16. Lettie
Lettie
S ix Years Earlier…
Red’s back was sweating under my thighs as we trudged up the trail in the summer heat. With it being over ninety degrees and Callan, Reed, Beckham, and Bailey done with their chores for the day, we decided to go to the swimming hole.
It was a two mile trail ride to get there, and though I was used to riding bareback, my thighs were burning with the strain to stay on Red going uphill.
Rouge was jogging alongside me, panting with excitement.
He knew where this trail led and was blissfully aware that after baking in the afternoon sun, he’d be swimming in no time.
“I can’t wait to go back on the circuit next week and kick some ass,” Beck exclaimed. He, along with my other brothers and Bailey, had shed his shirt before we took off.
“You referring to kicking some bronc’s asses or opponents?” Bailey questioned.
“Both,” Beck said with a nod.
Beckham was on his sorrel gelding, Butters.
We’d taken the horse in from an auction years ago, and Beck claimed him as his own.
Even though he was traveling most of the year now, we kept him here for when he was home.
Butters still got worked regardless if Beck was home or not.
Some of Callan’s more experienced students got to ride him around the arena from time to time.
“Should’ve been a farrier. You don’t have to deal with any ass kicking,” Reed muttered.
Beck looked at Reed next to him. “I’d rather fuck up my back having fun.”
Reed rolled his eyes at him, scooting up on his gray horse's sweat-slicked back.
Bailey and Callan were ahead of me, placing me at the back of the bunch with Rouge. Bailey was a bit behind Callan though, placing Nova’s black butt almost at Red’s shoulder.
Bailey glanced back at me like he was checking to make sure I was still there. As we crested the hill, Rouge let out a bark and took off, diving straight into the deep blue water.
The grass was tall around the pond, shaded by the pine trees surrounding the water. Beckham clicked his tongue, urging Butters into a trot. They headed straight into the water, splashing it high above the horse's head.
“You taking Red in?” Bailey asked me.
I nodded. “I didn’t come all this way not to.”
I passed Bailey at a fast walk, heading into the water behind Beck.
Callan was on a four-year-old bay, and it was clear the horse was still green.
Cal was always so gentle with them, but he preferred training people how to ride the horses, not the other way around with teaching the horses how to be ridden.
He nudged his sides, easing him closer to the water.
Reed led his horse into the water with no problems. It was like the beast knew Reed wouldn’t take any bullshit and did everything he asked. Some cowboys just had that touch.
As Callan continued working with the bay, I urged Red deeper so the water was up past my knees. The horses settled while Rouge splashed around on the shore, his red fur covered in mud and water.
Closing my eyes, I took in the silence of nature, listening only to the sounds of the birds and the water. A slight breeze rustled the leaves of the trees around us, cooling us off even more.
All of a sudden, a huge wave of water washed over me. I rubbed my eyes, shoving my hair out of my face to find Bailey grinning at me from ear to ear.
“You’re going to pay for that,” I said in a cool tone.
“Oh, yeah?” he challenged.
“Yeah.” Without hesitation, I twisted Red toward him, then I shoved as much water as I could manage at Bailey .
“Children, please keep it civil,” Reed pleaded.
“Yeah, some of us have chickenshit horses,” Callan complained, having managed to get the bay’s front two hooves in the water. The horse was eyeing the ripples of water like they were going to eat him.
“Scaredy cats,” Beck joked before splashing Reed.
Rouge barked at the excitement, swimming over to us to join in. He came over to me and I helped him climb onto Red’s butt.
I turned to splash Reed, Beck and I ambushing him with as much water as we could shove his way.
Another wave washed over me and I screamed, turning to find Bailey rushing Nova to the shore.
“You’re not going to get away with that!” I yelled after him, clicking my tongue at Red to follow him. Rouge jumped off his back, swimming to shore next to us.
Bailey and Nova emerged from the water as Red and I approached fast. Bailey jumped down, leaving Nova with his lead rope looped around his neck. I followed suit, dismounting from Red and leaving him to graze.
I picked up a fistful of mud, chucking it at Bailey.
“Hey! There could be rocks in there!” he yelled as he tried to dodge the flying mud. It landed right on his toned stomach, splattering his skin.
“Should’ve thought of that before soaking me!”
I bent to pick up another fistful of mud, but before I had the chance to throw it, strong arms were grabbing my hips and hoisting me up. Then the world turned upside down. I screamed, slapping at Bailey’s back. “Put me down!”
“No way, Huckleberry. I’m not getting more globs of mud chucked at me.”
“Globs?” I squeaked right before he was flipping me back over, landing me ass first in the water.
He turned to head back to Nova, but he wouldn’t get away that easy. I fisted the sandy mud under the water and threw it, the chunks splattering against his back. He froze, then slowly turned.
“You’re going to pay for that,” he repeated my words.
I squealed as he came running at me, trying to get to my feet before he reached me. Before I had the chance to get up, he was scooping me up into his arms, holding me like a baby.
“Hold your breath, Huckleberry,” he instructed with a smile.
“What?” I squeaked.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he lifted me higher, then tossed me deeper in the water like I weighed nothing. My head went under, and when I came up to the surface and wiped the water from my eyes, he was standing there with his arms crossed, smiling down at me.
“That was so mean!” I yelped.
“You kind of deserved it,” Callan pointed out from the shore where he’d given up on getting the bay in the water with all the splashing.
“He’s got a point!” Beck yelled from behind me .
My feet found the bottom of the pond and I stood, the water coming up to my breasts.
From where Bailey stood a few feet from me, he was a lot taller than he typically was with the angle of the ground below us.
The sun was glistening off the water droplets clinging to his chest, and my eyes trailed one sliding down his stomach to his shorts.
He smirked, and I tore my eyes away. It was hard not to look at Bailey when he was standing there like that, all of his attention on me. But it wasn’t fair to myself to imagine him as anything other than my brother’s best friend.
Plus, I still wasn’t sure where I’d be going to college, and I only had a couple months to decide. There’d be no point in getting into anything with anyone here if I’d just be leaving, especially with Bailey.
I saw the way he looked at me sometimes, the hint of something more than friendship shining in his green eyes. He’d always cared about me, always made sure I was okay, but that was where I drew the line with us.
There couldn’t be a Bailey and Lettie without complicated feelings mixed in, and the last thing I wanted to do was complicate his life.
After a couple hours of basking in the sun in between swimming in the water, we led the horses back to my parents’ ranch. We were all starving and ready to dig into whatever dinner my mom had prepped.
I had already put Red away by the time Bailey was done hosing the sand off of Nova’s body. The horse had decided to roll on the shore, which in turn coated Bailey’s shorts in sand on the ride home.
I stood in the doorway to the barn, watching as Bailey walked down the aisle to Nova’s stall.
“Enjoying the view?” Callan popped up beside me.
I jumped, shoving at his shoulder. “There’s no view.”
He raised an eyebrow, the corners of his lips twitching. “Really? I swear I see some drool…” He reached out like he was going to wipe the drool away with his thumb.
I shoved his hand away, turning around and stomping off in the direction of the house. I couldn’t help the slight smile that pulled at the corner of my mouth.
There wasn’t a better view than Bailey Cooper, but I wouldn’t admit that out loud.