The Last Second Chance: A Small Town Love Story (Blue Moon Book 3) by Lucy Score

just on the edge of the tree line astride Cyrano, a dapple-gray quarter horse with an attitude.
    She took a moment to hate the echo of awareness she had for a man she didn’t know anymore.
    Joey didn’t have to see his face to know he was pissed.
    And that pissed her off. She thought about turning and heading back to the stable, but Joey Greer never ran from a fight. Sometimes she galloped into them.
    She pulled Romeo to a stop in front of Jax, careful to keep a safe distance between their mounts. Cyrano had the tendency to get a little mouthy.
    “What the hell are you doing?” Jax said the words quietly, calmly. But there was a dangerous anger simmering beneath the surface.
    “What does it look like I’m doing?” she asked evenly.
    “Like you’re trying to break your neck, riding like an idiot.”
    Far smaller sparks had ignited infernos between them. Joey took one of those deep, cleansing breaths that Gia was so fond of. The set of his jaw, the snap of fire in those sharp gray eyes. If he wanted a fight, then who was she to deny him.
    “I know what I’m doing,” she said coolly.
    “Being incredibly irresponsible? What the hell kind of stunt was that?” Cyrano shifted nervously under him.
    “One I’ve been working on for awhile, along with several others. You’ve been gone a long time, Jax,” she reminded. “I’m not a kid anymore.”
    “I can see that.”
    She swore the heat from his gaze penetrated her winter layers and licked flames over her skin.
    “Then using that stellar deductive reasoning of yours, you can probably figure out that a lot of things have changed around here in eight years, including my level of skill on the back of a horse.” She said it flippantly in a way designed to goad him.
    “I’m not questioning your God damn skills, I’m questioning your sense. You flinging yourself around on the back of a horse without safety equipment or anyone to call 911 when you crack open your thick head is stupid.”
    Romeo had wandered close enough that Jax grabbed his bridle. He pulled her mount closer until their legs were brushing. “Would you let a student come out here by herself and mess around like that?”
    “I was just having fun. I didn’t realize that was illegal.” She hated that he had a very small, practically insignificant point.
    “I need you to be more careful. Do this shit in the indoor ring. With a helmet. And your trick saddle. And someone else around.” He was waving his free hand around as if he was conducting a symphony of pissed-offness.
    “Geez, Mom . Calm down.” She rolled her eyes.
    He grabbed her by the front of the jacket. “Don’t.” He said it quietly and with heat.
    “Jesus, Jax. Knock it off,” she said shoving at his hand.
    “Promise me.”
    She could feel the muscle under her eye start to twitch. She hated conceding to anyone. Especially Jax. But he was more than stubborn enough to keep her out here until she agreed. It would take days for anyone to find their frozen bodies.
    “Fine. I promise,” she growled through gritted teeth.
    “Good girl.”
    That pissed her off enough to take another dig. “Why do you even care anyway?”
    He still had a good grip on her jacket. “You know why, Jojo.” He yanked her closer until she had to brace herself against his thigh.
    “Why?” she challenged. Why did she so desperately want to hear those words from him again? Would she start believing them if he kept saying them?
    “Because I never stopped loving you. You’re it for me.”
    And there it was, that jagged rush of elation followed by the slick dive of doubt. He left her, abandoned her in a hospital bed all those years ago. Whatever love meant to Jackson Pierce, it wasn’t what it meant to her.
    “Then where the hell have you been?” she snapped, trying to wrestle free from his grip. But without clocking him right in the face, he wasn’t letting go. Joey growled in frustration. “Forget it. Just forget it. I don’t know how to ask you