She plans her world in careful patterns and quiet. He wrangles chaos with calloused hands and a stubborn jaw. When a herd of half-tamed horses throws them together at dusk, sparks fly hotter than a July lightning strike over the open range.
She is Tessa Navarro — freckled, brilliant, and autistic — with noise-canceling headphones, a fidget ring, and a gift for reading the language of hooves and ears.
He is Cole Hart — the ranch’s gruff, sweat-sheened foreman — who keeps his shirt half unbuttoned and his heart fully locked.
When the ranch owner bets the season on a wild-horse program, Tessa’s sensory-smart training is their last chance. Cole doesn’t trust “book methods,” and Tessa doesn’t trust people who won’t listen. But under star-shot skies, between the smack of gates and the thunder of galloping silhouettes, their rhythms start to sync — body to body, beat to beat.
As the horses soften, so do the walls around them. Trouble is, the past rides hard: rumors, jealous rivals, and a mistake that could stampede everything they’ve built. To win this race, Cole must learn the art of gentle, and Tessa must risk a different kind of bravery — letting herself be fully seen.
