Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
GRANT
“Have you ever been riding before, Dad?” Luke asks.
He tears off a bite of the jerky he’s eating.
“Not once in my life have I ever ridden a horse.” I laugh, turning down the main road the ranch is on. We pass under a sign reading The Lost Spur.
It’s a lot different from the last time we were here. Everything was covered in snow. Now it’s the perfect summer day.
“You haven’t?” he asks, looking over at me, finishing his snack.
I got an apology the morning after Georgia came over. He was up early and made breakfast before I got my run in. It was as simple as “I made eggs, sorry, Dad” and that was it. The fact that I even got an apology is more than I’ve gotten in the past, so I didn’t push it.
“I don’t know if you know this about your old man, but there’s not many places to ride in LA.”
“Might’ve interfered with baseball,” he says.
“That’s all I wanted to do at your age.” I follow the signs that point toward the barn as I drive down a dirt path, lined with pine trees. “Have you thought any more about joining a team here?”
“I don’t think so. It’s not really my thing.”
“That’s fine, but you might need to do something so you’re not in your room all the time.”
“Daaaad,” he groans.
“Fine, fine. Just think about it.”
“I’m not in my room right now.”
I roll my eyes because it’s the exact kind of thing I would have said at his age.
The main barn comes into view. I can see why Georgia loves it out here. The barn’s main doors are thrown wide open with people coming and going. With the sprawling grassy fields and blue skies, it’s like this is pulled straight from a postcard.
Pulling the truck to a stop, I hop out and Luke follows a few steps behind me. Horses are out in the fenced-in pasture, and the woman who I’ve had a hard time not thinking about is standing next to a horse with a gleaming tan coat.
I couldn’t care less about the horse. Not when Georgia is looking sexy as hell right now.
The jeans she’s wearing show off her curvy hips.
A cowboy hat rests on her head, and she’s wearing those boots.
Those damn cowboy boots I’ve had far too many dreams about.
I wouldn’t mind seeing her in that and only that.
I push those thoughts to the back of my head as she waves us over.
A smile splits her face. It doesn’t help the little problem I have.
I need to keep my feelings for her under control.
Between Luke, the baby, the move, and a new job, it’s not like I don’t have enough to focus on.
I don’t need to be falling for my baby’s mother.
Jesus, even saying that still sounds foreign to my ears.
“Hey, guys.”
“Hey, Georgia,” Luke says.
“Hi.” I smile over at her.
“Are you excited for today?” she asks Luke.
“I mean, kind of. I’ve never been around horses before.”
She smiles at him. And again, there goes those weird feelings bubbling up inside of me.
“I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. If you’re nervous about anything, tell me, okay?”
“Okay.” He nods.
Georgia pats the horse in front of her. “This is Frito and—”
“Wait, his name is Frito? Like the chip?” Luke asks.
She laughs. “Yes. Frito here is one of our newer horses we just got and the barn manager let his son name him.”
“And he named him Frito?” I ask.
“Max was eating Fritos at the time and thought he would like them so he snuck him a few chips, and he thought it was hilarious and that’s how the name stuck.”
Luke turns to look at the two of us. “Promise me you won’t name the baby Pringle or Dorito.”
“Oh my God.” Georgia doubles over in laughter.
“Damn.” I let out a low whistle. “There go the top two baby names.”
“Hey, I have to look out for this baby,” Luke says. “People name their kids weird things these days.”
Georgia pats him on the shoulder once she’s done laughing. “I promise, we’ll name him something normal.”
“It’s a boy?” Luke questions.
“We don’t know yet,” I say.
“I just say he,” Georgia tells him. “Makes it more real. But enough about the baby. Want to get started?”
“Yeah,” he says.
Georgia hops over the fence to lead Frito into the barn, and the two of us head inside to meet her.
“Grant, if you want to sit in the bleacher seats, we can do our thing out here,” Georgia instructs.
“Already trying to get rid of me?” I wink at her.
“Stop it.” A blush creeps up her cheeks as she shoves me away.
I find an empty spot to watch them as Georgia starts her lesson with Luke. He’s smiling at her as she instructs him on how to brush Frito.
It’s such a small thing, but Luke looks happy. It’s been a while since he’s been interested in anything. Even with the baseball team, his interest was waning toward the end. Horses weren’t an option for us. I never would have even thought about it before coming here.
