Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Wes
Save a Horse
Wes was trying not to be so pissed at Jack for interrupting his kiss with Shelby in the truck.
He felt like a thirsty, starving man around her.
He wanted nothing more than to drag her back into the truck and find some private area to park so he could take off all her clothes one by one and remind her just how good they were together.
But instead he was watching Jack smile and flirt with her, and it was driving him nuts.
“How about those horses, Jack? Can we take them out even in all this snow?”
Jack slid his gaze away from Shelby and looked at him with a smirk. “Oh ya, we keep the paths cleared for the guests. But maybe you two want to stretch your legs, get a hot chocolate in the ranch house before you head out?”
“That sounds perfect,” Shelby said, looking at Wes.
Her hands were buried in the pockets of her bright red coat but he wanted to touch her, so he put his hand on her back to guide her toward the ranch house.
It was a large farm-style house with tall windows and a covered porch where guests sat in rockers.
“I’ll have the horses ready for you in about thirty minutes, just meet me at the red barn,” Jack called after them.
Shelby turned back with a big smile. “Thank you.”
“Jack’s a real charmer. I’ll have to watch out for him.”
“Watch out for what?”
Wes gripped her upper arm to stop her from walking further along the brick path to the main resort building.
“I wouldn’t want anyone to think they could steal you away, especially now when I’ve just found you.
” Then he leaned in to kiss her jaw. Nibbling on her tender skin and moving his mouth up to her ear. “You’re mine.”
When she nodded, it was like a thousand fireworks went off at once. He wanted to stake his claim but he wasn’t sure how she’d feel about that. Everything was new and up in the air. So for now he’d have to bide his time.
Recognizing the ranch was busy with families, he had to settle for a quick kiss and then threaded her hand with his before leading her up the rest of the path.
They garnered a few looks but no one he recognized.
Most people in Sandy Point wouldn’t be spending a vacation so close to home so he thought the ranch might be the perfect first date.
A public venue but no prying eyes as they got to know each other, with their clothes on.
But if they were going to pursue a relationship, her family would find out and he would have to let her handle that.
The inside of the resort looked like a cozy country bistro, with big wooden tables, high ceilings, shelves filled with books on every wall and in the back glass cases with cakes and sweets next to a coffee bar.
“This resort has horses and books?” she said spinning to see each wall with genres posted on hand-painted signs.
“The perfect venue?”
“Yes. This would make a great place to sit by a fire and write. It’s nice and toasty in here,” Shelby said, unzipping her coat and spying the fireplace on the other end of the room with big couches filled with people.
Wes ushered her up to the counter and ordered them two hot chocolates.
“Are you hungry for lunch yet?”
“No thanks, we can come back after our ride if you have time?”
“I’ve got all day and night for you.”
But before she could respond, a girl walked up to Shelby with a book in her hand. “Are you S. Shepherd, the author of this series?”
Shelby looked genuinely shocked. “Yes.”
“Would you sign it for me? I’ve read every book in the series, so I started it again.”
“Oh, wow. Sure.”
The little girl handed the book and a pen over to Shelby, who opened it to the title page and paused for a moment in thought before she jotted down a message and signed it.
“Are you going to write another series?”
“Yes, I’m hoping to release a book this time next year.”
“Oh man, that’s a long time to wait.”
“Well now that I know you’re waiting, I’ll try to write faster,” Shelby said. The girl’s eyes grew big, and she yelped a thank you.
Wes grabbed their drinks and found a table near the window in the corner where he waited for her to finish talking with the young fan. Her cheeks were flushed when she finally sat down with him.
“That was so strange—that has never happened to me before.”
“Well you’re out of your normal element in Atlanta and this is a big family-oriented ranch, lots of kids.”
She looked around and sipped her drink.
“Now I feel like I need to lock myself in a room and finish my new series for that little girl.”
Wes liked to hear her talk about her work. It was clear she loved it.
“You can get right to that, after our date.”
She smiled. “Do you always bring your dates out of town?”
“I actually don’t date much. I feel like I’ve been working for the last fifteen years and forgot to have a life too.”
“Hmmm I find it sort of hard to believe that the women of Sandy Point aren’t throwing themselves at you.”
