Chapter 2 Saddle Up, City Girl
Camille wakes before sunrise. She immediately questions why anyone voluntarily gets up this early while on vacation.
Looking in the mirror, she debates whether cowboy boots can somehow become more comfortable overnight. They cannot.
Outside, Luke is already saddling horses while humming an old country song.
He notices Camille approaching. "I wasn't sure you'd come."
"I almost didn't."
"What changed your mind?"
She smiles. "My pride."
He laughs. "I've discovered that's a surprisingly reliable motivator."
Luke brings Camille to Daisy. Unfortunately... Daisy remembers Camille.
The horse immediately nudges Camille hard enough to make her stumble.
Luke grins. "I think she missed you."
"I think she's plotting something."
Luke patiently teaches Camille how to mount.
She puts her foot in the wrong stirrup. Then tries from the wrong side and nearly loses her balance.
Luke catches her gently around the waist before she falls.
For a brief second... Neither of them says anything.
Camille clears her throat. "Um, I planned that."
Luke nods seriously. "I could tell."
The ride begins. Camille is convinced every tiny movement means disaster. "Daisy sneezed."
"She's breathing."
"But, too enthusiastically."
A rabbit darts across the trail. Camille gasps while Luke and Daisy seem to barely notice.
Luke smiles. "The rabbit was probably more scared of you."
"I sincerely doubt that."
By the end of the first mile... Camille relaxes enough to enjoy herself.
Luke isn't the quiet cowboy Camille expected. He's funny, dry, and playful.
When another guest proudly announces they feel like a professional cowboy after ten minutes on horseback, Luke smiles. "Congratulations. You're only about fifteen years away."
Everyone laughs.
Camille notices something. Luke never laughs at people. He laughs with them.
They stop beside a hill overlooking the valley. Luke points toward an old cattle trail. "My great-grandfather drove cattle through there."
Camille looks surprised.
"Seriously?"
Luke nods. "My family has been ranching here for over a hundred years."
She asks more about Black cowboys.
Luke tells more stories about Nat Love, who wrote about his adventures in the West.
Camille listens closely. "I have a college degree," she says. "And somehow nobody taught me any of this."
Luke smiles. "History isn't always about what happened. It's also about who gets remembered."
During a break, they eat sandwiches beside a quiet stream. Camille accidentally drops her apple.
A curious horse steals it.
Luke laughs so hard he nearly drops his own lunch.
"It took my apple."
"Daisy says it was legal."
"I don't think horses understand property rights."
"They understand apples."
Later...Luke helps Camille across a shallow creek. She slips. He catches her hand. Their fingers stay together just a little longer than necessary.
Camille notices how warm his hand feels.
Luke notices too her warmth.
Neither lets go immediately.
Then another rider jokingly calls out,
"You two coming?"
Both quickly step apart.
That evening everyone gathers around a campfire. Someone plays guitar. Another guest burns a marshmallow beyond recognition.
Luke quietly hands Camille one roasted perfectly golden marshmallow.
"You seem like someone who appreciates precision."
She smiles. "You've known me less than twenty-four hours."
"I've made observations."
"Good ones?"
"The jury's still out."
She laughs more than she has in months.
Walking back toward the lodge beneath a sky overflowing with stars, Camille stopped.
"I've never seen this many."
Luke looked up and smiled.
"I forget how amazing they are until someone sees them for the first time."
Camille kept her eyes on the sky.
"I've been saying that a lot this week."
Luke glanced at her. "About the stars?"
She smiled softly. "No... about everything." She looked across the moonlit mountains. "The stars... this place... Black cowboys." Then she looked at him. "You."
For just a second, Luke looked as though he might reach for Camille's hand. Instead, he smiled beneath the brim of his hat. "I'd better walk you back," he said. "These trails are a little different after dark."
Camille smiled. "Trying to make sure I don't get lost?"
He chuckled softly. "That... and it's what a gentleman does."
They strolled side by side beneath a blanket of stars, the cool evening breeze carrying the scent of pine and wildflowers. Neither hurried to end the walk. Their conversation wandered as easily as the trail, from favorite childhood memories to the funniest guest Luke had ever taught to ride.
They reached her door. "I'll see you tomorrow, City Girl."
"I'll be there," Camille replied, smiling.
Leaning against the closed door, Camille couldn't stop smiling. She pulled out her phone, snapped a photo of the moonlit mountains through the window, and sent it to Harper, Zoe, and Kendra.
Within seconds, Harper replies:
Forget the scenery. We want pictures of Luke.
She doesn't send one. Somehow... Luke already feels like something she wants to keep just to herself.
As Camille closes her curtains, she spots Luke in the distance checking on the horses under the moonlight. She smiles without realizing it and whispers to herself, "Maybe Harper wasn't completely wrong."