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He chuckled as his pinkie and forefinger started toback up It was al, or the electrifying response the tinyout of "

Said horse shook his head, tossing the shaggysee as the seconds passed Maybe that was his intention Distract"What about Bubba Two?"

"Ah, the one who is staring at the pail like it’s the holy hed "That’s Thunder And we’re going to feed theers created with my shirt sent tiny shivers up and down h tipped the corners ofout the choppers on them, I’m not so sure about that"

"You’ll be okay" He slid his hand off my stomach and wrapped it around my wrist Slowly, he lifted my hand out in front of htning trotted forward and pressed his wet nose against ers The horse didn’t Nope It nudged htning’s jaw, all the way to the pointy, twitchy ears "See?" he murmured "That’s not too bad, is it?"

I shooksee his long head against led in his mane It wasn’t bad at all

Jase shifted behind hts of the horses evaporated His hps lined up against my backside, and I bit down on htning’s muzzle

I could feel him--­feel Jase And there was absolutely no doubt inThat knowledge and the hard length of hiht An all too warm flush spread downhis physical reaction He was a guy Our bodies were pressed together If a wind blew on a guy’s private area, they got hard So I should just ignore it, but my body was so not on board withfield An ache centered low in h ht?" His voice was deeper, richer "They’re like dogs Well, like a dog that can carry around two hundred pounds, if notoff mine, he stepped back, and the sudden emptiness of his body was like a cold shock "Trustas I started to turn toward hi, apparently annoyed with the lack of attention, nosedhihtning stared athim behind the ear, I was still scared out ofup close, and I honestly couldn’t ever picture

Jase returned tothe bucket between us Thunder followed, tail twitching in i up a handful of oats, Jase rose The brown muzzle immediately went for his hand as Jase looked over ata horse eat out of , I didn’t complain when Jase dumped some oats in

"You should see yourself right now" Jase laughed as he shook his head "It’s cute"

And probably a bit ridiculous My cheeks war nosed around the oats in rinned as he rubbed Thunder’s neck with his free hand "I think he’s taking his time because he likes you"

"Is that so?" I s the elegant muzzle Several moments passed as I considered how I ended up here This was ot what Jase was trying to do It all ste the rush of adrenaline and pleasure dancing brought h to do this, to take the tio or brief touches now could E nibbled at the oats, ticklingthis for me Yes, ere friends--­friends for a while now When he visited Cam, he’d also visited me, but this seeain, I wasn’t an expert on friends

As I stood there, the light breeze doing nothing to erase the fine sheen of hu my skin, I realized with sudden clarity that I was really quitefriendless Because if Sadi or any of my studio friends were true friends, we’d still be in contact even if we no longer shared a cooal It wasn’t just envy or bitterness that stood between us Without dance, there just wasn’t anything there

I sed the burn in lanced over at ain, I returnedup more oats once he’d finished hat I held There was so peaceful about all this--­the quiet of the farm, the simple act

"This isn’t bad," I admitted quietly

"I know It will be better once you understand what here is to you"

I bit et so wise sounding?"

"I’ve always been extrehed softly

"Actually, it’s experience Things cos that change everything about your life--­about what you thought you wanted, who you thought you were Things thatand even if it doesn’t sound like a good thing in the beginning?" He shrugged as he settled his gaze on Thunder "Soined"

The way clarity rang in his voice, I had no doubt in my mind he had firsthand experience with the unexpected

"You know so?" Jase asked after a ­couple of minutes passed "What Jacob said in the Den yesterday wasn’t true"

The swift change of the subject startledate out of , turned and trotted off as Jase wiped his hands along his jeans He sauntered up to where I stood, idly scratching Lightning’s ear since I droppedabout, Tess And I knohy you left immediately afterward"

My first response was to deny, because denial was al the truth Especially when the truth was sort of huht now, denial would just make me look stupid

"I don’t want to talk about it"

"Tess--­"

"I could live happily ever after if I could never hear his naain or have to think about hoas or what it felt like to be with him and think--­" My voice unexpectedly cracked, and I forcedbreath "I don’t want to remember what all of that felt like"

There was ato forget, and you need to understand what Jacob said wasn’t true"