Page 6 of Rowdy St. Nick

She sees me cantering with Daisy down the road and she puts her arms up to wave outlandishly at me. Does she not realize that anyone in a mile wide radius can see her easily? Daisy slows down and shies away from the smoke cloud as we get closer. I approach with caution. Even pretty girls in short skirts can be dangerous. Ya never know.

I dismount and offer her one of my patented warm Parker smiles. She comes running up, panic clear on her face.

“Hello there!” I call out. “You need some help?”

“Yes, oh my god. I’m so glad you came along.”

“Oh, really now?”

She turns to look at her car behind her. “It looks like I’ve neglected my coolant levels, and that engine is cooked. I need a ride back to town, if you can help.”

“I can do that. I’m Parker, by the way. I work over at Lone Star Dude Ranch.”

I extend my hand to her, and she takes it with her own.

“I’m Tess.”

A firm handshake turns into a mutual visual assessment as we look at each other for fuck knows how long. I let go first.

“Wait, you mean like a real dude ranch?” She says, “just over there? I pass by here to go to work up at The Castle almost every day, but I didn’t realize we had one of those here.”

“We do. My family have all been ranchers out here going back a few generations.”

“I see, so you’re a real, serious, honest to goodness cowboy then?”

“I sure am.”

I tip my hat at her, and she giggles at that.

“Well,” I continue, “how bout that ride into town or up the road to your work?”

I gesture at Daisy and her eyes go wide.

“You want me to get up on that horse?” Her voice is shaking a bit.

“It’s the only ride I have to offer.”

“How long will it take to get to The Castle on this thing? I really can’t afford to be late today.”

“This thing…” I tell her, “Is Daisy, my favorite mare. I’m not really sure since I’ve never heard of that place nor know where it is, but the dude ranch is only about a ten-minute ride from here if we take it slow.”

“Yes, please take it slow. I don’t even know if I can ride in this outfit.”

I look her up and down. “You can’t, not properly. Your thighs will be raw by the time we get there.”

“Thinking about my thighs being raw then, are you?”

Whoops, didn’t mean to go there. Can I fix it?

“No one rides in a skirt. At least not one like that.”

She looks down at her outfit.

“You’re probably right, but I wouldn’t know. I’ve never ridden a horse before.”

“Never?”

“Nope. It looks pretty high up to me. How would this work, exactly?”

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