Between the Pines (Black Springs Ranch, #1)

by Amber Palmer

I was a simple man with simple beliefs. I’d never held much stock in that lovey-dovey bullshit people clung to, talking about soulmates and destinies. It was just a way for folks to feel better about their lives. But this woman? Something told me she could make me a believer.

“So, I think you should earn it, cowboy. Show me how badly you want it.”

I’d never considered myself a smart man. I’d made a lot of mistakes and fucked up more times than I could count, but the smartest thing I’d ever done was kiss the beautiful dark-haired tornado that swept into my bar.

I’d never think of pine and leather the same way.

He was so handsome—too handsome for my own good. Like the last piece of decadent chocolate cake you know you shouldn’t touch, or speeding down a deserted highway with the windows down and your favorite song on the radio.

“I was gonna ask if you’d waited for me like I’d been waiting for you.”

The stars in the sky had nothing on her. She was a mess—a beautiful fucking mess I wanted to get lost in.

“You’re gonna get me in trouble, darlin’. I’m supposed to be a gentleman, and you’ve got me thinking about being everything but.”

“You asked what was wrong with you, and I said there was only one thing.” “And what would that be?” I asked. Lincoln didn’t answer immediately, letting my question hang between us. “You’re not mine.”

I’d already chosen her, would choose her every damn day if she let me, but she had to choose me too.

“You know, I never got the chance to tell you how good you looked tonight, darlin’,”

“What sounds good? Are you in for another whiskey night?”

“I would’ve cleared out every goddamn table in that place. I would’ve done whatever you asked. Only for you.”

He tasted of whiskey and sin and every promise he’d ever made.

“You’re gonna kill me, woman,” he whispered, curling his hands in my hair at the base of my neck. “But what a way to go.”

If you wear the hat, you ride the cowboy. His jaw ticked as he watched me set it on my head. I peeked at him beneath the brim, biting my lip the way I knew he liked. “Does this look like you aren’t wanted?”

“My hat looks good on you, darlin’.”

“You know, I used to think it only took me five days to fall in love with you, but honestly… I fell in love with you the moment you walked into this little bar tucked between the pines.”