12. More Than Sleep Happened Here
More Than Sleep Happened Here
Kellan
I scratched Whisk’s nose as I dumped the last of the feed into his trough. The big chocolate gelding nudged my shoulder in appreciation, nearly knocking me sideways.
“Easy, big guy. I know you’ve got the Sunday munchies.”
I’d been up since five, handling the morning chores that Enzo and I usually split. Except today, there was no Enzo.
I glanced at my watch. It was eight o’clock. Definitely not like him.
“Any idea where your favorite human is?” Ranger snorted in reply and turned his back on me. “Rude.”
Enzo had taken Quinn line dancing, but even after a late night, he never skipped out on his chores, even if he was sick. The guy was like a machine. One time, I had to physically block the stables’ doors to make him go back to bed. Something wasn’t adding up here.
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, and my eyes widened when I saw the red notification dot on one of the social media apps.
Last night, I’d posted a green screen video with Quinn prancing around on her hobby horse, looking adorably serious while I provided extremely professional commentary.
I’d captioned it: Who needs actual horses when you can master the majestic art of hobby horsing at La Cuesta Ranch?
But we have real horses too, and cabins you can rent for the ultimate horse retreat only a few miles from the beach!
I tapped on the app and nearly dropped my phone when I saw it almost had a quarter of a million views.
My thumb scrolled through the comments in disbelief.
While there were a lot of mean comments about the hobby horsing, there were just as many people telling them to shut up and asking about the ranch.
And then I started to see comments saying they couldn’t book a cabin because there was no availability.
I fumbled to open our reservation app, fingers suddenly clumsy with adrenaline. The calendar that was usually a depressing sea of white empty space was now a solid block of color with reservations stretching weeks into the future.
“Holy fucking shit.” I spun in a circle, needing to tell someone but finding only unimpressed horses. “Holy. Fucking. Shit!”
I broke into a sprint across the ranch grounds towards Quinn’s cabin, narrowly avoiding a collision with Butters, who had gotten out again . We really needed to start putting locks on all the gates even though it was annoying.
I bounded up the steps of Quinn’s cabin and pounded on the door. “Quinn! Wake up! You’re not going to believe this!” I banged harder with the flat of my hand.
Silence.
Maybe she was still asleep? I pulled out my phone to text her instead when the door swung open.
My prepared speech evaporated.
Quinn stood in the doorway, her hair tousled in that unmistakable way that screamed “definitely more than sleep happened here.” It was artfully chaotic, sticking out in places that suggested fingers had been run through it repeatedly.
Her lips were slightly swollen, with the telltale flush of someone who’d been thoroughly kissed not long ago.
And she was wearing Enzo’s shirt.
It hung to mid-thigh, the sleeves rolled up several times, and there was approximately zero evidence of pants happening underneath it. Just smooth legs that I’d had wrapped around my head only a few days ago.
Words, excitement, and the viral video evaporated into a fog of “oh” and “wait” and “when did this happen?” My thoughts were going a mile a minute, leaving me standing there with my mouth slightly open, trying to process the scene in front of me while my excitement about the reservations receded into the background.
I’d noticed from the first day she was at the ranch that Enzo was attracted to her, but I never expected him to act on his feelings.
But where did that leave me?
I reminded myself she was leaving in a few days and lived three hours away. While it wouldn’t be impossible to start seeing her, once she got busy with the school year again, it would be hard.
“Is everything okay?” She tugged the shirt down a bit more like I hadn’t seen what was underneath. “You’re, uh, really enthusiastic this morning.”
“I… you…” I gestured helplessly at her attire.
Enzo appeared behind her, in only his boxer briefs, his dark hair sticking up just like hers. He froze when he saw me, his expression shifting from relaxed to guarded in a microsecond.
We stared at each other for a long, excruciating moment. His eyes narrowed slightly, daring me to make this awkward. Which, obviously, I immediately did.
“So this is why you weren’t up for horse duty. And here I thought you’d fallen into a spreadsheet and couldn’t get out. Instead, you fell between Quinn’s legs.” The words tumbled out before my brain could stop them.
Quinn’s face turned pink, and she gave me a look that made my nuts retract the tiniest bit. “Was there something you needed?”
I shook my head to clear it, a grin spreading across my face despite the lingering shock of seeing her with Enzo.
“You, Quinn Porter, are an internet sensation! Our video went viral overnight! And you,” I pointed at Enzo, who looked deeply uncomfortable with both my presence and this conversation, “can finally put that spreadsheet about the new stables to good use.”
Enzo’s eyebrows shot up so fast I thought they might fly off his forehead. “What?” His usual composed demeanor cracked, revealing surprise underneath all that stoicism.
Quinn’s confusion matched his, except hers was more adorable. “Wait, what are you talking about? Our video went viral?”
I pulled out my phone with the flourish of a magician revealing his best trick, waving it triumphantly between us. “The hobby horse video we did yesterday? It exploded overnight. We’re booked solid for months.” I couldn’t keep the excitement from my voice.
Quinn’s mouth fell open, her eyes widening with each word I spoke.
The tension from moments ago evaporated as disbelief took over.
“You’re kidding.” She stepped forward slightly, her hand reaching halfway toward my phone before stopping, like she wasn’t sure she wanted proof of her internet fame.
“People want to come here because of that?”
“People are losing their minds over it. I…” I paused, looking between them, suddenly feeling like I was overstaying my welcome. “I should go.”
