Page 77 of Heart & Hope

The ground sways. I grip the pommel tight. Reed’s grin lights up his face. If it wasn’t for the man on the horse beside me, I would have slid out of the saddle and hiked my way back to the house.

“You wanna pick it up to a lope?” Reed asks.

I stare at the grassy field between Mira’s ears, sucking in a deep and steady breath. I’m not scared of horses, per se, more like of falling off them. After seeing everything Addy went through.

“Ah, okay?”

Reed shortens his reins, and I do the same, only half remembering how to do this horse-riding thing. He clucks his tongue, and Magnet bursts into a lope. His shirt billows at his back as he gets farther from Mira and me.

Shit.

I give her a squeeze with my legs, and she takes off after Magnet. I hold on to the pommel with one hand, the reins with the other. And soon her rocking gait has my tensed muscles melting into the saddle. Wind whips through my hair and the hat flies off my head and into the grass. Ah, I’ll grab it on the way back.

Reed slows Magnet a little and we catch up. “You’re doin’ amazin’, baby.”

I roll my eyes at him, and he tosses his head back with a laugh. The hat on his head teeters, and he shoves it back down with a hand. We lope toward the field we are hoping we will be a guest camping spot.

With two riding trails mapped out, we need one more private area, and we have our locations pinned down. All that’s left is the cabins, to convert the larger barn to a usable space for events, and to get the marketing up and running. A three-month pre-launch period for that should be enough.

Fingers crossed.

No, no hoping and praying.

All hard work and planning.

Rule number three.

We have been working our asses off to pull this off on time and under budget. But I must admit, this is the most fun I have ever had on a planning project.

“Rubes?” Reed lopes beside me, eyes studying my face.

“Sorry, was thinking about the to-do list.”

“Nope, no work stuff this afternoon. Only two friends, riding and feeling the wind in their hair.”

“We’re scouting out locations, Reed. Thisiswork.” But I can’t help the grin that splits my face. And the adoration and happiness that fill his face as he watches me ride sends a hurricane of butterflies up from my stomach.

“Come on, baby. Let’s take this up a notch.” He leans forward, and Magnet flattens his ears, bolting forward.

Fuck.

I reaffirm my grip on the pommel and squeeze Mira into a gallop. Her hooves thunder under my seat. I can understand why this could be addictive. Why Addy missed it so much. Thepower underneath me, moving along as fast as the wind, tunnels through my body. I rasp out a laugh.

Reed disappears behind a group of trees before reappearing out the other side and up the flank of the mountain. I push Mira in that direction, and she forges ahead. When we slow and round the copse, her strides change, every muscle pulled tight as she puts her head down and lopes up the incline after the gelding. Like these two are playing the same game Reed and I are. Only she gets to stay.

Lucky girl.

Clearing the rise, we spill up and over an edge to a plateau where Magnet and Reed stand, looking out over the ranch. I ease the mare to a walk and close in on the boys. Chuckling at the thought of the horses in a long-term relationship, I dismount on legs of jelly and wobble my way to where Reed stands.

“Perfect spot,” I say, breathless, running my fingers through my wind-knotted hair.

He turns back and tucks a strand behind my ear. “Yeah, sure is.” The words are all gravel.

I drag my focus back to the view of the ranch. “What are you going to call it?”

“What?”

“You need a name for your holiday ranch. It will be a huge part of the brand.”

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