Chapter 13
Brett
It really is just like riding a bike. Except way more fun. It isn’t long before we shift from a mere trot to a canter, then a gallop.
Something swells inside me like a big old friend. It isn’t fucking scary. It’s life. This is what I needed. Bailey is right, Pepper is a beautiful horse, and it’s like I’ve been riding her forever.
We circle the field, then pass Bailey and Spirit as my girl gives me a thumbs up.
I’m such a damn sap. I pat the side of Pepper’s neck, telling her what a good girl she is, and I mean every word.
These few hours of being here have been life changing.
It may be a small thing to somebody else, but after the trauma of what I’ve been through in my personal life back home, this was well overdue.
I don’t know how long we’re out here for, but I don’t push Pepper too far. Even though she’s a beauty and I can sense how much she loves the freedom, she does have to go on a trail ride soon, so I don’t want to wear her out.
Turns out my fear was completely irrational. I think with all the other complicated shit going on in my life at the time, I just couldn’t deal with one more heartbreak.
When we circle back to the stables, Bailey is already waiting for me. I’m happy to see a big smile on her face. “Well, well,” she says. “Slow down a little, you two are showing us up.” I grin as we come to a halt next to her, still both mounted on our beautiful beasts.
“You don’t know what you’ve done for me,” I reply.
“It wasn’t that much—”
I cup one side of her face and I hear her sharp intake of breath. But I don’t care. Leaning in, I take her lips, not giving a fuck who sees because I need to do this. I need to show her how special she really is. I press my forehead to hers.
“It was everything. You’ve sparked something inside me I thought was long gone.”
I’m glad she doesn’t pull away, instead, she rests her hand on my elbow. “You did it, not me. All I did was provide the horse.”
“All you did was help me get to a place where I wasn’t afraid anymore. I know. I’m a big guy. Tough and strong, right? I shouldn’t wear my heart on my sleeve, but that’s who I am, Bailey. I can’t hide things. Not to the people I care about.”
She lets out a little laugh. “You hardly know me.”
“Maybe I don’t need to, and me sayin’ that will probably make you run a mile, but I haven’t told anyone I care about them in years. Well, aside from my pesky little sister, and my parents, but they’re family so they don’t count.”
“I thought we were just having fun,” she whispers.
If I was gonna feel disappointed by that statement, the wobble of her words at the end of fun tells me otherwise. This is a woman who definitely doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, and that’s okay. We’re all made differently. It doesn’t change anything for me.
“We are, and here I am gettin’ all heavy.”
She shakes her head. “No. It’s okay. I’m just not used to guys being so open with their feelings. Usually, it’s like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.”
“I’m not like other guys.”
“You’re definitely not,” she murmurs. Our lips meet again, and somehow I manage to keep it PG. If her boss finds us…
“Well, well, lookie what we have here,” a voice booms, making me jump.
The horses stir, and Bailey cusses. “George! Ugh, do you mind? You’ll spook the horses creeping up on us like that.”
A man dressed in a sheriff’s uniform moves toward me, his hand outstretched. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t expecting Bails to have company.” We shake hands. “I’m George, the local law enforcement, you must be Brett.”
“Good news travels fast,” I say with a grin. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” He glances at Bailey, who’s brushing her hand through Spirit’s mane as if nothing just happened. “So, you didn’t tell me you had a new man.”
I roll my lips as Bailey’s cheeks flush.
“Wait, what?” she stammers. “He’s not… Nope. We’re not—”
“A thing?” George finishes, giving me a wink. “Sure looked like it from here. Now we love Bails with all our cotton pickin’ country hearts, but she is a pistol. Annoying. Grouchy. Cannot hold her liquor, but she is also one of the most decent, kind, and reliable people I know.”
“George!” Bailey cries.
I can’t help but smile. “We’ve only just met, but I tend to agree with you,” I say, looking her way. “She’s somethin’ else.”
She glances between us, her mouth popping open. “Wait, I’m not annoying or grouchy. And I can hold my liquor, thank you very much. The other stuff you said, though, is all true.”
I laugh as George wiggles his eyebrows at her.
“Good to see you smiling for once, Bails.”
“I smile,” she mutters. “Occasionally.”
