Chapter 8 Rhett
eight
Rhett
Atrail ride is just what I needed to relax and unwind.
The move to Kissing Ridge, getting the rodeo school facility set up, and house hunting have all strained my mental reserves, and it’s nice to just be out in nature. Even if my company for the day is too delectable to take my eyes off.
He’s a beautiful man in his coffee shop, but today Diamond is more than just a gorgeous blond man with eyes as blue as the prairie sky on a clear summer day.
Today he’s more relatable. He’s more real out here like this.
Sure, he’s flirting, and I shouldn’t be surprised that he’d show up with a horse as gorgeous as he is, but out here it feels like equal ground.
Like we have more in common than I could have hoped.
Our journey alternates between single file and side-by-side. Every time we’re side-by-side, Diamond and I talk. Nothing huge or life-altering, but mostly the typical getting-to-know-you questions that you’d ask anyone on a date.
“So, how long have you been a bronc rider?”
The steady clop of the horses’ hooves on the packed soil is our soundtrack as we learn about each other. It’s perfect.
“I was thirteen when someone dared me to try it at a local rodeo. I entered the bareback division since I didn’t own a saddle and borrowed a rigging rope from an older guy. They called my name, and I hopped onto that thing and just held on.”
Diamond laughs. “Did you know what to do at all?”
I shake my head with a laugh.
“Not a clue, but the man I borrowed the rope from was impressed I held on for nearly the full eight seconds. He took me under his wing, and I’ve been riding ever since.”
“You’re a natural then.”
“I wouldn’t say that. It’s a lot of effort to stay at the top of the sport. I worked hard. Still do.”
Maybe too hard. Rodeo always came first, but when I tried to put it second, shit just fell apart.
“What just changed? Your smile disappeared.” Diamond trains his gaze on me. “Does rodeo not make you happy?”
“It does. Sometimes, though, I wonder about choices I’ve made and if I should’ve done things differently, is all.” I can tell he wants to ask more, but I’d rather wait for sharing anything deeper and hear about him.
“My turn. How come you don’t race anymore? You can’t wear a barrel racing buckle and expect me not to ask about it.”
His eyes twinkle with a mischief that has me hanging on his next words. “How do you know I didn’t just buy it at some thrift shop? Maybe I wore it to impress you?”
“Did you?”
“I’ll never tell.” He smirks, the familiar flirting grin he always has at The Thirsty Cow, and I shake my head.
“We’re supposed to get to know each other. What will you tell me?”
A long beat of silence sits between us. Diamond’s smile fades a little as he pats his horse’s neck.
“Horses saved my life,” he offers, and before I can reply, our trail leads into a single file path again, and I’m left with that information and no opportunity to ask more. How? What happened to him? Surely a guy so bubbly and confident didn’t have a day so dark he needed saving.
He looks back over his shoulder, then stands in his stirrups, giving his ass a little shake before sitting back down.
“You okay back there? Thought I’d break up the scenery a bit for you. Do you like it?”
His laughter is so loose and carefree despite what he just said. It confuses me.
“I’m just fine, but I wouldn’t mind a break soon.”
“I’ve got you covered, cowboy. We’re almost there.”
A few minutes later, the trail dumps us into a meadow at the base of the foothills. The Rocky Mountains tower above us, farther away than they appear. A small spring bubbles nearby, and I pull Wilbur to a stop next to Diamond.
Spring flowers abound, and the scent of new growth and beginnings surrounds us. It’s a stunning place. Diamond dismounts with a comfortable grace, and I like that about him. He calls himself a diva, but I don’t think that’s completely true.
In fact, I think his whole flirty diva bit is just an act. I could be wrong, but when I pressed him to ask me for what he wanted, and he asked me on a date, I can’t help but wonder how many men didn’t bother to get to know him first.
“It’s a glacier-fed stream. The horses love it.”
A few rustic logs, held together with aging wire, form a hitching post nearby, and after the horses have drunk, we tie them to the post and let them rest.
“Since I invited you on this ride. I brought snacks.” Diamond pulls out a blanket and settles it on the ground before pulling several containers from his saddlebag. “If they act as an aphrodisiac, I’ll just tell you now that I’ve never had sex in a field and I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Not a naturalist then?”
I join him on the blanket as he opens the container of fruit and breads. He passes me a bottle of apple juice, and I murmur my thanks before drinking the entire thing down.
“I wouldn’t say I’m not a naturalist, more like it’s outside, and there are bugs and grass and…”—he waves a hand around—“sex isn’t always beautiful. It seems wrong to have messy sex in a place so…pristine.”
He pops a strawberry into his mouth and offers me the container. After choosing a piece of melon, he sets the container between us and leans back on his hands, staring up at the blue sky.
“Equine therapy,” he says after a few minutes and tilts his head towards me.
“That’s how horses saved my life. I was young and.
..” He studies me like he’s unsure if he should tell me the rest. “I was a young man fighting cancer while my entire life fell apart around me. My dad suggested therapy and, like the difficult person I am, I chose equine just to make it harder to find a therapist.” His humourless laugh fades away.
“Turns out it was the best choice I ever made.”
“I’m—”
Diamond holds up a hand. “Do not say you’re sorry.
Please. I threw that nugget out earlier without thinking about it, and it’s not fair to keep you guessing.
You said you wanted to know me, and that’s part of me.
I had cancer, and now I don’t. If there’s a place I can be myself and let you see me…
it’s outside like this. With or without Cherry.
There’s no one here to judge me, analyze me or hit on me.
” He winks and nudges me with a playful smile. “Unless you want to.”
