Page 11 of Rediscovering Rubi

They showered and changed, and Logan thought his wife looked adorable in her jeans and fur-lined boots, her gorgeous auburn hair pulled back from her face in a ponytail, her hands tucked into the pockets of her white down vest. She looked as fresh-faced and pretty as she had back in their college days. But the best part was how he felt so connected to her after their morning together.

They’d decided to stick to his plan and headed out to the lobby to get pointed in the right direction to take a look at the horses and petting zoo, then Logan wanted to view the Dungeon, leaving it as a surprise for Rubi later. There were plenty of people in the lobby this morning. Some of them were dressed in Littles’ outfits—he spotted a few frilly dresses, as well as colorful overalls, and lots of fluffy jackets and knit hats with animal ears.

“How cute are they?” Rubi asked him.

“Pretty damn adorable, even if it’s not my thing.”

“I just love that everyone here can be who they are.”

“So do I, babe. It’s why I wanted to come to the Ranch.”

“Colonel and Mrs. Shaw!”

They turned to find Erika walking across the lobby towards them, a tablet in her hands.

“Good morning, Erika,” he said, and Rubi echoed him.

“Good morning. I hope the two of you enjoyed your first night with us. What’s on the schedule for today? Will you be joining any of the classes? And have you eaten yet?”

“No classes for us this trip, probably, but thanks,” Logan answered.

“And we had an incredible breakfast in our room this morning,” Rubi told her.

“That’s great,” Erika said with a smile.

“We were on our way to go see the stables and the petting zoo,” Logan said.

“We have some beautiful horses. Do either of you ride?” Erika asked.

He nodded. “We both used to, but it’s been years.”

“We have some very gentle horses if you’d like to give it a try. And we can always send one of our stable hands out with you on the trails, or our stable master, Travis, might be available. Just let me or Luna at the front desk know, and we can schedule it for you. Or anyone you find out at the stable can help.”

“Thank you,” Rubi said, moving in closer to his side, letting him know the thought of riding made her nervous.

“Sure! Anything for our guests. Including…” Erika paused and turned to look over her shoulder. “Including someone who can take you out to the stables and point you to the petting zoo right now.”

She waved a hand, and a petite blonde woman wearing pink rubber boots with her blue jeans came over.

“This is Reese, and she’s in charge of the petting zoo. I’m sure she’d be happy to show you out to the barn. Reese, this is Colonel and Mrs. Shaw.”

“Otherwise known as Logan and Rubi,” he said with a smile. “No need for a formal title.”

“I kinda like a formal title, Sir,” Reese said, smiling back. “But either way, it’s very nice to meet you both. Come on—let me take you out to the barn.”

“That’s so kind of you,” Rubi said. “And thank you, Erika.”

“You’re very welcome. And again, anything you need, just tell us.”

They followed Reese outside, and although there was snow on the mountains and patches of it on the ground, the sun was out and the sky was a brilliant blue. It was a beautiful winter day.

Reese chatted as they walked toward the big barn, telling them a bit of the history of the Ranch and the surrounding mountains.

“This place is so gorgeous,” Rubi said. “The sky really is big in Montana.”

“Yep, they don’t call Montana ‘Big Sky Country’ for nothing,” Reese agreed. “Here we are. We don’t keep all of the horses in this barn; a lot of them are on another part of the property. But some of the ones our guests ride regularly are here, plus our therapy horse, China. And don’t be surprised if you see an alpaca in there—Alfie kinda thinks he’s a horse.”

Rubi laughed, and Logan squeezed her hand as they walked into the big, tidy barn.

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