20. Beau
Beau
Clark had a cute ass. It was especially adorable bumping up and down on Betty, who decided that she was sweet on my man. I mean, yes, the majestic mountains. The evergreens. The gorgeous blue skies with their puffy, white clouds. The wide-open vistas.
Go, Colorado.
I used to ache at the beauty of it all, and now I only ached for Clark. I was so ridiculously smitten that I resented the presence of other people, which was a problem, since I was supposed to be Colt’s co-lead.
Time to refocus on the trail.
To be fair, the day had gone well so far.
I wasn’t initially on board with Colt’s suggestion to add a test ride prior to the overnights, but beyond ensuring that the young ones could keep up, it had allowed us to better see our riders’ weaknesses prior to taking them hours out into the back country.
The ride up into the foothills of Snow Creek Mountain had gone smoothly as well—the weather held out, no one fell off their horse, and I didn’t drag Clark from his saddle to fuck him against a tree.
Win-win.
We even got to the campsite early. Miguel and I spent nearly an hour setting up tents with Stevie’s dads.
Colt and Stevie set up the high line and took care of the horses, while Connor and Cynthia’s parents oversaw their brood, making sure everyone got snacks and water before they set out to explore on their own.
Speaking of exploring, Miguel and River had already disappeared into the woods.
Which … I didn’t have the heart to go after them.
Besides, since this was a larger trail ride with three families and lots of moving parts, we decided it’d be more appropriate for River and Clark to share their tent, while Miguel, Colt, and I would stay in our own tents tonight.
I hated it.
Clark hated it.
River thought we were all being a bit too Victorian, especially since none of us were fooling anyone.
Despite my head being fully in the clouds, this had been a wonderful group.
The whole bunch had a kind of rambunctiousness that only happened when a kid felt perfectly, utterly safe, and that had been today’s vibe from the start.
Currently, all the under eighteen kids were having a blast in the shallow creek, with splash wars, floating games, and rock-skipping contests.
Also, it kinda helped that the parents were just as horny and flirty and full of PDA as we wished we could be. Nothing inappropriate, of course. Really, all they did was sit around the campfire and display the kind of casual affection between people who loved each other.
I was jealous as hell.
Clark caught my eye and stepped into the wooded area by his tent setup. No one was paying attention, so I followed. He hadn’t gone far. His hands were in his pockets, and he was looking up at the aspens and junipers.
“It’s gorgeous here, isn’t it?” I asked, slipping his hands out of his pockets so I could wrap him up from behind.
He leaned back against me for a moment, then turned in the circle of my arms and squeezed me tight. “Gorgeous, indeed.”
I did a quick perimeter check, and since no one was looking our way, I kissed him. And kissed him some more. Then groaned as I pulled away from him.
Clark looked as disappointed as I felt, but we had our priorities. I would have loved to disappear into the woods like Miguel and River, but I wasn’t going to abandon my responsibilities to Colt just because I’d tripped and fallen for someone.
Clark didn’t complain, but instead, grabbed my hand, kissing the back of it.
We only had three more nights together before he went home, including tonight, and I wanted to make the best of them.
We’d get home tomorrow, early afternoon, from the trail ride, since returning from the foothills doesn’t take as long as going.
And then we’ll have the entire next day to spend together.
As much as I looked forward to it, I couldn’t help but hear the ticking of the clock.
I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t researched dude ranches in the Chicago area. There were some nice-looking ones, too, but the reality was that Snow Creek Ranch was my home. I was a part of this place. These folks were family to me. I was happily anchored here.
Or at least I had been until Clark Jensen showed up with his sad eyes and cute ass.
Worse, I found myself reconsidering my stance on long-distance relationships. I hated the thought of constantly missing him, but I hated more the idea of not seeing him ever again.
“Hey, come back to me.” Clark’s hand cupped my jaw. “Where’d you go?”
I smiled, even though my heart hurt just looking at his gorgeous face. “Sorry. Flights of fancy.”
“Those have been getting me, too.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
His eyes went glassy. “I hate that we live so far apart from each other.”
“I was daydreaming about what it would be like to know that I could text you,” I admitted, without an ounce of shame. “To know that you would text me back. To know that I’m not the only one who feels this way.”
“You’re not.”
He didn’t seem happy about it, either.
I had plenty more I wanted to say, but screaming from the creek had me running back into the camping area. Clark ran with me. The kids, except Cynthia, were on the bank of the creek, pointing to the opposite bank, shouting, “Snake! Snake!”
Cynthia was on a rock in the middle of the creek, too scared to join the others. River, however, had come in from the trees on the other side of the camp and was already on the move, quick, even with his walking stick. He crossed the creek and put Cynthia over his shoulder in a one-handed maneuver.
