Chapter 10
RIVER
“Nope. Not happening, River. I’m not getting on one of those death traps.”
River planted her hands on her hips and lifted a brow at the man backing away from the horse like Bandit might suddenly sprout wings and breathe fire. “It’s just a horse. You’ll be perfectly safe.”
He shook his head. “Not happening.”
“Are you telling me you were raised by a farmer and never rode a horse?”
“No. I’m telling you the one time I rode a horse, I got bucked off and broke my wrist. I’d rather not repeat that experience.”
A laugh slipped out before she could stop it, and his narrowed eyes told her he noticed. She quickly pressed her lips together, but it was too late. Especially when the corner of his mouth twitched like he was fighting a smile of his own.
“Are you laughing because I got bucked off the horse?”
Oh, it was unfair how handsome he was. And the look he was giving her made her stomach do a little flip—one she tried her best to ignore.
“Of course not,” she said, far too innocently. Straightening, she patted the horse’s neck. “This here is Bandit. His mama is Eloise Owens. You know the Owens family, right?”
He frowned like the name didn’t ring a bell, which was surprising considering he’d lived in Copper Creek longer than she had. How did he not know who Shane Owens was? “I thought Slate Rock Ranch was owned by Zeke Callahan.”
“It is. And you’re about to get the grand tour on Bandit here.
Eloise is one of Zeke’s daughters, and she’s married to Shane.
You know, the guy who runs the country club that also doubles as an equine therapy center?
She’s worked with horses for situations like this before.
” River gave him a pointed look, waiting for it to click.
“And what situation is that?”
She sighed. “People who are scared of horses.”
Mathew puffed out his chest. “I’m not scared. Riding is just… reckless. I’m smart enough to not put myself in a dangerous situation.”
River shook her head, catching sight of the cowboy who was eyeing them from a few feet away.
He was smirking at the whole exchange. She hadn’t been paying attention when he introduced himself, but she was pretty sure he was married to one of Zeke’s daughters, too.
“Come on, Doc. You said you’d make it up to me.
This is what I want to do. Let’s have some fun.
Do something crazy. Get out of your comfort zone.
” It took several more minutes of convincing, but eventually, she persuaded Mathew to get into the saddle and start on their tour.
There were a few other couples in the group, which allowed her to hang back with Mathew, so they weren’t overheard.
After Mathew opened up to her about his father, she kept getting this feeling that she should tell him more about herself. It was the strangest thing, because up until she’d met Emerson, she’d kept those parts of herself locked up and hidden from view.
“I grew up in the foster system.” The words tumbled from her lips as they plodded along the trail.
They were now completely surrounded by the most beautiful woods she’d ever visited, and that was saying something.
It was magical out here. She breathed in the scent of pine and fresh air, if only to steel herself for more sharing.
“I was dropped off at the fire station when I was almost three.”
Mathew sucked in a sharp breath. He probably realized instantly that a traumatic experience like that reshaped a kid’s mind. She’d been old enough to have fuzzy memories of her parents. Nothing too concrete now, but when she’d been a kid, it was really hard.
“That’s why Emerson and I clicked.” She risked a peek at the man riding beside her and offered him a small smile.
“Emerson was brought up in foster care as well, but his parents passed away and there was no one else to take care of him.” She didn’t have to point out that her situation was vastly different.
She hadn’t been wanted.
She’d been discarded.
River knew better than to tell him about the emotional scars that were carved deep in her heart. No one wanted to know about that sort of thing. It made them uncomfortable.
Nope, it was easier to forge friendships with people when they didn’t have to look at her and see those scars.
So she flashed him a smile. “I guess the reason I’m bringing this up…
What I’m trying to say is that we are made up of our experiences.
The people we interact with might force those moments into our lives.
” River peeked at him, wondering if he was getting the nuances she was pushing in his direction.
She couldn’t tell. Blowing out a breath and shifting in her saddle, she nodded firmly to herself.
“You might have had a strained relationship with your father, but he helped make you who you are today. It’s terrible that his life was cut short. It truly is.”
Mathew stiffened, and now he wasn’t looking at her at all. His jaw worked and he stared straight ahead.
“All we can do is hold onto the moments that are important to us and learn from the ones that we regretted.” She forced out a small laugh, realizing just how out of her depth she currently was. “I’m not making any sense.”
“No…”
River flinched inwardly.
“No… you are, actually.”
