Chapter 68
CHAPTER 68
ABIGAIL
S imon and I spent a couple hours looking after the animals while Olivia and Charlie were all over the rodeo, sometimes coming to help us and then disappearing to take care of whatever else needed to be taken care of. Despite having visited them a few times since the airing of a documentary Liv had made of Anderson Ranch, I hadn’t quite realized how well known the family—including my sister—had become until I witnessed it there that day.
So many people stopped to talk to them, and when we went to help with the last things to be set up at the booth, everyone seemed to know who they were. Olivia and Charlie both handled the attention with a touch of kindness and grace, laughing and chatting before literally tipping their hats after excusing themselves from the various conversations.
I gawked at my sister as she gently extricated herself from an elderly couple who had wanted to take a selfie with her. “What the heck was that? Are you guys local celebrities now?”
She laughed and waved me off. “I wouldn’t go that far. We’re not celebrities, but the Andersons do a lot for this community and they appreciate it. We did also trend briefly a few times.”
“I remember that, but I didn’t think it would still be like that.”
Humor sparkled in her eyes as she tugged at one of her pigtails. “What can I say? I’m really good at my job and people have genuinely enjoyed the content we’ve put out there.”
“I’m proud of you,” I murmured, looking at her and remembering exactly why I’d always admired my older sister. “You really have made a life for yourself here, haven’t you?”
“Absolutely.” She took a step forward and turned me by my shoulders, sweeping a hand out toward the bustling arena when I was facing the activity instead of her. “Take Simon and go have some fun. There’s so much to see, so go enjoy it. Maybe it’ll convince you both to become regular visitors around here.” She let her head rest against mine. “The only part I don’t like so much about living here is how far away I am from you, but if Simon likes it, maybe he’ll drag you away from work more often to come see me.”
“Or maybe I’ll drag him,” I said before I shook my head. “I really don’t want to get ahead of myself about that, so let’s just say that once this Fit Gal thing is over, I’ll keep my promise about making a plan to come visit more whether Simon joins me or not.”
“He’ll join you.” She gave me a tiny push toward him. “Make sure to watch the bull riding, but the other events are pretty fun too. You’ll both love them.”
“I’ll show them around,” London volunteered, suddenly popping up at my side.
My baby sister was probably the only person here not dressed in jeans and cowboy boots, having opted for a sleek black shirt, tight black slacks, and dozens of delicate golden chains around her wrists and ankles. Her light blue eyes were heavily lined in coal, her hair piled into a deliberately messy ponytail right on top of her head.
I smiled at her, nodding as I glanced at Liam. “Is he coming too?”
“Are you kidding me? He’s addicted to watching these events, and pretty soon, he may not be able to do it every weekend anymore. There’s no way he’s going to miss the opportunity if he gets it now.”
Liv and I both frowned, but she beat me to the question. “Is this about your meeting with Dad?”
London sighed and jerked her chin in a nod. “We came down here with you to help with the takeover, but that’s done now. He wanted to touch base with us about what could come next. Nothing is set in stone just yet, though. It was only a conversation for now.”
Curious but knowing she and Dad would tell us what was going on as soon as there was anything concrete to say, I didn’t even bother asking. I trusted my family implicitly. We would know what was going on as soon as they did.
Olivia nodded and watched us walk toward the guys before she went to join Charlie. Simon took my hand as soon as we reached them. His head cocked a little when he looked at me. “Everything okay?”
“Sure.” I drew in a deep breath and grinned, turning to Liam and motioning at the arena. “Alright, Cowboy. Lead the way. We’d love to see everything there is to see around here and I have a feeling you’re the right guy to show us around.”
Liam’s eyes were on London’s for a long moment, and it kind of looked like they were having an unspoken conversation. Then he suddenly looked back at me and shot us a lopsided grin. “I’d be happy to show you around. Let’s go, folks. There’s a lot to see and only about half a day left to see it.”
I chuckled, but it turned out he wasn’t wrong. We headed out into the crowds, the energy as we got swept up in them absolutely electric. Loud country music played over the speakers and there were families with children everywhere.
We ended up watching bull riding, barrel racing, calf scrambles, pig races, team roping, and bareback riding. I hadn’t even known half of these events existed, but watching them was completely exhilarating.
In a break between two of them, Liam smirked and told us he had a surprise, and we followed eagerly until we realized that the surprise was a birthing center where we could see baby animals be born. Simon’s grip on my hand tightened and he immediately pretended to gag before he looked away.
“Jeez, bro. A heads-up would’ve been nice.”
Liam laughed. “Sorry, man. It’s the miracle of life, though. I thought you’d want to experience it.”
“I think the real miracle is that there is still life.” Simon winced when he spotted a sheep who looked like she was about ten seconds away from crowning. “Can we go yet?”
“I didn’t take you for such a weenie,” I teased. “You heard the man. It’s the miracle of life. A lamb cutlet is about to be born. You love lamb cutlets.”
