5. Ramona
— ? —
Ramona
I catch Julius’s wrist before he reaches into his jacket. He stops beside the horses, looking down at my hand while his phone vibrates again.
“You promised me Sunday.” I give his wrist a gentle tug until he turns toward me. “We haven’t even left yet, and I’m already competing with your pocket.”
“I just want to check that they got the new horses settled.” He turns his hand beneath mine and kisses my knuckles. “Then I’m all yours.”
“You checked before breakfast.” I brush hay off his shoulder, keeping him close. “They were settled while you made breakfast, too.”
“I was trying to get it out of the way.” He glances toward the program barn as a truck pulls through the gate.
I wait for his eyes to come back to mine. When they don’t, I move my hand from his collar to his cheek.
“Your wife is over here.” I turn his face gently toward me. “She got up early, put on the jeans you like, and agreed to spend the day listening to you claim you let her win a race.”
That gets his attention. His eyes drop briefly to my jeans before he slides an arm around my waist.
“I noticed those before we left the house.” He pulls me closer, smiling as I catch the front of his jacket.
“You could’ve mentioned it.” I smooth my thumb over the seam beside his zipper. “I accept compliments. I’ve been working on that.”
“I’m proud of your progress.” He bends to kiss me, but I lean back just enough to make him wait.
“You should see what happens when you leave your phone alone.” I lift my eyebrows, and he laughs before bringing his mouth to mine.
His hand settles against my back while I turn closer. I can feel him smiling through the first kiss, but he takes his time with the next one, drawing me against him until I have to hold his shoulder.
When he finally lifts his head, I leave my fingers at the back of his neck.
“I want this today.” I brush my thumb beneath his hair. “I want to talk to you without somebody waiting for you to finish.”
He stops rubbing my back and looks directly at me.
“I know I’ve been distracted.” He brings his hand up to cover mine against his neck. “I’m sorry, Ramona.”
“I miss you even when you’re standing beside me.” I reach for the button he missed, but he catches my hand before I can look down.
“Then let’s get out of here.” He kisses my palm and steps back to hold my horse. “You can tell me everything I’ve missed.”
My mouth lifts as I put my boot in the stirrup. He steadies the saddle while I climb, then rests a hand beside my knee.
“You’re not allowed to spend the whole ride apologizing.” I look down at him. “I brought you for the conversation and the view.”
“I thought you wanted me to look at your jeans.” He gives my knee a gentle squeeze.
“You can multitask when properly motivated.” I gather the reins while he laughs.
Someone calls his name before he reaches his horse.
A ranch hand hurries toward us from the program barn. Julius turns immediately, his hand still resting on the saddle.
“The new mare’s getting worked up.” The hand stops at the gate. “They want to move her, but she won’t let anybody near her head.”
“Tell them to leave her where she is.” Julius takes his hand off the saddle. “I’ll come look.”
I keep the reins loose in my fingers while he turns back toward me.
“Let me make sure she’s all right.” He rubs his palm over his jaw. “I don’t want anybody pushing her.”
“Could someone else check?” I lean forward a little, keeping my voice light. “You were about to show me how interesting you are.”
“I’ll be quick.” He reaches up and squeezes my hand. “Don’t go winning without me.”
I manage a small laugh as he lets go. He walks backward for a step, smiling at me before the hand asks another question, and then Julius turns toward him.
My lips settle as they cross the yard. I rub them together and look down at the reins, straightening a twist that isn’t there. My horse shifts beneath me, ready to follow when Julius opens the barn door.
I hold her back.
His horse stands saddled beside mine. I watch the doorway until it closes, then take my foot out of the stirrup and climb down.
***
I unsaddle both horses and turn them out into the near pasture, then carry the tack back one piece at a time to make it last.
The coffee I left on the porch rail has gone cold, with a ring of dried cream around the inside edge.
I dump it over the side and set the mug upside down on the step.
My phone sits beside it with his last text still on the screen.
Give me ten minutes. That was long enough ago that the shade from the porch roof has moved off the rail entirely.
I walk to the program barn myself.
The doors are open and I hear them before I see them. Julius’s voice first, low, the sound he only makes when nothing is wrong. Then a laugh. A woman’s laugh.
They’re standing beside one of the stalls with a tablet between them, their heads bent close over whatever’s on the screen. Dakota’s shoulder is an inch from his arm. She murmurs a line I can’t catch and Julius laughs again, and the sound echoes off the high ceiling. Then he looks up.
