29. Tucker
Tucker
She’s quiet as we drive towards our destination. I hope she likes what I have planned. I wanted to do something she would enjoy, that also tells her a little more about me.
I glance at her and sigh when I notice she’s looking out the side window, her fingers fidgeting nervously.
I hope her nerves are because this is her first date and not because she’s nervous to be spending time with me.
We haven’t spent any extended time together yet, thanks to school.
But with what we know about Simon now, I’m not sure there’s a point in going to that high school anymore.
Gideon and the twins agree with me, but Dom doesn’t.
I think he wants us there because then it feels like we’re doing something to work this case.
The problem is even with Simon as our prime suspect, the only photos we have are from the security cameras outside Mina’s old home, and we have no idea where he could be.
But I’m determined not to let the thought of him or the case ruin our date. Especially since Ben texted me and told me it’s her first date ever. I’m going to make damn sure it’s one she remembers fondly forever.
We drive under the large wood sign that reads Burbury Ranch and Mina perks up as she asks, “we’re going to a ranch?”
“Yep. Have you ever ridden a horse before?”
I drive us up the gravel driveway as she looks out at the fields that surround us on both sides, and watches a few horses grazing.
“No, is that what we’re going to do today?” she asks, turning her gaze to me. I’m relieved when I see excitement shimmering in her eyes.
“Yep.” I pull the car to a park, undo my seatbelt, and she follows suit, but before she can reach for the door handle I grab her hand. “Mina, wait.” I turn my body to face her and pull her hand between mine, making sure I have her full attention before I continue.
“Before we go out there, I want to say something. I know I’ve broken something between us, that you don’t think you can fully trust me because of how we deceived you when we first met.
I just need you to know that I never saw you as a case or suspect.
I just saw this lonely, beautiful girl, and I wanted to get to know her better, to help her, to make sure she was okay.
The fact that you were possibly connected to the case was always second to that for me, for all of us, honestly.
If you had no possible connection to the case, we wouldn’t have treated you any differently. ”
“Really?” she asks, watching me with so much hope in her eyes.
“Really, Sugar. Now, tonight I need you to do something for me, okay?”
“What’s that?”
“I need you to tell me the moment you aren’t enjoying yourself, or a bad thought comes into your head, or even if I say or do something you don’t like.
I’m going to be honest, it’s been incredibly hard to hold myself back from you.
I’m not the sort of guy who lets a girl take the lead, but I’m trying…
for you. If I… touch you in a way you don’t like, you tell me to stop or push me away.
You don’t even have to explain why. Is that something you can do for me, Sugar? ”
She licks her lips before responding. “Yeah, I think I can do that.”
I slowly lift her hand to mouth, and when she doesn’t pull away, I rotate her hand and kiss the inside of her wrist. Satisfaction fills me when she shivers. Hmm… She likes that.
“Now what do you say we go have some fun?” I let go of her hand and she smiles as we exit the truck. I grab the backpack out of the back and slip it on before reaching for her hand, and I’m relieved when she intertwines her fingers with mine.
We head towards the large barn when an older man dressed in overalls and a cowboy hat steps out and greets us warmly. “Howdy y’all! I’m Marvin Burbury. You must be Tucker, and who is this lovely young lady?”
“This is my…. friend, Mina,” I tell him, catching myself before I accidentally call her my girlfriend instead.
“Well, Mina, Tucker, I have a couple of beauties picked out for you in the back of the barn, if you want to follow me?”
We walk through the barn and Mina stares with wide eyes at all the horses in the stalls. When we reach the back, there are two horses saddled up for us. A beautiful brown and white speckled mare, and a smaller white female.
“You’ve both ridden before, yes?” he asks, turning to look at us.
“I have, but Mina hasn’t.”
He looks at Mina as he responds. “Well, we can give you a lesson to make you comfortable in the saddle today, or…” he trails off, his eyes darting to mine before a hint of a smirk appears there.
“Or…?” she asks, her hand gripping mine a little tighter.
“Or you can ride with Tucker.”
“Oh, I don’t want to be a bother or stop you from enjoying your ride,” she says, looking up at me with worry.
It takes everything I have not to laugh, and by the expression on Gavin’s face, I know he’s thinking the same thing as me. She would only enhance my enjoyment. Having her sit in front of me as we rode… Yeah, now it was in my head, I needed that to happen.
