Roping Your Heart by Cheyenne McCray

her first cheese-dipped cube tumbled off her fork and landed on the tablecloth. “I think I need some more practice.”
    He liked the sound of her giggle, it made him smile.
    “This is terrific,” Cat said after she finished eating a piece and ran her tongue along her lower lip to get at some of the sauce there.
    Blake watched her tongue dart out and felt a stirring in his gut at the sight.
    “It’s pretty damned good,” he said after chewing and swallowing his first bite.
    She smiled and slipped another cheesy bread cube into her mouth.
    They laughed and smiled, as not all of their attempts were successful and sometimes the bread cubes would fall back into the cheese fondue or onto their plates. Blake was just thankful he didn’t have one roll down the front of his shirt and land in his lap.
    The fondue pot and empty bread plate were taken away as the second course was served, a house salad with bleu cheese dressing.
    Cat stayed on safe subjects, asking about his brothers and his parents along with several of his cousins.
    “My family always loved you.” The words came to him without reservation. “They’ll be glad to see you again.”
    She was quiet for a moment. “Even after the way I left?”
    He nodded. “They’ll always care about you. They always have.”
    She took another drink from her second glass of wine then lowered her glass. “Your family is one of the things I missed about Prescott.”
    “And?” he said, laying out the question.
    She seemed to blush. “Yes, I missed you, too.”
    He gave her a grin. “Of course you did.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Still as confident as ever.”
    A low chuckle rose up inside him. He put down his salad fork as their dinner fondue arrived. Jacob took away their salad plates then set the next fondue pot in front of them.
    “This is our burgundy wine infused with fresh herbs and spices,” Penny said as she put plates in front of them with pieces of raw shrimp, filet mignon, and chicken. She explained how long each would need to be cooked in the wine at the end of the fondue forks. The server also set different sauces in sectioned-off plates in front of each of them and explained which sauce was for each type of meat.
    As they ate, they didn’t lack for conversation. It felt easy and natural and he felt the old Cat coming round, the one who laughed and smiled easily as opposed to the more quiet and reserved Cat that she’d been since he’d first seen her at Folsom Ranch.
    After she finished eating the entrée, she patted her belly. “I’m so full. I don’t know if I can take in the fourth course, dessert.”
    “Do you mind talking about the horse that attacked you?” he asked.
    She paused a moment and a shadow passed over her features. He almost wished he hadn’t brought it up, but they needed to talk about it and get it out into the open.
    With a shake of her head, she said, “I don’t mind.”
    “How did it happen?” he asked.
    She pushed her hair out of her face, slid her plate to the side and relaxed in her seat. Even though she looked different, her mannerisms and the way she spoke were the same. He’d always loved the sound of her voice.
    A server cleared away the fondue pot and dishes.
    When the server left, Cat took a deep breath. “When I left…”
    “With Toby Jennings,” Blake said evenly.
    She nodded, looking a little embarrassed. “Toby and I went to Tucson. I found a job rehabilitating horses with the owner of some stables on the east side of town. The owner’s name was Woody.” She tucked hair behind her ear again in a heart-wrenchingly familiar gesture. “Woody had a new gelding come in, Firestorm, and I took him out of his stall to start working with him. My biggest mistake was not waiting for Woody.”
    Blake watched Cat steadily as he waited for her to go on.
    Her throat worked as she swallowed and it seemed that a shiver traveled over her skin. “The next thing I knew, Firestorm had knocked me down. He started stomping on