Page 74 of Just Say When

Brax

We took two days to haul Pirate from Aspen Springs to Oklahoma City, where the National Reining Futurity Championships were held. James and Adam elected to fly to minimize the time they spent away from Ben. Ben, of course, was more upset about missing the show than missing his dad and James. I had the feeling his granddad would spoil him rotten while we were away.

I had never been all that fond of road trips, but now I saw the appeal. Six hours of nothing but open road, the occasional patch of red brake lights, and uninterrupted time with Essie. I had never had this much time with her, awake and out of bed, and I was fucking greedy for it.

We talked about Pirate, and my plans for reviving the breeding program at LodestarRanch, if we could find someone to run it. We talked about Essie’s mom, and how hard she worked. We talked about Zack, and his slow road to recovery. We gossiped about our friends, and the people we had grown up with, and random people we saw at the hotel diner.

There was nothing special about any of it, and that’s what made it so special. The conversation wasn’t heavy. It wasn’t loaded with double meanings and old pains. Two months ago, this wouldn’t have been possible.

Now, it felt like a marriage.

Arealmarriage.

We stopped in Dalmart, Texas, for the night, at a place designed for people traveling with horses. It was slightly more than halfway to Oklahoma City. I never slept well in strange beds, but with Essie’s body curled against mine in a perfect fit, it felt like home.

At some point during the night, I half-woke with my dick hard and Essie’s fingers tracing the tattoo on my chest. Without opening my eyes, I rolled her sleep-warm body—still naked from the evening’s earlier activities—on top of mine and slid inside her. She hummed softly and pressed a kiss to my neck. We had slow, sleepy sex and then promptly fell asleep again exactly as we were, Essie draped over my torso, my dick still inside her.

Before the sun rose, we woke up and did it all over again.

“You know what we need,” I said, as she slowlymerged us onto the highway for the final leg of our journey.

She barely glanced at me, all her attention focused on the road. “What?”

“A honeymoon.”

That got her attention. “Really?”

I couldn’t blame her for being surprised. Honeymoons weren’t common in Aspen Springs. Most people couldn’t afford the vacation, moneywise or timewise. Ranch work didn’t stop for births, deaths, or weddings.

“What made you think of a honeymoon?” she asked.

“This.” I gestured to her and me and the truck. “I like it. No annoying brothers. No meddlesome friends. Just you and me, making up for lost time. I think we deserve that, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She flashed me a small, quick smile. “Could you take the time off?”

“I could, with a little planning. January and April are out because I do a lot of tax work then. I figure summer wouldn’t be great, either, because you’ll want to be showing and training.” I wanted her to know I understood this. That her career was just as important as mine.

I had meant what I said, when I told her I didn’t want her to give up anything for me. I still felt that way about it. Back then, she couldn’t have the life shewanted, unless I wasn’t in it. I was always the thing that held her back, even when she didn’t understand it.

Things were different now. Some dreams she had already accomplished. Other dreams had grown and changed. But Essie living exactly the life she wanted to live, that was as important to me as ever.

I couldn’t be something holding her back. I wanted to give her everything.

She checked her mirrors and nibbled her lip, thinking. “Spring, then?”

“Spring,” I agreed.

And had the pleasure of making my wife smile.

The thingthat separated pro and non-pro competitors in the Level 4 futurity championship wasn’t skill. Some of these non-pros—riders who owned the horse themselves rather than being paid to ride by the owner—devoted their entire lives to the sport of reining and competed in the arena year after year. Many of them were quarter horse breeders by trade.

Their spins were just as compact as the pros. Their sliding stops every bit as fancy. Essie and Pirate had their work cut out for them, a fact I was very much aware of as I stared down at the dirt arena, clenchingand unclenching the fairgrounds map in my fist until it was damp with my sweat.

She wasn’t outmatched, though. Neither was Pirate. But it would be a real fight.

A hard knot of anticipation twisted my stomach as I sat through the next two riders. They were good. Very fucking good. But Essie was better, and I didn’t think it was the fact that I was head-over-heels in love with that woman that made me think so.

“Pirate has them all beat,” Adam said next to me. He sprawled on the bench, his long legs spread out in front of him and crossed at the ankle. Looking like he didn’t have a care in the world.

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