This time when she looked over at him, he was pinning her with a look that made her throat go dry.
She could almost imagine that the reason he was staring at her like this was because he could see the parts of her that she didn’t show anyone.
It was strange and scary. She couldn’t understand how it was happening when she hadn’t exactly opened up to him more than that little tidbit about being abandoned.
He opened his mouth, then shut it and offered her a weak smile. “It definitely makes sense.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes. Normally, River didn’t mind quiet.
There had been plenty of times in her life when silence was a gift.
But the more she glanced over at the man who’d shown up broken on her doorstep, the more she wanted to ask how he was holding up or if there was anything he needed.
Before she could work up the nerve, he asked the one thing she hadn’t expected.
“So you and Emerson…”
River looked over at him. “Me and Emerson?”
He gripped the back of his neck and looked away. “You two… a thing or something?”
A tiny smile tugged at her mouth, but it faded almost as quickly. So that was what had been bothering him. “Me and Emerson? Goodness, no.” She paused. “He might’ve kissed me once, though.”
Mathew went still.
River blinked at him, then softened. “It was a mistake. One we both regretted immediately.” She gave a short huff of laughter. “Kissing Emerson felt like kissing a brother.”
His gaze flicked back to hers.
“Not that I actually have one,” she added. “At least not by blood. I’ve had a few foster brothers over the years, but none I stayed in touch with.”
“You don’t keep in touch with any of your foster siblings?”
She tilted her head. “One. I’ve got a foster sister I still try to keep up with.” River grimaced. “She’s just… not always easy.”
“How so?”
River glanced over. “Hmm?”
“You said she’s not easy. Is that because she doesn’t want you in her life?”
River shook her head, oddly thrown by the genuine interest in his voice.
“No. She does. She’s just…” She looked up at the sky and let out a breath.
“She’s never really found anything worth holding on to.
She keeps making the same mistakes, and somehow I’m always the one trying to help clean them up. ”
Heat crept into River’s cheeks. Said out loud, it probably made her sound like an enabler, but that wasn’t how she saw it. She was just trying to take care of someone she loved.
Mathew stayed quiet, and somehow that was worse.
She wanted to know what he was thinking. Whether he was judging her. And if he was, why should she care?
She didn’t.
At least that was what she told herself.
River cleared her throat. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. She’s never been arrested or anything. It’s mostly money stuff. Unpaid tickets. Debts she can’t get ahead of.”
The second the words left her mouth, she wished she could take them back. Somehow she was only making Skye sound worse.
Before she could try to fix it, her phone rang.
The horse tossed its head, clearly annoyed by the ringtone River had. She pulled out her phone and held up a finger. “One sec.”
Mathew nodded, his expression unreadable. This whole getting-to-know-you thing was blowing up in River’s face, and she was determined to turn it around as soon as she took care of this call.
“Hello?”
“River? Thank goodness. I was worried I forgot your number. They took my phone.”
“Skye?” River shot a glance at Mathew, who was watching her with curiosity. “Who took your phone? What’s going on?”
“Don’t be mad.”
“Skye...” River hissed. “What happened?”
There was a pause, then her sister lowered her voice. “They usually let me off with a warning, but they didn’t this time.”
River pinched the bridge of her nose. “Please tell me you are not in jail.”
“It’s really not a big deal.”
“Just tell me.”
“I’ve been booked in the county lockup unless I can post bail.”
“Skye!”
Mathew stiffened at her side. For the first time in River’s life that she could remember, she was embarrassed by her sister.
“It’s only fifteen hundred,” Skye rushed to explain.
“Fifteen hundred? Jeez, Skye.” River squeezed her eyes shut. “What did you do? Actually, never mind. Don’t answer that. Those phones are probably monitored.” She barely had that much in her account. Thank goodness her room and board were covered. “Tell me where you are. I’ll come as soon as I can.”
“Thank you, River. I swear—”
“Don’t, Skye.” She sighed. “Just don’t. I’ll be there soon.”
River ended the call and looked over at Mathew. “We’re going to have to cut this ride short.”
“Is everything okay?”
She shook her head. “No, it isn’t. But it will be.”
He was quiet for a long moment. “Can I help?”
Denying his request clung to the tip of her tongue, but one look at his face and she couldn’t bring herself to do that.
Maybe she didn’t want to do this alone. Maybe he needed the distraction as much as she needed the help.
Either way, she decided not to deny herself the support she needed in this moment. “Actually... yeah.”