I love how her friends are kinda throwing her a couple of curveballs, but that’s how you get to know someone. And if George is happy she’s smiling, that makes me feel good inside.
“So, what brings you out to Alpine Falls?” he asks me as I internally wince.
I’ve geared up all of my best answers to describe my visit here, so it rolls right off the tongue. “A little peace and quiet,” I say. “Stuff back home has been hectic and I haven’t had a real vacation in three years. It was overdue.”
“He’s friends with Jed,” Bailey puts in. “Is there anything else you’d like to know? Or can we saddle up the other horses, ready for the trail?”
“By all means, don’t let me hold you up.
I was looking for Zane anyway.” George smiles again, and he doesn’t ask me what I do for work, however, he does look at me for a second longer as if he’s piecing something together.
I mean, it’s possible people could know who I am, but not really.
I dropped off the face of the earth and nobody, except my sister, parents, and Dale know where I am.
It’s better that way, because if the press gets involved, I don’t want anyone here dragged into my mess for all the wrong reasons.
“It was great meetin’ you,” I say as George gives me a salute. “I better listen to my boss, otherwise I’ll get fired on my first day on the job—not a good look.”
“Touche. See you guys later.” He waves as he turns and leaves the barn.
“Great, now the whole of Alpine Falls is gonna know we were lip locking,” Bailey sighs.
“He doesn’t strike me as the town gossip,” I note, then again, what would I know?
“Yeah? Clearly, you haven’t been in Alpine Falls long enough to know what constitutes as gossip these days, and me kissing a wild cowboy from out of town will be front page news.”
I chuckle at her description. “Wild cowboy, huh? I better lift my game if I’m gonna live up to that reputation.”
“Trust me, even though the people in this town don’t get much to gossip about, when there is something newsworthy, boy, it travels fast.”
“Well, at least he said he liked that you were smiling.” I leave the for once part out of it.
“That’s George,” she sighs. “He looks out for everyone, not just because he’s the sheriff, but because he has this moral obligation to be a decent human being. He and Zane’s sister Izzy hate one another, but I secretly think they’d have cute babies, they just won’t admit it.”
“He’s a good guy then. I’m yet to meet Izzy, but I’ve heard a little bit about her.”
“She’s a whirlwind,” Bailey says. “But a good friend, and she gives just as much stick to the boys as they do her, which is hilarious. They need bringing down to size sometimes. The testosterone can be a lot around here.”
“I can only imagine.” We trot slowly back into the stable and give the horses a feed.
“We should get lunch before the tourists arrive,” Bailey says. “Normally I bring my own, but I didn’t have a whole lot of time this morning.” She side eyes me, and I smirk.
“Gettin’ back to that. I wasn’t runnin’ out on you this mornin’,” I say.
“I gathered that with the post-it note you left with your number and your grandma’s favorite mud cake recipe.”
“You said you liked chocolate, and I love to cook.”
“I love both of those sentiments,” she pauses. “We can go on up to the Lodge and grab something from the kitchen, or there’s the Perky Porch or Butterfingers.”
“I confess. I brought the boys’ breakfast burgers this mornin’,” I say. “I would’ve brought you one, too, but I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“You Ubered me coffee, I think we’re good.”
Yeah, well, she said she liked a decent coffee in the morning, and I like to keep the women in my life happy. That may only include my mom, sister and my sister’s dog, Molly, right now, but who’s counting?
“I can cook, but makin’ coffee is a personal thing, plus, the guy at Butterstick said he knows how to make it just how you like it.” I pique a brow.
She screws up her nose. “Oh my god, if you’re talking about Larry, Mrs. T’s husband, ewww.”
I chuckle once more. “Don’t worry, I just said I owed you a favor, so he didn’t think it was anythin’ more.”
“I’m sure.” She rolls her eyes.
My phone chimes in my pocket, but I silence it quickly.
Richard.
I don’t want to speak to my ex-manager. He’s done enough where damage control is concerned. Or lack thereof would be a better word.
“The Lodge sounds good, maybe you have time to show me around?”
She surprises me when she looks me dead in the eye. “I’d like that. And you did good today, cowboy, I won’t have to fire you just yet.”
“There’s still a few hours in the day left.” I grin. “I’ll give it my best shot.”