A familiar sound stopped all of us in our tracks.
“Rattlesnake,” River said, voice shaking as he lifted his chin toward the creek bank.
“Everyone, be calm,” I announced, making my way through the camp as calmly and quickly as possible. “Rattlesnakes are not common out here, and they don’t like messing with humans. They would rather avoid us.”
River gingerly waded through the creek away from the sound, Cynthia still slung over his shoulder. “Miguel and I saw it and avoided it, but then it moved toward the camp.”
Colt and Miguel exchanged a look. Colt went to the horses while Miguel crossed the creek, closing the distance on the snake.
“No!” River shouted, holding out his hand even as he gripped Cynthia tighter. The snake, not sure which direction to be mad at, stilled. Miguel kneeled a bit closer, then shook his head.
“Mi amor, it’s a bull snake.” Pointing out the tail, he explained, “This one has no rattle. Bull snakes imitate rattlesnakes by shaking their tails in dry leaves. And it’s pale with splotches, not diamonds.”
Now that he’d pointed it out, it was easy to distinguish the sound of rustling leaves from a genuine rattle. River kept his distance but seemed to take Miguel at his word.
I checked behind me, and Clark was still there, his gaze steady. Like maybe he trusted me too.
Focus, Beau.
Keeping an eye on the snake, I addressed the group.
“This means we’re dealing with a non-venomous snake, though the same rule applies.” I was, at least, proud of the calm in my voice.
I checked in with Colt and the horses. He’d pulled his rifle from its scabbard. He nodded and gave me a thumbs-up. The horses, luckily, hadn’t noticed the snake and were happily munching away at their feed bags.
Colt moved into position—close enough to make the shot, but far enough to avoid further agitating the annoyed reptile, who’d resumed shaking the leaves.
“We’re all just gonna stay in place,” I said. “If the snake moves into a strike position, Colt will handle it. Otherwise, we wait until it gets bored and wanders off.”
Thankfully, everyone seemed to understand what ‘handling it’ could look like, and we all did our best to remain calm while we waited. The snake shook the leaves and hovered for another long minute, but, like most bullies, it didn’t really want any smoke from humans.
It cut a swift path away from us into the trees. Colt followed for several yards, then sent another thumbs-up. We all took a collective breath. We were losing the sun at a breakneck pace, and no one wanted to deal with a snake in the dark.
Which reminded me…
“Good job, folks. And now you know why we insist on you wearing the quite fashionable headlamps for any nighttime bathroom runs.” I held up my hand. “Remember, bull snakes are diurnal. Which means what?”
Stevie held up her hand, and I gestured for her to answer. “It means they’re not active at night.”
“Gold star to the gold medal barrel racer!”
Stevie and her dads chuckled—they’d seen snakes on their Texas property a time or two.
“And what does that mean?”
Connor called out, “It means the snake’s gonna go sleep off its shitty attitude.”
His parents rolled their eyes, and I confirmed that he was correct. “We’ve also laid down snake repellent around the campsite and made it as unwelcoming to critters as possible. We are in nature, but we’ve made our camp as safe as it can be.”
All eyes went to Colt, who was still holding his rifle. “I’ll keep this on me tonight.”
While all the parents had signed waivers and understood that wildlife was part and parcel of getting out in the wild, they seemed to appreciate being reassured that we were taking all the appropriate steps.
Cynthia’s parents were also grateful to River for taking care of their daughter during the ordeal.
They’d had enough to handle, keeping their younger kids calm during the encounter, and thanked him until he went red to his hairline.
He politely escaped their gratitude and went back to helping Miguel.
The parents then declared it an “adventure!” and went to check their tents.
I turned to Clark, who was watching River and Miguel. Tears formed in his eyes.
“Are you afraid? I promise, I doubt the snake will come back tonight.”
Clark shook his head and blushed. “Sorry. I’m … I’m being sentimental.”
“Oh?”
“Miguel said mi amor when he told River it was a bull snake, right?” he asked, gesturing to the two of them as they kissed. “He called River my love?”
Honestly, I hadn’t even considered it. But in fact, he had.
“Is that okay?”
“That my son might be in love? With a really great guy? It’s better than okay.”
I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, bringing him in close. “You are such a sweet man. And a great father.”
Despite meaning every word, an ugly feeling crawled up my throat as I wiped his tears.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was jealous of Miguel.
He knew how he felt and said it out loud.
He didn’t care about things being too soon, or about whether it made any damn sense at all.
He just claimed his man in front of everyone, natural as can be.
I would give anything to be able to call Clark mi amor. Even if it was too soon. Even if it didn’t make any sense.