His hand drops away from the tablet. “Ah, shit.”
“The mare okay?” I stop a few feet away and fold my arms.
“She’s fine. She settled once they backed off her.” Julius leaves the tablet in Dakota’s hands. “Nobody pushed her.”
“Settled.” I nod slowly. “So she’s been fine for how long now?”
“That’s my fault, Ramona.” Dakota lowers the tablet against her stomach before Julius can answer. “The mare settled a while ago. I asked him to stay and check the schedule with me.”
I keep my eyes on my husband. His hand is still resting on the stall door beside her.
“I was asking Julius.” I pull my sleeves down over my wrists and wait for him to look at me.
“Of course. I’m sorry.” Dakota steps back so quickly that her elbow catches the latch. She rubs it without making a sound, her eyes lowered.
The scraping in the stall behind us stops. Julius glances toward the hand holding the shovel, then takes a step in my direction.
“Ramona, I was just finishing.” He reaches toward my arm, but I put my hands in my back pockets.
“You told me you’d be quick.” I look from his hand to his face. “Then you sent me a message asking for another ten minutes. I’ve been waiting forty since then.”
“I know, and I should have come back.” He lowers his hand, shifting closer so I have to tilt my head to keep looking at him. “Dakota had questions about the training, and I thought we could get through them before…”
His phone vibrates in his pocket.
My eyes drop to it. He presses his palm against the fabric but doesn’t take it out.
“I did tell him he should go.” Dakota speaks quietly, still standing behind him. “I reminded him you were waiting.”
Julius turns his head toward her. I take a breath through my nose and hold it until I can answer without my voice breaking.
“Then he can finish tomorrow.” I look past him at her. “He promised me today.”
“I understand. I wasn’t trying to keep him from you.” She hugs the tablet closer, her shoulders drawing in. “I only wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting anything wrong.”
“You could have written the questions down.” I press my thumb against the seam of my jeans. “He didn’t have to stay here to answer them.”
Dakota nods, looking at the floor between us.
“You’re right. I should have thought of that.” She swallows before lifting her eyes to mine. “I’m sorry I’ve upset you.”
My mouth opens, but Julius moves before I can answer.
“This is on me.” He looks directly at me, his hand hovering near mine. “I told you I’d come back.”
Another hand enters the barn, slows when he sees us, then turns into the passage without speaking. Julius watches him go. I keep staring at my husband until he faces me again.
Dakota shifts the tablet beneath her arm.
“I’ll leave you alone.” She takes a careful step toward the doors. “I know how difficult it is to get time with him.”
I turn toward her before she passes me.
“How would you know that?” I uncurl my fingers from my sleeves.
She stops, her lips parting. Her gaze goes briefly to Julius before returning to me.
“I only meant he’s always here.” She rubs her free hand over her other wrist. “Everybody sees how much he does. I wasn’t saying anything about your marriage.”
Behind us, the shovel scrapes against the floor again. I feel my face warming, but I hold her gaze.
Julius puts his hand out for the tablet.
“We’re finished for today.” He keeps his arm extended while Dakota looks at him. “Anything else can wait until Monday.”
She gives it to him with both hands.
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.” Her voice catches slightly, and she presses her lips together before looking at me. “I’ll send him the remaining questions tonight. He won’t have to spend tomorrow going through them with me.”
Julius’s fingers tighten around the tablet. Before he answers, Dakota turns toward the doors.
She stops with her hand on the frame, keeping her face toward the yard.
“Please enjoy your ride.” She smooths her palm down the wood. “He’s been talking about taking you to that creek all morning.”
***
I leave the barn before Julius can reach for my hand. He catches up near the pasture, but I keep walking until the voices behind us fade.
“You let her answer for you.” I stop beside the fence and turn toward him. “I asked why you hadn’t come back. I didn’t need her explaining how hard she tried to send you home.”
“I should have stopped her.” He reaches for my hand, then lets his fall when I fold my arms.
“She knew about the creek.” I watch his face. “She knew I was waiting, and I still had to stand there asking whether I could have my husband back.”
“I told her where we were going when I got there.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Then I stayed longer than I meant to. That’s on me.”
I look toward the pasture while he waits. The horses are grazing along the far fence, nowhere near the saddles I put away earlier.
“I wanted one damn day, Julius.” I press my fingers into my sleeves. “I don’t want to keep reminding you that you promised it to me.”