Page 45 of From Rivals to I Do

“Yeah,” Eli says quietly as we reach the barn, and I can tell that he seems a bit out of sorts, though I can’t quite put my finger on why. Instead of opening the door, he pauses for a moment. “Joe’s not bothering you anymore, is he?”

“No, he’s left me alone,” I say as his face softens again and he opens the door.

“Well good, I’d hate to have to knock him down a few pegs,” he says as we walk into the humongous barn. “This is where we keep all the horses, I think we are up to fourteen now.”

“Oh wow,” I say as I look around. “It’s so roomy.”

“Yes, well, I like my horses to be comfortable,” he says. “Gives them ample room to lay down and such.”

“Makes sense,” I say with a smile. I hear rustling from one of the open stables before a man with a purple bandana on his face comes out with a bucket.

“Oh, um, this is Mitch,” Eli says. “He’s my friend and ranch hand.”

The man stands there silently, bucket dangling in his hands as he almost seems to glare at me.

“Nice to meet you, Mitch,” I say, but instead of saying hello back, all he does is wave before he turns tail and briskly walks off.

Strange, I think to myself. Most cowboys are really friendly and talkative. Maybe he’s just shy.

“Anyways, you ready to meet Lilah?” Eli asks, and I push the quiet man out of my head.

“Born ready,” I say excitedly as he steers me to a pen holding a beautiful brown mare with a white streak sliding up its nose, peaking in a cute little point at its forehead.

“Oh my, she’s so beautiful!” I gasp as I gingerly reach my hand in and pet her before he brings her out and gets her all ready to go. He then helps me onto her back, and hands me the reigns, the tanned leather feeling so good in my hands.

“I’m glad you like her,” Eli says. “She’s very gentle,” he says as he pets her neck. “Been a while since she’s been ridden.”

“Been a while since I’ve rode,” I say with a giggle. “So, I guess we have that in common,” I say as I watch him lead out a lovely black stallion.

“Seems like the two of you will be fast friends,” Eli replies. “This is Tango. I’ve had him the longest.”

“He’s precious,” I say as Eli gets Tango ready and hops on.

“You ready to go?” he asks, and I feel a bit nervous as I grip the reigns tightly.

“Definitely,” I say.

“Well then, let’s ride.”

He takes off, and I flick the reigns and take off after him, out the open back door and into a beautiful, green, grassy field. The property is huge, two or three times the size of my father’s, and Eli and I explore it all. All the while, there’s a smile on my face as the wind whips through my hair.

“I got someplace to show you,” he says after about an hour of riding around, and he races up a hill. It’s a little bit steep, but Lilah seems to know the way and isn’t bothered at all by it. So, we continue to chase after him until we get to the top.

“Look at this view!” I say, the gorgeous hills and valleys like something out of a Kincade painting.

“Isn’t it?” Eli says. “I thought you might like it.”

“I certainly do,” I say as I take a deep breath in, the scent of dirt and grass filling my nose. “It’s lovely.”

“I own all the way out to that fence there,” Eli says. “And then to that mountain face right there.”

“Oh wow, that’s even bigger than I thought,” I say.

“Yeah, well, I wanted to give us room to be self-sufficient,” Eli says. “Back in the day this cost quite a pretty penny. But I got it done.”

“Reminds me of home,” I say out loud as the thought brews in my head again. “My father is a farmer and rancher all wrapped into one, or was, he’s retired now. I miss it. I miss the animals too.”

There’s a lot pause of quiet, the only sound that of the breeze whistling through the tree branches. The day had been lovely, and here I was, making it awkward by being homesick.

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