23. Josh
TWENTY-THREE
JOSH
“ Y ou must be exhausted,” Zoe said, draining the last of her cider.
We were sitting on the glider on the front porch enjoying drinks as the sun was setting. The heat of the day was finally breaking, just in time to watch the technicolor sky do its thing.
“It’s ridiculous,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “I’ve spent my life sweating my ass off in the hot sun for ten hours a day, and I’m more tired from dealing with six ladies, and I wasn’t out on the trail with them.”
“Well, it was a bachelorette group.” Zoe laughed. “They were a lot , though. Loud and silly. I’m sorry I had to come on strong with the girlfriend act, but if I hadn’t, I think that one blonde would’ve kidnapped you.”
I shifted. We still hadn’t defined exactly what we were doing together, and the “G word” was the closest thing to admitting aloud that it was something real. I liked it.
“No, you saved my ass. Literally saved my ass. Eli told me they kept taking photos of his. I don’t want my butt showing up on their Instagram feeds.”
“Was it worth it? Dealing with tourists?”
It was so like her to pick up on the fact that I was wary of bringing complete strangers onto the family land. Zoe could read me like no one else.
“Considering the bride already booked her return trip with her husband-to-be, and they tipped Eli two hundred bucks? Yeah, I’d say it was.”
“Wow!”
I took a long draw from my beer bottle. “Yup. If this is a predictor of what’s to come, I’d say we’re in pretty good shape. And I have you to thank for it, Zo.”
Her cheeks colored as she squirmed. “Stop. It was nothing.”
“It was everything . I can’t thank you enough for suggesting the revenue stream and the new website. It looks amazing and it’s all down to you and your creative eye.”
I reached out and placed my hand on top of Zoe’s, and she threaded her fingers through mine.
“And those new photos you added!” I continued. “I’ve never seen Poplar Springs looking so good. I’m surprised Amy hasn’t hired you yet. She couldn’t stop talking about you at dinner.”
“We discussed it, but she knows that I’m planning on going back to school.
I told her I’d share some of the photos I took around town and she was welcome to use them on the town’s website so long as she credits me as the photographer.
Then once the dust settles with school, we could talk about her potentially hiring me. ”
“That’s great, Zo. I bet you didn’t expect to make any work contacts while you were here.”
She shook her head and nestled in closer to me.
“I had a good time taking those photos and I picked up a couple leads when people saw me with my camera.” She shook her head smiling.
“I must have looked so strange stretched out on the ground with my camera.” She squeezed my hand.
“I’ve actually had fun since I got back here, minus a few horse-related freak-outs and I have you to thank for helping me through that. ”
I chuckled. “Cafferty horse therapy scores another win.”
“It did. And you did. I’m not sure I would have been able to work on my fear of horses if you hadn’t been there. Starting with Agatha was a great idea, but as small as she was, I was still nervous around her. You kept me calm.”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and tucked her tighter against my side. “If I had known how bad your fear was, I never would have asked you to go on that first trail ride without talking about it first. I wish you would have said something.”
“I know and I should have, but I kept telling myself that falling off Jude had been an accident. He didn’t intentionally try to throw me, so I had no reason to be so afraid.
But my fear of it happening again kept overwhelming the logic, so I took the attitude of faking it with the hope that if I pretended to be confident for long enough, it would eventually become a reality.
And it did. Sort of. I mean, not like I ever want to ride Indigo by myself, but at least I’m not wanting to run away in terror anymore, which is a big deal. ”
We sat in comfortable silence, staring out toward the land in front of us.
The ranch was quiet now that the first trail riders had left.
I had the other hands help unload the horses and get them brushed down and fed to make things faster.
Both Eli and Dustin had staggered to their respective homes probably to grab a much-needed beer and then collapse for the evening.
“I’ve been thinking,” Zoe said, drawing me out of my thoughts as she leaned away from me so she could see my face better. “If I don’t get into my program, maybe I could stick around here? Not necessarily here here,” she added quickly. “Not here on the ranch. I meant in Poplar Springs.”
I tried not to smile at the way she backtracked.
Having her at Lost Valley had been a highlight of the summer, and it pained me to think about her packing up and leaving.
I liked the idea of her sticking around.
A lot. I’d spent more than a few nights awake in bed, trying to imagine how things would turn out between us if she didn’t have to go.
But she’d arrived dead set on getting into the program, and I didn’t want a few idyllic weeks together to derail her goals.
I knew how hard she’d worked and there was no way I was going to be the reason she lost her focus and missed out on the grad program that meant so much to her. I bumped my shoulder against hers.
“What’s this about you not getting in? That’s crazy talk. It’s going to happen, Zo. You achieve everything you set your mind to.”
“No.” She wrinkled her nose adorably and shook her head. “Not everything.”
“Okay, ninety-nine percent of it. Zo, you’re amazing at everything you do. The website and those photos you took are the best I’ve ever seen. It’s going to happen. I have faith in you. I always have.”
“Really?”
She looked up at me with her eyes glowing, like my opinion meant everything to her.
“Really. ”
She looked like she was begging to be kissed, her eyes on my mouth and her lips parted in anticipation. I placed my finger beneath her chin and tilted her head up. She leaned over to meet me halfway.
It didn’t matter that it was probably our millionth kiss because every time our lips touched, it felt like the first time.
Even just the lightest brushing of our mouths, a tentative kiss stolen in the light of the setting sun was enough to send heat rushing south.
I deepened the kiss, tilting my head so that my tongue could sweep along her lips and tease between them.
Zoe reached up to cup my cheek, then let her thumb slide along my stubble as we kissed, stroking me like I was her pet.
I breathed her in as we kissed, enjoying the rush of memories.
The tang of cider still on her tongue. The sweet scent that was a mixture of the lotion she wore and just…
Zoe . I never forgot it, and every time I got a whiff of it, I was simultaneously in the moment with her and back in time, making love under the stars with the unbridled passion of youth.
“I love kissing you,” Zoe murmured against my lips.
“You don’t even know,” I replied, slowly tracing a line of kisses along her neck.
I could feel myself getting more and more excited just from the PG-13 action.
I wondered if the porch swing could withstand my full weight thrusting away on top of Zoe.
Maybe it would be better to have her on top, with her legs draped over the sides?
I let my hand wander down from the back of her head to the soft curve of her breast. Her T-shirt and bra were thin enough that I could feel her nipple hardening beneath my fingertips.
I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of what we were doing.
It felt like the porch light was about to flash off and on to tell us to stop .
Zoe dropped her hand to the front of my jeans as we kissed, and I was so focused on what she was going to do next that I didn’t hear the porch door fly open.
“Oh my God, ew !”
Shannon stood frozen in the doorway staring at us with a shocked expression as we jumped apart.
“Would you two get a room?” she said in a half-disgusted, half-joking voice. She turned on her heel and stomped back into the house.
We both stared at the door for a second before bursting out laughing.
“Not a bad idea,” I said as our laughter died down.
“What?” Zoe asked, tilting her head in the way that drove me crazy.
“Getting a room.” I stood up and adjusted myself as discretely as possible. “Shall we?”
I held out my hand and Zoe took it with a gleam in her eye.
“Best idea ever.”