Page 40 of Alive and Wells

She reaches for my hand and wraps my arm back around her. I don’t bother trying to fight it. Her stomach quivers against my palm with silent laughter, the warmth of her skin seeping through the thin tank top.

She lets out a contented sigh. “That was the best I’ve slept… possibly ever.”

“We should get going. Beat the heat,” I say because I feel like I should, although every needy ache in my body is begging to stay right here. I can’t remember the last time I slept that well, either. We’re spending the day making sure the trail cameras—situated along the road and at every gate—are in working order. While I’m thrilled to have hours to talk with Cecily uninterrupted, I’d rather be here where I can feel her warm body against mine.

She groans. “Ugh, okay. I still can’t believe I’m going to ride a horse today.”

“I can’t believe it’s taken this long to get you on one.”

“Not for lack of trying by Colt and Red.” Her hips wiggle slightly so she’s pressed against me again. “They’ve been trying to convince me to go horseback riding for weeks.”

Lord, give me strength.If we were spooning for any reason other than herhusband—though thinking of her having a husband makes me gag—scaring the shit out of her, I’d be kissing her bare shoulder right now and insisting we stay right here.

“Honoured you decided to come with me instead. Although—don’t tell him—Red might be our best cowboy. So I can’t say you wouldn’t be in good hands.”

“Decided? You told me I had no choice. And are you admitting he’s better than you? Maybe I should go with him instead, if that’s the case.” She’s clearly teasing me by the way her fingers thread through mine, still holding tight against her stomach.

“I’m not a cowboy, remember?” I squeeze our hands. “But, if I were, I would be a hell of a lot better thanRed. I’d be the best around. Come on, you saw us branding.”

“Ehhh, I didn’t know enough to judge at the time. Who’s to say who’s better?”

Our bodies are so close to being intertwined, I can feel the way Cecily’s pulse races as she turns to face me with a playful smile; the kind that sends my heart into an unsteady rhythm. I’m quickly running out of self-control. It’s next to impossible not to throw myself at her when she looks this good at five-thirty in the morning, when there’s sunlight filtering through the crack between my curtains, and nobody’s waiting for us to be anywhere. It’s the perfect set-up for a lazy morning in bed. A morning I won’t get to enjoy because I still haven’t worked up the nerve to kiss her. Friends who cuddle don’t spend all day in the sheets.

Cecily sits up, swinging her legs over the bedside. The skimpy pajama shorts and tank top aren’t covering as much as they probably should be, considering we’re “friends” sharing a bed. And they’re not helping my morning wood in the slightest. It’s no wonder I was rock hard pressed up against her ass when we woke up.

“Alright, Not-A-Cowboy.” She yawns. “Let’s go before I fall back asleep. Your bed’s so cozy. How do you manage to get up in the morning?”

“It’s usually a hell of a lot easier than it is today, for some reason.” I drag myself out behind her.

The horses pick up on Cecily’s cautiously optimistic attitude immediately, greeting her with gentle sniffs and quiet whinnies. Normally, the first to the barn is met with a barrage of hungry horses, ready to form a coup if they don’t receive grain immediately.

“Ready, darlin’?”

“Not at all, but I said you need to be more reckless, and I guess I should follow my own advice.”

Once she’s settled in the saddle, I pony her horse behind mine, checking repeatedly to make sure she’s okay as we start up the winding trail to the first camera. Jackson and I set up trail cameras four years ago after a poaching problem lost us twenty cattle in one summer. Who would’ve thought they might come in handy for vindictive ex-husbands one day? I mean, given the history of some of our employees, maybe it wouldn’t have seemed completely insane. But I wouldn’t have guessed I’d be involved. I had Savannah, and thought she was my forever. Two years and countless rides along this trail together—I didn’t know on the day we hung these cameras that I was mere weeks away from losing her. Déjà vu barrels into me. I’m confident I’ve ridden this same dirt path at least five-hundred times since then, yet this is the first time Sav runs through my mind. Almost as a warning.

Then I think aboutherleaving.And byher, I don’t mean Savannah.

We check trail cameras while I wrestle with duelling thoughts of Sav and Cecily. Not that I have any feelings about my ex-girlfriend. It’s just impossible not to compare them when the scenarios are eerily similar. Granted, Sav was running from her terrible parents, rather than a terrible husband. But, in both cases, they’re city girls using Wells Ranch as a hideout. A place to weather the storm until it’s safe to go somewhere else.

“God, how do you guys do this all day, every day?” Cecily stretches, gently massaging her thighs when we stop for lunch. “I don’t think I’ll be able to move by the time we get back. If KJ comes for me tonight, leave me to die. There’s no shot I can keep up if we need to run.”

“Do you always need to make light of literal life or death situations?”

“I was the dumbass who stayed in an abusive marriage until he was pointing a fucking gun at me. If I don’t make some jokes from time to time, I’m going to completely fall to pieces over it. Either way, you’ll be uncomfortable, so get used to it.”

“He’s the dumbass… not you. Never you.” I can’t argue with the rest. Pulling the lunches from my saddlebag, I point to a shady spot beneath a poplar tree. “Come on.”

I spent hours yesterday grappling with everything; taking small comfort in knowing if he had a sliver of decency, she wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be the one next to her. With every fucked-up story, I tried to wrap my head around how somebody could manipulate, belittle, scare, and abuse her. Though my blood pressure skyrocketed, and my heart pounded in my chest with each thing she said about him, I bottled it up for her sake. But, oh Lord, Icannot waitto unleash my fury if that motherfucker ever shows his face around here.

“Oh my God, this view’s beautiful,” she says as she walks toward the cliff’s edge.

She isn’t wrong about the stunning panorama—there’s a reason I chose to stop here. It’s one of the best viewpoints on our 100,000 plus-acre ranch, and I knew she’d love it. On a clear day, like today, you can see the entire Timothy Mountain range, with tic-tac-size buildings making up Wells Canyon at the base. Green treetops, winding dirt roads, and smaller rolling hills surround the town. In the foreground, Wells Ranch looks both vast and miniature at the same time. Dollhouse-size, red-roofed buildings seem to spread on forever, surrounded by nothing but farmland for tens of kilometres.

“Mhm.” My view certainly is beautiful—though I’m not looking at the valley. My eyes refuse to take in anything other than the wind blowing in her golden hair. Her shirt flutters up with each gust to reveal the small sliver on her lower back that I’ve become incredibly obsessed with. Denim stretches over her hips and round ass, dirty and begging to be stripped off. And I just know her eyes are wide, exhilarated, and the corners creased thanks to a smile I’m confident is lighting up her face.

“Okay, I’m starting to understand the appeal of this cowboy thing.” She sits down next to me and unwraps her sandwich. “I love a mountaintop picnic.”

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