It makes me feel like a shit dad because I don’t know what my kid likes. Well, aside from video games.
Thank God for Georgia, because if it weren’t for her, he’d probably still be moping in the house.
Georgia is not only gentle with Luke but with the horse too. She knows exactly what she’s doing to put Luke at ease. They’re smiling and laughing when someone brings a saddle over to them.
All of Georgia’s moves seem like second nature as she shows Luke exactly what to do.
“Hey, Dad. Georgia says if it’s okay with you, I can ride Frito,” Luke calls over to me.
I shake the thoughts from my head. “Sure thing, bud.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Even from here, I can see his smile. Okay, maybe I am doing something right. Which makes me feel better about the new baby coming.
Georgia hands Luke a helmet and helps him secure it before instructing him on how to get up on the horse. He looks nervous, but Georgia helps him through it before she starts to lead him around the ring. A few others are also in here—probably more people taking lessons.
I watch with a careful eye as they keep doing laps. With each loop they make, Luke seems more relaxed up there. When they make another turn in my direction, a smile is lighting up Luke’s face.
Holy shit. He really likes this. This whole time I’ve been trying to get him into baseball because I love it so much, but he seems to be taking to riding.
Georgia smiles at me as they pass and I give a quick nod in return. I don’t want Luke to see that I’m aware of how much he is enjoying this. If I’m overly supportive, it might scare him off. And forget encouraging him—he’ll never want to come back out here if I do that.
Kids these days.
Georgia gives Luke a few more pointers on how to ride before taking a few steps back and letting him take the reins.
“How does it feel, Luke?” she asks.
“I feel good.”
“Great. Take your time, and if Frito starts to go too fast for you, just pull back on the reins like I showed you.”
“Okay.”
Someone else takes Georgia’s spot before she comes over to take a seat next to me.
“I’m only sitting here because another instructor is with him,” she says.
“I know. I wasn’t questioning your ability. You’ve gotten him to show more interest in this than I have in anything in the last few months.”
“He seems to like it,” Georgia says.
“Probably because you’re doing it and not me. Does that say a lot about me as a parent?” I ask.
“Relax.” She nudges her shoulder with mine. “I’m not going to judge your parenting skills based on what your teenager likes.”
“You think our kid is going to be difficult?”
I look down at her stomach. There’s no obvious sign she’s pregnant yet. We talk daily, and so far with the pregnancy, she’s not feeling too terrible.
“Honestly? I have no idea what to expect. I never thought I’d have kids at all.”
“Really? But you’re so good with them,” I say.
“I’ve always liked being Aunt Georgia.”
“But never Mom?”
“That’s a story for another time.” She brushes me off. “If you want to keep bringing Luke out here for more lessons, I’ll be happy to teach him. He’s a natural at it.”
“You’d really do that for my stubborn-ass kid?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says, looking at me. There’s a fire in her deep blue eyes. “Not only are we going to be a part of each other’s lives, but I’m going to be a part of Luke’s and he’ll be a part of mine. So if this is a way to get to know him better and bond with him, I’m happy to do it.”
Fuck me. Why does this woman know exactly what to say to get me to fall for her?
I’m not supposed to do this. We said we’d only be friends.
This would be an entirely different situation if it were just the two of us.
But it’s not. I have Luke to worry about.
She’s only interacted with him a couple of times, but she’s already thinking about him and including him in things.
I tried dating after the divorce, but it never worked out. The minute I told women I had a kid—a preteen at the time—they ran the other way. And fast.
I don’t even know what to say to her.
“Okay.” It’s all I can muster.
“Good.” She pats me on the knee. “I’m going to go round him up and get Frito back to his stall and we’ll call it a day.”
“Sounds good to me,” I say.
Seeing Luke happy makes me happy. It’s the first time I’ve seen a real smile from him since we moved here, and it’s all because of Georgia.
She keeps saying she never planned on having kids, hinting about her past, but she’s a natural with Luke. I know she’s going to be the same with our kid.
And the smile that’s been affixed on her face? I hope our kid looks like her.
I have no idea what the two of us are going to be or what the future holds, but I’m glad that we get to be a part of each other’s lives.
Because Georgia? She is someone I want to keep falling for.