He switches between flirty and vulnerable like it’s the easiest thing to do, and while I appreciate his honesty and trusting me with the info when I said I wanted to know the real him, I thought we’d talk about more surface-level stuff.
Instead, he’s just going straight for the deep end.
I’m unsure of how to tell him I wasn’t going to say sorry, but that I’m in awe.
He’s clearly been through more than I could ever fathom, and he carries himself with a confidence that never seems to fade.
Diamond settles on his back this time while I pull a slice of banana bread from the other container. “You liked the banana coffee. Figured I’d make a banana bread. Do you like it?”
“I do. And yes, it’s become a favourite.”
“Because of me?”
“Maybe a little.”
He beams like it’s the best thing he’s heard, and I look away. It’s more than a little. If it weren’t for him, I’d still drink black coffee and not be considering letting someone else in again.
“If you could be a flower, what kind would you be?” Diamond asks.
Raising an eyebrow at him, I huff a laugh. “For real?”
“Yeah. I like flowers, so what would you be?”
I give myself time to think about that because nobody has ever asked me what kind of flower I’d be.
Hell, I don’t even know that many flower names, but if this is how we get to know about each other, I’ll play along.
Although I was the one who said I wanted to know the real him, and he’s the one asking all the questions so far.
“A dandelion, I think.” Mostly because it’s the first thing to pop into my mind.
His laughter is warm, and I love how he puts his whole self into laughing.
“That’s a weed.” His eyes practically glitter with humour, but his tone isn’t condescending. More like he’s calling me out to pick something else.
“Is it? Well, I like it. It grows where it shouldn’t and always comes back when you try to kill it.
It’s fuzzy and cute, and how can you not like the colour yellow?
” Nodding my head, I think I’ve convinced myself the dandelion is indeed the plant for me.
“A field of yellow makes me smile, so yes, dandelion.”
“Resilient then. That’s you?”
I nod. “I think that’s me, yes. I used to pick dandelions for my mom. I thought they were pretty.” My voice grows rough, and I clear my throat. “What about you? What’s your favourite flower?”
A few moments pass, and Diamond takes a deep breath.
“Roses. I’ve always loved them. They’re pretty outside with layers of petals so intricate to make a single, soft bloom, but have nasty thorns for protection.
They can be particular about the soil sometimes, but the right gardener knows how to tend them for optimal blooms. Roses can be so many colours and sizes, and in the perfect conditions, they’re so stunning and fragrant. I love them.”
When I meet Diamond’s gaze, whether he actually likes roses doesn’t matter.
Like he summed up my dandelion, he’s handing me a little of himself in the metaphor of a rose, and I think it’s perfect for what I know of him so far.
What he’s shared with me today is just a glimpse into this complex man.
Rather than wanting to run, I thirst for more.
Tater chooses that moment to run up to us, soaking wet from splashing in the cold creek. She shakes as we try to cover ourselves, laughing at her antics. She spins out on the blanket, almost upsetting the fruit dish, and I curse under my breath.
“Tell me about how you rescued her,” Diamond asks as he sits up. He watches Tater running around the field like a loon, and I can’t help but smile as I remember how I found her.
“I was out for a drive on a road I should never have been on. Just trying to clear my head one night, and I drove by a box on the side of the road. I didn’t think much about it, but after a few minutes I just thought…
why is there a single box out here like that?
” Diamond’s lips part as he puts the story together before I can finish it.
“I turned around just because my gut said I should. Something told me to go back to that box because it just might be what I needed. I pulled over and walked up to the box and opened the lid. There she was. Barely eight weeks old and so underweight she was days away from dying.” Diamond swipes at his eyes, and I nod.
“She was a puppy dump, and at the time I didn’t know how I’d raise a puppy, but I knew I couldn’t leave her there. ”
I drove so fast to the vet, I nearly got pulled over that night, and it didn’t look good.
He told me to keep her warm and feed her with a bottle or syringe until she perked up.
He gave me cans of formula and food, syringes, heating pads…
you name it. He even put some fluids under her skin while I held her, and she barely made a peep.
By the next morning, she’d peed on my shirt. By the evening she was walking. It was wobbly and weak, but she did her business. She slept on my chest every night for five days, and on the sixth day, she woke me up with a bark.
“You really did rescue her then. Sounds like in the nick of time, too.”
“I think she rescued me, too.”
The admission slips out, and I want to say more. About broken hearts and losing my grandpa and all sorts of other things, but I don’t because I’m not feeling that brave yet.
Diamond squeezes my hand, and I chance a look at his beautiful face. He understands and, rather than keep talking about it, he lets me have a moment to myself.
His hand never leaves mine though, and it’s more than a gesture of comfort. It’s the touch of another man who has made it blatantly obvious that he’s attracted to me.
The proverbial ball is in my court.
A roll of distant thunder draws our attention to the distance. A darkening sky looms, and Diamond leaps into action.
“We should get back so we don’t get caught in the rain.”
Together we pack up the containers and blankets, and I watch as he swings himself up into the saddle like he was born to ride. Denim stretched over an ass I definitely want on my face.
Well…
I guess I’m about to play ball after all…or with balls.
Or…whatever. I need to stop with the sports thinking.
“You coming, cowboy? Or are you just gonna stand and stare after me like I don’t know you’re thinking of my ass and getting me naked?”
A huff of disbelief escapes as I move towards Wilbur.
“Are you always so forward?”
He laughs. “You didn’t deny it.” He clicks his tongue and moves his horse along. “And the answer is yes. Life is too short not to go after what you want. Be direct, because you don’t know how much time you have left.”
It’s those words I keep hearing as we ride back.
And he’s right.