep.

Christine nodded as she eyed the saddle. “I think so.”

Not wanting to risk another confusing reaction from touching her, Sean held onto her waist.

She whipped around and parted her lips like she was about to protest, but Sean wasn’t going to listen.

“Grab onto the sides of the saddle and I’ll boost you up.” He kept his gaze down, trying hard to focus on anything else but Christine and how tiny her waist felt in his hands.

“Okay,” she said. Once she was gripping the sides, Sean lifted her up and waited while she swung her leg to the other side.

As soon as it was evident that she wasn’t going to fall off, he dropped his hands. He rubbed his fingertips with his thumbs, hoping to dispel the feel of her body again them. This whole thing had been a huge mistake.

“Scoot forward,” he said, nodding toward the horn of the saddle.

Christine moved.

“I’m going to need you to move forward even farther.” He patted Jersey’s neck right above where the saddle ended.

After a bit of shifting, Christine slipped over the horn and onto Jersey. She teetered a bit, gripping onto the poor horse’s mane.

Not wasting any time, Sean lifted her bags, hung them from the sides of the saddle, and heaved himself up. Once he was situated, he wrapped his arm around Christine’s waist.

“Hey—what—?” She whipped around to stare at him.

“If you don’t want to fall off Jersey, you’re going to have to let me hold onto you,” he said.

She stared at him. He could see flecks of gold in her eyes. Hoping she didn’t noticed how being this close to her was sending his senses haywire, he shot her a grin.

“You could always walk,” he said, hoping that reminding her of her situation would help take the focus off of him.

She narrowed her eyes and turned around. “It’s fine.”

With that, he grabbed the reins with his hands while still keeping an arm wrapped around her waist, and nudged Jersey forward. The horse complied and began walking down the road. Sean tried to ignore how Christine felt, pressed against his chest, or how her hair smelled when the wind picked it up.

He needed to focus on something else. “So, how long have you been an auditor for?”

She peeked behind her to meet his gaze. “Did you just ask me a personal question? I’m surprised you want to learn anything about the dragon.”

Sean chuckled. “Hey, in my defense, when I first called you that, I thought you were a dude.”

He felt Christine tense from that statement. “Why? Because only men can find success in the IRS?”

Sean stared at her. He loved women and knew how capable they were. The most influential people in his life were women. “That’s not what I meant at all. I have nothing but respect for women,” he said.

“You have a funny way of showing it,” she whispered, so low that he almost didn’t hear her.

“You have to see this situation from my standpoint. Two ranches around here went bankrupt because of back taxes they owed the IRS. Hard-working, family-oriented farms had to sell everything they owned and move because they can’t keep up with the all the expenses that ranchers incur just to do what they love.” He swallowed as pride rose up in his chest. He loved his job. He loved his ranch. “What they were meant to do.”

He felt Christine’s shoulders relax as she nodded. “I get that. It has to be hard.”

Sean snorted. What did a woman who’s only had a cushy job in Washington, DC know about hard work? “How much does it cost to become an auditor?”

Christine played with the hair of Jersey’s mane. “Just the cost of my degree.”

“So, fifty thousand once everything was said and done?”

She nodded.

“Fifty thousand covers about one used tractor. Do you know how many tractors it takes to run a ranch? Material it takes to run a ranch?” He tapped on Jersey’s reins to urge her into a trot. At the pace they were going, it was going to take them an hour to get to the motel.

“I didn’t realize—”

“I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I’m trying to help you understand. It’s not easy with all the regulations.”

Christine nodded. “I get that. And I’m going to try to help you in any way I can. But this is the government we’re talking about. I can’t change the rules.”

Frustration boiled up inside of Sean. This was not what he wanted to hear. Why had he even brought it up? He should have just kept quiet. Of course, she was going to make sure the government’s rules were followed. That’s all she was. He was stupid to think that he could convince her to look outside of the law and think for herself.

The conversation grew silent as they continued down the road. He wasn’t sure what to say to her, or if she’d even listen.

“I want you to know that I’m going to be as objective as I can,” she said. Her voice was low, and Sean had to lean forward to hear her.

He swallowed. He hadn’t meant to assume that she was going to judge his ranch harshly and do everything in her power to close them down. He barely knew her, and yet he’d made a rash judgement. Just as he was convinced she’d done to him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sure you will be.”

Silence fell around them once more. She shifted a little, causing him to tighten his grip on her so she didn’t slide off.

“You okay?” he asked. It couldn’t be too comfortable, riding a horse this way. Especially if she’d never done it before.

“I think I’ll survive. Besides, it beats walking in those heels in my blistered feet.”

Sean eyed her. “Yeah, you really didn’t plan for your trip to Montana. Jeans and cowboy boots aren’t just fashionable—they’re essential.”

Christine nodded, causing her hair to swish and brush his cheek. “I’ll have to do some shopping while I’m here then.”

“I can recommend some good places. Well, actually one place. And it’s also the local grocery store, pharmacy, and nursery.” Sean smiled. He loved his small town. There was no way he’d leave it for any high paying job in Great Falls. Besides, his grandfather needed him. Apparently more than he was letting on. Especially with the IRS knocking at the door.

Christine laughed. “I’ll have to check it out. At least, once my car is fixed.”

Before he could stop himself, Sean blurted out, “I can give you rides.”

He felt Christine tense.

Backpedal, Sean.

“What I meant to say was, I can point you in the direction of Pete’s Utility Store.”

“Actually, a ride might be for the best. Who knows how long it will be until they fix my rental. And I’m guessing a place like Moose Falls doesn’t have a car rental store.”

Sean hesitated. What was he getting himself into? Why was he helping out the dragon? If he was smart, he’d leave her stranded on the side of the road to fend for herself. But, there was something about her. Seeing her standing on the side of the road with her heels half buried in the dirt, sweating like a pig had made her seem just a tad more human. And vulnerable. Like a lady in destress. And he couldn’t just abandon her.

So, he took a deep breath and spoke the word he hoped he wouldn’t regret. “Sure.”