I backed away from the door, nearly tripping down the porch steps in my haste, my usually reliable coordination abandoning me as I caught myself on the railing with a muttered curse. This wasn’t normal Kellan behavior. It wasn’t a good sign that I was so out of sorts around Quinn.
A distraction was what I needed, and it had been handed to me on a golden platter.
“Staff meeting in an hour! I need to find Reid!” I called over my shoulder, already planning the overhaul we’d need for this influx of guests. “Wear clothes!”
Butters was nowhere in sight as I headed back to the stables. He’d never wandered far, but with the influx of guests we were about to have, maybe we needed to stick a tracking device on him.
Reid wasn’t in the stables, but I heard the sound of hooves in the indoor arena. I burst through the doors, waving my phone like we’d won the lottery, which, financially speaking, wasn’t far off.
“Reid! Holy shit, man!” My voice echoed off the walls of the cavernous space. “The ranch is trending!”
Calypso, who’d been walking calmly alongside Reid in the center of the ring, spooked at my entrance. Her silvery-white coat caught the light as she reared back, hooves pawing at the air. Reid’s hand shot to her halter.
“Breathe, girl. It’s just Kellan being Kellan.” He shot me a pointed look that was well-deserved.
“Sorry.” I stopped short, suddenly aware I’d undone whatever progress they’d been making. I watched as Reid stroked Calypso’s neck, the mare’s nostrils flaring but her panic subsiding under his touch.
Reid didn’t speak again until Calypso’s breathing had steadied. “I’m going to put her out. She’s had enough excitement for one session.” He clicked his tongue softly and led the horse toward the exit to the pasture. “Don’t move.” He pointed at me like I was a hyperactive toddler.
I rocked back on my heels, pent-up energy making my skin buzz as I waited for what felt like an eternity. He took his time, letting her settle before removing her halter and watching her trot away.
When he finally returned, wiping his hands on his jeans, his expression was calm but wary. “What’s so important it couldn’t wait until Calypso’s session was done?”
I thrust my phone in his face. “Look at these numbers! It’s over three hundred thousand views and climbing. The booking calendar for the cabins, trail rides, and lessons is solid for the next three months. People are even asking about hobby horses!”
Reid took the phone, his thumb scrolling through the video stats. “All from this video?”
“Yes! We’re finally going to be able to expand!” We’d already had to turn away several boarding opportunities because of space.
Reid handed the phone back. “With what staff?”
The question hit me like a bucket of cold water. “What?”
“We have three people, Kellan. Three. Me, you, and Enzo.” Reid counted off on his fingers.
I ran a hand through my hair. “Well, yeah, but?—”
“And now you want to add what, exactly? More trail rides? More lessons? Boarding for more horses, even though we are at capacity? Events?” Reid put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t get me wrong. This is great publicity. But we need a plan, not just enthusiasm.”
The adrenaline that had been carrying me since I’d checked my notifications started to fizzle. “I didn’t think through the logistics.”
“No kidding.” Reid’s lips curved just enough to count as a smile. “But it doesn’t mean we can’t build on this. We need to be smart about it.”
“We could hire a few people. It’s summer; there are probably some kids home from college looking for summer jobs.”
“That could work.” Reid nodded thoughtfully. “It would be easy to find someone to turn over the cabins between guests.”
“Exactly!” I started to pace, unable to control my excitement. “We can make this happen. This is the break we’ve been waiting for!”
Reid’s shoulders dropped slightly. “How are we going to tell Enzo about this?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We have a few hours until he’s back from his Sunday morning ride.”
I faltered mid-stride, images of Quinn in Enzo’s shirt flashing through my mind. “He didn’t help with morning chores and never left on his ride… well, at least not on a horse.”
He stared at me blankly, his brain was trying to catch up with the nonsense that had fallen out of my mouth. I could practically hear the gears grinding to a halt. “What?”
“Enzo was with Quinn.”
“Enzo was with Quinn,” Reid repeated, his tone flat.
“In his shirt,” I added, then immediately wished I could stuff the words back in my mouth.
I ran a hand across my stubbled jaw, fumbling through the clarification.
“In her cabin. She was in her cabin, and he was there, and she was wearing his shirt. Like, his actual shirt. Not a replica or anything.”
As I waited for Reid’s response, I swear I could hear the grass growing in the pasture ten feet away. He simply stood there, dust motes floating in the sunbeam between us while the implications sank in.
“What?” I demanded, throwing my hands up. The way he was looking at me like I’d announced I was selling my share of the ranch made me defensive. “Don’t give me that look. I’m the messenger here. An unwilling messenger who wished he’d texted instead of knocked.”
Reid shrugged, his expression far too innocent. “Just wondering if that’s why you’re all keyed up.”
“I’m excited about the video.”
“Right.”
“I am!”
“And you’re not at all jealous that Enzo was with her?”
I scoffed. “Jealous? That’s… that’s ridiculous. Quinn’s leaving in like, what, two point five days? It’s not like anything more was going to happen anyway. And I’ve got the ranch to focus on.”
“Right. The ranch.” Reid sighed. “We need to get our infrastructure sorted before we overcommit.”
As if on cue, Enzo walked in. His expression was tense, phone gripped in his hand like he was trying not to crush it. “Marisol had emergency surgery last night. Appendicitis. She’s going to be out for at least two weeks. Possibly more.”
Marisol ran the summer camps and was the only reason we even did them. She wrangled the kids; we provided the animals and helped her as needed.
Reid dropped his head into his hands. “Perfect timing.”
The three of us stood in silence, the weight of our newest challenge settling over us. Our viral breakthrough suddenly felt like the universe was playing a cosmic joke.