“Guess I haven’t met anyone I wanted to catch until now.” He knew he was pushing her, but he didn’t want to risk another misunderstanding.
She looked at him as if she was trying to see if he was being honest and he met her gaze head on. The truth was Shelby terrified him a little bit, because he had never wanted someone so much to try.
“Okay,” was all she said and took another sip of her drink.
She was impossible to read but she was here, so at the very least he knew she wanted to spend more time with him, and she didn’t want it to be just physical.
“Do you remember me in high school?” she asked, surprising him.
“Honestly no, but I wasn’t in the habit of looking at the freshmen. I had football and big plans to escape our small town.”
“And a serious girlfriend as I recall.”
He nodded. “I think it was more serious to her. She was always focused on letting everyone know we were dating.”
“That whole star quarterback dating the captain of the cheerleading squad thing,” Shelby said.
She pushed her long sleeve up and he got another glimpse of the delicate star flower tattoo on the inside of her forearm.
She was a paradox to him, quiet, edgy, artistic, strong, not afraid to get her hands dirty.
He’d completely misjudged her when he rescued her out of that embankment the first night they met.
He narrowed his eyes. “Who did you date in high school? Wait, let me guess—the older guy with tattoos and a motorcycle.”
Her laugh was infectious. “Bingo. Anyone who would annoy my parents was an option.”
“But?”
“But I had a big crush on you.” She looked down at her cup as she said it but then finally met his gaze.
“Really?”
“You were like the all-American guy and our families didn’t get along. So a crush on you was also defiant.”
“I have deep regrets about not figuring that out back then.”
She laughed and the waitress walked over with a saddle bag. “Your order sir.”
“Oh a mystery bag?”
“Yes, but first we ride,” he said standing and feeling more confident about her interest in him after her confession. It really was a mystery how he could have missed noticing her all those years ago, when she had his undivided attention now.
Back at the barn there was a speckled white midsize horse, and a larger dark brown horse. Steam blew out of their nostrils as they stood waiting for their riders.
“Wow, they are gorgeous,” Shelby said, first putting out her hand to the white horse and then running her hand over its neck.
“That is Belle, and this is Beast,” Jack announced.
“Cute.” Shelby smiled.
“My niece names them.” Jack offered her his hand and helped her up into the saddle, while Wes greeted his horse—Beast—and let the impressively large animal sniff him.
Then he threw the saddle bag over the front of the saddle horn and mounted in one easy motion.
He didn’t ride much, but it was a skill he liked to maintain for the occasional forest search.
Although Sandy Point was a beach town, once you went a few miles inland you were in some thick forest, and horses were the best way to cover a lot of land fast. A few summers ago they’d had a missing child, and they’d needed every volunteer to comb the beaches and forest. Luckily, they’d found the first grader before it got too dark.
Now he looked over at Shelby, with her thick curves straddling the horse, and he wished he was her saddle.
This outing was going to test all his patience, and then some.
They already knew they were physically compatible, but he needed to offer her more than a few hot nights in bed, if they were going to be more.
“You ready, cowboy?” Shelby said.
“Absolutely—how adventurous do you want to be today?” he asked.
“There are three trails open today, each with varying levels of difficulty. The more horseshoes on the signs, the harder the ride,” Jack said.
“Ladies’ choice—I’ll follow your lead,” Wes said.
Shelby gave her horse a gentle squeeze and the well-trained mare sauntered down the path toward the wooded area with three clearly defined trails, each boasting a telltale name; Pride with four horseshoes, Prejudice with three horseshoes, and Persuasion with only two horseshoes.
“For someone who doesn’t date much, you really nailed this first-date theme—quaint ranch with bookish themes and horses,” Shelby said, waiting for him to catch up and stop next to her on his larger horse.
“I wanted to make up for our lack of a first date and get you all to myself in a different way.”
“You’re definitely winning some major points today,” she said, then gave her horse Belle another squeeze to head down the middle trail: Prejudice. Which was very fitting since they both may have misjudged the other when they first met.
For the next hour they enjoyed the challenging ride and then were rewarded when the trail looped around a small pond, with a dock cleared of snow and dry in the sunshine.
“Let’s give the horses a little break and open up this mystery saddle bag,” Wes suggested.