“Because I don’t have to see them be born,” he said pointedly. “How about we go get something to eat? Not lamb cutlets.”
“Sorry, buddy.” Liam jerked his chin at where Charlie had said the stables were. “London and I are needed over there to have a quick chat with a potential client. Have fun, though.”
To my surprise, he took my sister’s arm gently and they went off on their own, leaving us alone together. I smiled up at Simon, leading him away from the birthing center and toward some of the food vendors. “Aside from the miracle of life, are you having fun?”
“More than I have in a long time,” he admitted, absently touching the hat that Charlie had loaned him. “I’ve come to the conclusion that people are wrong when they say that blondes have all the fun. It’s not blondes. It’s cowboys. They have all the fun.”
I chuckled. “I’m not sure it’s as much fun if you are one, but it certainly does look that way from the outside in, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe we should buy a ranch after all,” he suggested lightly. “Spend our days racing around on horses and our nights swimming in the creek.”
“Let’s do it,” I joked, glancing up at him. “Just a quick question. Do you even know how to ride a horse?”
“Not really.” He sighed. “I took a few lessons when I was a kid, though. I’m sure we’ll be able to figure it out.”
I patted the inside of his forearm. “Maybe we should just stick to swimming in the creek.”
We walked around, surveying the available food options before deciding on good old fashioned cheeseburgers. As we ate, we talked and laughed, joking around like neither of us had a care in the world. I loved how, away from our normal everyday lives, it felt so natural and easy with him.
All the pressures, expectations, and worries seemed so far away here, and I loved spending time with him without all of that hanging over us. The rodeo turned out to be a real blast, and we had even more fun when we got back to the ranch later.
“It’s been a damn long day,” London said as we trudged back onto Liv and Charlie’s porch. She turned to glance back out at the dark fields, and suddenly, a mischievous grin spread on her lips. “What are the chances anyone is up for a game of wolf tag?”
“What?” I laughed. “We haven’t played that for ages.”
“I know, but we’ve been playing it our whole lives and this seems to be as good a time as any to work in another round. I’ll even be the wolf.”
My eyebrows rose as I looked at my youngest sister, but she seemed completely serious about this. Simon frowned at her. “What exactly is wolf tag?”
“Oh, I forgot you were always too cool to play with us,” she teased him. “It’s like hide and seek, but not.”
Liv chuckled. “Basically, it’s a classic Walker-style game-night activity. Everyone hides from one person, the wolf. That person has to find us, but the twist is that it’s played in the dark.”
He rocked his head from side to side for a moment, then grinned. “I’m down. That sounds like a good time.”
Surprised that he was so happy to play a game that was a little childish, I grabbed his hand and pulled him off the porch with me, calling out to London as we ran. “No peeking! If we catch you cheating, there will be consequences.”
With that, we hurried into the night and squeals of laughter rang out behind us as everyone else followed suit. I let go of Simon’s hand as they all scattered. “It’s every man for himself in this game. Sorry!”
As I raced away from him, I spotted a large bush and I ducked behind it to hide, but the next thing I knew, someone bumped into me. When I spun to see who it was, Simon smirked at me. “Watch it.”
“Or what?” I leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips, my heart skipping at this easygoing, playful version of him. “You’re the one invading my hiding spot.”
“I was here second,” he joked, dropping down to his haunches to make himself smaller once London called out that she was coming.
For a bunch of grownups, we had a fantastic time playing until Charlie finally said he was calling it a night. “I need to be up in less than six hours. This was fun, though. Thanks, guys.”
Olivia begged off with him, and his brothers seemed eager to get to bed themselves now that they’d realized how late it’d gotten. After everyone else had gone to bed, Simon came to my room again, shirtless again, in black pajama pants and wearing the hat this time.
I chuckled, leaning back against the headboard and setting down the book I’d only just picked up. “You know, it’s nice to see you so happy and carefree for a change.”
“Yeah?” He sauntered up to my bed and swiped the hat off his head to plant it on mine. Then he pumped his eyebrows and made a fist, bringing it to his mouth and pretending to bite it. “You’re damn sexy in a cowboy hat. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Nope.” I flipped the covers back on the other side of the bed. “Care to join me? God, I can’t even remember the last time I saw you like this.”
“I don’t even think I’ve realized until now how much pressure I really feel in New York.” He dropped into bed beside me and lay down, rolling over to look at me and propping himself up on his elbow, those greens glued to mine. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been living in a completely stressed-out state for at least the last year.”
“You deserve a peaceful life, Si.” I lay down too, hands tucked under my cheek as I looked back at him. “So, are we going to talk about what you said last night?”
“What exactly are you talking about?” A grin started forming on his lips, but it dropped quickly as soon as I answered his question.
“The part where you admitted that you never stopped loving me and didn’t think you ever would. Did you mean that, or was it just one of those things people say when they’re in that state of post-coital bliss?”