“Sugar, if you think I wouldn’t enjoy riding with you, you’re crazy.”
“Besides,” Gavin pitches in, “it’s safer. Tucker is experienced, he’ll make sure you don’t fall and stay safe in the saddle. Who knows what will happen if you go out on your own.” I’d have to leave this guy a huge tip for his help, because that seems to do the trick.
“If it’s safer, then I think we should do that. For safety,” she mumbles the last two words like she’s trying to convince herself.
Gavin winks at me as he pulls the white horse off to the side before returning to the brown and white one. “This beauty here is Pickles.”
“Pickles?” Mina asks with a giggle.
“Yes, unfortunately, that’s what happens when you let your four year old grandson name your horse,” he says in fake exasperation. I bet this guy loves his grandkids.
“Tucker, let me know if you need me to go over anything with you. If you head out the back here and through the field, you’ll find a small gate that’s open for you in the south-west corner.
Go through that and you will see the start of the trail in front of you.
Just follow it and it will loop back around to that gate.
Cell signal is good out there and you have my number, so just call if you run into any trouble. ”
“Thank you sir, I think we’ll be fine,” I tell him, giving him permission to leave so I can start my one-on-one time with her. He says goodbye and heads outside to one of the fields, so I turn to Mina.
“So, you ready?”
“Umm… I think so. What do I do?”
“Do you want me to lift you up, or do you want to try getting up on your own?”
She places a finger on her lips as she looks up at the large horse. “Am I supposed to put my foot in that stirrup?” she asks, pointing to it.
“Yeah, it’s a little high, huh?” I ask, realizing it’s as high as her shoulder. “Okay, turn to face Pickles and I’ll lift you up. You’ll want to lift your right leg over top of her so you can straddle her.
Placing my hands on her waist, I easily lift her onto the horse and she quickly grabs the saddle and gains her balance before smiling down at me proudly. “Good girl, slip your feet out of the stirrups though, I’ll need those.”
She does as I ask as I untie Pickles’ reins and quickly get mounted behind her. I don’t waste a second pulling her back against me so her back is flush with my front. “For safety,” I whisper, my hand landing on her stomach.
Her hands drop down to my thighs as she replies, “for safety.”
The trail is gorgeous, and at first, neither of us talk as we take in the beautiful colors of the fall leaves surrounding us. About forty minutes into our ride, she speaks.
“It’s beautiful out here. What made you choose this for our date?”
“Well, I wanted to share a little piece of myself with you, while giving you an experience that you’ve never had a chance to have before.”
“That’s… really sweet, Tucker. Have you ridden horses a lot?”
“Actually, I grew up on a farm.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, in Wyoming.”
“Did you always want to leave that life and become a PI?”
“No. I grew up the eldest of six. Three brothers and two sisters. We were always helping out on the farm. Farm life is busy, and there’s always something to do, our parents needed as many hands as they could get.
And I didn’t mind helping, I even loved it for a while.
But when I started high school, it was a bit further away than our elementary school had been, in a bigger town and I met a lot of new friends there.
I started to see that there were other ways to live besides farm life.
“Don’t get me wrong, I respect what my parents do, running a farm, but the more I saw of the world, the more I started to question if that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
One of my friend’s dads was a detective and one day he came to talk to our class and I was so intrigued.
The thought of solving a puzzle and catching the bad guys was thrilling.
“I told my parents I wanted to be a cop, and they told me I had to take over the farm. We fought about it for years, all through high school. My dad would always demand me home right after school and never gave me enough time to join any extra-curricular activities or even finish my homework. I swore he wanted me to do poorly in school so I’d have no hope of going to college. And it worked.
“When I turned eighteen, we had a huge fight. He told me I’d come crawling back when I realized chasing criminals won’t pay the bills. I told him I’d rather fail doing what I love than spend my life miserable, living up to his expectations. And that was the last time I ever spoke to him.”
“You haven’t seen or spoken to him since? What about your mom or your brothers and sisters?”
“I text with my siblings on occasion, and I write my mom letters to let her know I’m okay. She doesn’t write back, though.”
“I’m sorry Tucker, that must have been so hard to leave your family like that.”