Page 57 of When It Reins
He is reliable, dependable, and everything I ever wanted in a partner.
Though I might keep that one close to the chest for a while.
“So where are we headed?”
I gasp as we walk through the woods. The sound of water falling against itself is loud enough to grab my attention, but peaceful to the surrounding areas. The sun has nearly set as Mitch takes the thing he carried from the car and starts to set up a picnic.
“Is this for real?” I gape at the water. It looks clean enough to swim in. “I had no idea this was here.”
“Trevors family secret,” Mitch answers, laying out a blanket. I help by grabbing a corner and laying it out for him. “Well, and Cash, I guess.”
“Are we on the ranch property, then?” I couldn’t follow what direction was which as we drove up the mountain, but that probably had something to do with the way his hand was rubbing against mine. I was unable to really focus on anything other than the way his skin felt against my own.
Yeah, I was a goner.
“Nearly.” He looks around the area, pausing his picnic setup. “Just on the edge. Technically, this is public property, but not a lot of people know about it. And not a lot of people come at night.”
I pause for a moment, listening to the sounds of critters in the surrounding trees and bushes, then I whisper, “Because of the bears?”
Mitch chuckles, looking up at me as he sets a couple of plates down on the blanket, dutifully unpacking food. More than enough food for a while, it seems. “No bears.” He shrugs. “I mean, I guess there probably are, but I’ve never seen one over here. They like the cattle.”
I frown at the description. “Well, I don’t love that.”
“Neither does CT. He was bitching about that—” Mitch winces and shakes his head. “I mean, complaining earlier.”
“You can curse in front of me. I don’t mind.” I smile at him as I sit on the blanket, trying to help him arrange everything.
He shakes his head. “It’s bad manners.” I don’t comment on it, mostly because I think it’s sweet that he wants to speak nicely when he’s in front of me.
“How was today?” I ask, reaching for his little checkered bag that carried the utensils.
Mitch nods. “It was…good.” He frowns then. “Well, I think so. I think my brothers are starting to understand why I left, so they’re trying harder to try to reconnect with me.”
“Well, that’s good.”
When Mitch told me he explained everything to his family, why the past decade he’s been away, I held my breath to hear what they said, but then he told me how they all just accepted it, forgave him, and decided to move on as a family.
I’m so grateful and relieved that it happened to him that way.
He deserves so many amazing things in life, and I am so glad to see it all working out for him.
“Yeah, they want to do an overnight drive next week,” he says, handing me my portion of the meal. It looks suspiciously like the fried chicken from the restaurant, but I don’t comment on it because it doesn’t matter. He still went through all the effort to bring me here tonight, and I was not going to complain.
“Oh really? Overnight?” I dig my fork into the potato salad that accompanies the chicken and moan when the taste hits my tongue. “This is so good.”
Mitch smirks. “I know a decent chef.” He winks, and I giggle at the move, both of us knowing who he is talking about.
“Yeah, overnight,” he says, continuing our conversation. “We’re driving the herd up the mountain to a new area. Riding the horses up there always takes a little longer.”
“Why not just use a trailer and drive them up there?” I ask, taking another bite.
“Can’t.” He shakes his head and looks at me, smiling when I lick my fork clean. “Can’t get a truck up there. It’s too rocky. Untouched land.”
I think about that for a moment and nod. “That’s amazing. With how much our world changes, it’s nice to know there are parts of it that are natural.”
“Agree.”
“Is that why you live so remotely?”
