The Cowboy's Surprise Baby (Cowboy Country Book 3) by Deb Kastner

her.”
    “It’s no problem. Really. I’ll pull her aside this evening and pass the explanation of your actions along for you.”
    “You don’t think she needs to hear it from me?”
    “Don’t make a big deal out of it, okay? It’s probably better that we just let it slide and move on. But I promise I’ll mention your apology to her.”
    “Thanks, Red.” Cole felt the weight of anxiety roll off his back, and not only because he knew Tessa would fix his problem for him. It was much more than that.
    For the first time since he’d returned to Serendipity, he didn’t feel tension turning his muscles into knots because he was around Tessa. In fact, riding beside her now, he felt almost comfortable, like pulling on the softness and scent of a familiar sweatshirt. He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in, enjoying the smell of the Texas grassland and the comfort of the gentle rock of Checkers’s gait.
    He’d missed this. The landscape. The peace.
    Tessa.
    “Oh, no.” Tessa’s strained voice broke in on Cole’s tranquility and brought him to instant alertness.
    “What? What’s wrong?”
    “It’s Whitley.”
    He looked around, trying to figure out what had Tessa on edge. Another teenager making trouble? They couldn’t just ride their horses and enjoy the beautiful Texas landscape?
    “Who is—”
    He didn’t get to finish his question. Tessa spurred Little Bit into a canter and rode up the line. At first Cole couldn’t see where she was going, but then he spotted the problem at about the same time Tessa reached Whitley.
    After Zephyr’s crazy antics earlier, Cole thought he’d seen everything, but this one was new. Whitley was clinging to her saddle, which had slid off to the side of the horse, threatening to swing underneath. It was a dangerous position for a rider to be in, especially an inexperienced one. He was amazed the girl hadn’t rolled off the horse and into the dirt.
    And once again, he was to blame. How could this be happening?
    His muscles once again in knots, he nudged Checkers with the heels of his boots. When he reached Whitley’s side, he jumped from the saddle and joined Tessa in helping Whitley dismount without injuring herself. Marcus held the horse’s head while Tessa and Cole tag-teamed, Cole sweeping the girl safely to the ground while Tessa shoved the saddle up onto the horse’s back and checked the cinch—the very cinch Cole had been responsible for tightening.
    He didn’t get it. He’d been saddling horses since he was in preschool. He knew about horses’ proclivity to bloat their undersides to keep the cinch loose and had experienced every other trick in the book where mischievous equines were concerned. A loose cinch was a beginner’s mistake, and one he knew he hadn’t made.
    He couldn’t possibly have caused this accident, and yet...the evidence was right there in front of him. The knot had loosened enough for the saddle to slide, but not so much that it slipped under the horse. He offered up a quick thanks to God for watching out for the shaken teenager.
    “Who did this?” Tessa demanded, shifting the saddle to the appropriate spot on the horse’s back and meticulously tightening the cinch knot. The saddle wouldn’t slide around this time. “Whitley? Tell me who’s responsible for this stunt.”
    Whitley pinched her lips and remained silent, but Cole didn’t miss her inadvertent glance toward a couple of the boys nearby.
    Neither, apparently, did Tessa.
    “Do you have something you want to say?” Cole challenged a smirking blond kid whose jeans probably cost more than Cole had made in a month in the navy. It didn’t take a genius to see he was one of the instigators. The boy shrugged and shook his head.
    “No? How about you?” he asked the kid’s indigo-haired friend, who was looking equally satisfied with his antics. If Cole had anything to do with it, he would wipe the smirks from both of their faces. Never mind peeling potatoes. These two guys