Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“He really is excellent,” Chase agrees, and I glance over to find Ryan lost in thought.
I slow my pace, but Chase moves ahead, and Ryan hangs back with me.
“You okay?” he asks me.
“I was just going to ask you the same thing. You suddenly got quiet.”
“Not in a bad way.” He smiles down at me. “I’m just soaking it all in. You’ll love Ladybug.”
“I already do.” I can’t help it. I slip my hand in his and give it a squeeze, and when we walk into the barn, everyone is too enthralled with saddling their horses to notice us. “I can saddle my own.”
“Let’s do it, then.”
Ten minutes later, Erin pulls up and hops out of her SUV. “This is so fun. Thanks for including me.”
“We had an extra horse and didn’t want to leave her behind,” Jake says. “Blossom’s a good girl. You’ll like her.”
“I’ve met her,” Erin says and rubs the horse’s nose. “We’re friends, aren’t we, pretty lady?”
It takes about thirty minutes to get all the horses ready to go, and before we all take off on a ride, Jake takes Summer out in the pasture by herself to show her how to handle Lullaby.
“He’s so damn good with them,” Erin says softly. “With both the horse and the rider. Those horses have helped heal him, Ryan.”
“They’ve healed each other,” Ryan replies.
“I’m doing it!” Summer grins over at us and leans down to pat the horse on the neck. “This is awesome.”
“Do you think you could go on a ride with us?” Jake asks her.
“Like this? Yes, just don’t get fancy on me.”
“Okay, then.” Jake laughs and gestures for all of us to follow them. Once mounted up, we’re riding two-by-two deeper into the ranch. I can’t help but notice all the beautiful wildflowers blooming in the pasture, with the gorgeous mountains rising up into the blue sky in the distance.
“How many acres do you own here?” I ask Ryan, who’s riding next to me.
“About five thousand, give or take.” He smiles over at me. “You look damn sexy on that horse.”
“Thanks.” I toss my hair over my shoulder and bat my eyelashes at him. “I like to ride all kinds of things.”
“Like?”
“Oh, you know. Horses. Amusement park rides. Ryan Wild.”
That has him busting out laughing, and the others look back at us and then go back to their own conversations.
My horse stomps and seems to be unsettled about something in the tall grass.
“Whoa, girl. Whoa. What is it?” I narrow my eyes, looking down, and then immediately turn her closer to Ryan. “Snake.”
We make a wide berth around the snake in the grass, and then Ryan looks over at me with admiration in his gaze.
“What?”
“You didn’t panic.”
“If I panic, the horse does, too, and I don’t want to end up on the ground with a snake. She was a good girl and warned me, and we figured it out.”
“I like that you can handle yourself on a horse,” he says.
“I can handle myself just about anywhere.”
“I’m going to play games with Russ,” Jake says to Ryan after dinner. Once the others left after our ride, we watched a movie in the theater, and then I made the guys salmon for a late dinner. Jake and Ryan just finished the dishes, insisting that because I cooked, I didn’t have to clean.
I happily took them up on that offer.
“And,” Jake continues, “I’m not coming back out. So, if you kiss or something, I don’t have to see it. You did really good today, Polly.”
That lights me up inside because I know it’s high praise coming from this boy. “Thank you. I had a lot of fun. You’re talented with the horses, Jake.”
“Yeah, they’re my thing. Good night.”
He quickly raids the pantry for some chips and cookies, pulls two sodas out of the fridge, and then he’s gone upstairs.
“Drink some water, too!” Ryan calls after him. “He asked for a fridge for his room, and I told him no. He has to come out of there sometime to refuel, and I actually like seeing him.”
He pulls a bottle of wine out of a wine fridge, snatches two wineglasses from a cabinet, and then gestures for me to follow him up to the rooftop.
The sun is just starting to go down over the mountains, and I take a minute to close my eyes and breathe in the fresh air.
“It’s so pretty out here, Ryan.”
I sit on one side of the outdoor sofa and watch as Ryan opens the wine and pours two glasses, passing me one. There are twinkle lights strung all around the top of the glass, and they’re illuminated, casting a warm, pretty glow in the room.
“It’s my favorite place in the world,” he admits. “Up here, in this place. I love the whole property, but this is the one corner that I don’t really share with anyone. Jake comes up once in a while, but it’s not as interesting to him.”