Chapter 21 #2
"We're riding, but you're going to be in the arena," he answered. "We're going out on a trail ride."
"Well shit, I mean shoot." She smiled innocently at Indi. "I want to go on a trail ride."
"Nope," a deep voice said from behind. Zander, the biggest and oldest of the Wilde brothers walked in wearing worn-out boots and faded jeans. "You've got to work on your stops and turns."
Rio blew a loud raspberry, then turned to me.
"You know how in those old black and white movies—" She turned toward Finn who was still busy scrolling channels.
"You know, Gramps, like when you went to the movies," she said extra loudly though it didn't seem as if Finn had any hearing problems. She turned back to me.
"Well, you know how in those movies the school teachers were always super mean and looked evil?
That's my riding teacher." She waved with a flourish at Zander.
"Yep, that's me." Zander pulled out a stick of gum and unwrapped it.
"Yum, can I have one?" Rio asked.
"What mean school teacher hands out chewing gum? Let's go before I change my mind about this riding lesson altogether."
Colin and I saddled two sweet horses, Ranger and Toby.
He told me they were fairly new to the ranch.
It seemed when people no longer wanted to care for their horses, they sent them to Finn for a forever home.
It seemed like such a contradiction from everything I'd ever heard Ace say about the Wildes and especially Finn Wilde.
I climbed up on Ranger, a stocky buckskin, and Colin took the reins on Toby, a retired racehorse who had a lot more attitude.
Past the barn, Zander was on a big black horse showing Rio how to back her horse up in a straight line.
The teen looked bored to be learning such a mundane skill.
Colin and I both caught her eye roll and laughed. "I remember having that eye roll down to an art," I said. "But never directly in front of my dad. That would earn me a week's grounding."
Ranger was slow and plodding, but Toby had a much quicker step.
Colin knew how to handle him well, and he looked damn good on top of a horse.
Ranger and I followed as he led us along a narrow dirt trail with overgrown fields on each side.
Occasionally, we'd pass a trail leading through the landscape that had been obviously plowed by the tires of dirt bikes.
The trail finally widened enough for me to prod Ranger forward to come up side by side with Colin and Toby. Toby flicked his tail at us as we passed.
"I think he still remembers his days on the track," I said. "Doesn't want anyone to pass him. Your dad is cool, mellow," I said as I came up next to him.
Colin laughed. "Mellow, never heard that word used to describe my old man."
"So how about you? What did you have to do to get grounded? I'll bet it was more than an eye roll."
Colin looked around at the untamed landscape.
"We wouldn't be grounded mostly because Dad always liked us out of the house.
Especially when he had a new girlfriend, which happened about every week.
Ronan and I used to set up camp right over there by that tree when we knew it was time to get out of his way.
One night it rained so hard, all of our stuff washed away.
We had to lash ourselves to that tree to keep from being washed away with it.
Zander had been staying with friends because he was getting out of Dad's way, too.
He knew we were camping out. He came home and found us clinging to the branches.
" Colin rested the reins on the horse's neck and reached up high above his head.
"Hanging like two monkeys while we watched this wild creek of water roll under us.
I'd never seen that much rain, and I've spent a lot of time in Ireland.
But Zander marched through the water. It came up to his thighs.
He plucked us both down like we were low hanging fruit and got us to higher ground. "
"He took care of his little brothers, didn't he?"
Colin grew quiet for a second. "None of us would have survived if not for Z. Dad never even knew we'd almost been washed away."
"So, there is definitely a very uncool side to Finnegan Wilde," I said.
Colin shoulders dropped. "You could say that."
"Sorry, this topic seems to be a bad one," I said. "I saw the Irish flag, and obviously the names, Colin and Ronan, and you mentioned Ireland. I guess I'm not going too far out on the limb to guess that you are Irish."
Three doves took off from a nearby bush causing Toby to startle. He darted sideways, but Colin pulled his head around to keep him from taking off.
"Something tells me if that guy decides to run, there will be little to stop him," I said.
Colin nodded. "Yeah, Nate, my youngest brother, decided to take him for a ride after Toby had just gotten here.
A hawk flew down too close to the trail, and Toby took off like he was heading to Mexico and never coming back.
Nate's a good rider though. He hung on. And yeah, Ronan and I, our mom is from Ireland.
Dad spotted her singing in an Irish pub.
They fell in love. My dad did that a lot.
He also fell quickly out of love, and so did all his wives, our mom included.
The Finnegan Wilde charm is strong, explosive but short-lived. "
"At least he has charm. My dad has to be the most charmless person on the planet. I don't know how he stays so successful. He's no doubt stomping around the house right now, yelling at everyone because he's mad at me."
We reached a pond, surrounded by trees and tall grass. A tire swing dangled from an oak tree branch over the murky gray water, and a crudely built pier jutted a few feet into the pond. The horses instantly dropped their heads to drink as if we'd just ridden them through the Sahara Desert.
"Right, dudes, cuz we rode you so hard," Colin quipped.
I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air.
It was laced with the earthy pungent scent coming off the surrounding landscape and the tang of algae from the pond.
Ranger moved his dripping wet muzzle to the nearby patch of grass, and Toby decided to do the same.
Colin and I dropped down from the saddles and sat next to the shore.
"I'll bet there were a lot of parties down at this pond," I said.
"Yeah, this was a summer hangout for all of us.
Definitely had some good times out here.
" Colin picked up a stone and tossed it into the water.
A ripple of concentric circles followed.
"When we were kids, this pond felt like a lake, one you could race across.
We'd take a running start with that tire swing and see how far out we could jump.
It seemed never-ending, as if we had our own private ocean.
Now it looks puny and—" He crinkled his nose.
"Kind of gross, now that I look at it. Shit, I'm turning into a testy old man. "
I wrapped my arm around his. "Maybe a little."
"You were supposed to say, 'oh no you're not, Colin.'" He pulled me into his lap. "'You're a hot, incredible lover.'"
I put my arms around his neck. "Oh, Colin, you hot, incredible lover." I kissed him hard on the mouth. "There. Better?"
"Yep. I have to warn you, we Wildes need our egos stroked at least once a day."
"I'll try to remember that."
He gazed at me and it felt as if my heart was melting inside my chest. It wasn't just his looks.
There was something about the way he looked at me, the way he held me that made this whole thing feel really significant.
I'd been all over the world, and I grew up in privilege, but I'd never felt at home …
not ever. But I felt at home in his arms.
"Colin, thanks for everything. I really needed a friend, and there you were suddenly."
"Well, my sweatshirt and I are very glad you found us."
I tucked myself against him. "I do love that sweatshirt. The boy I stole it from is all right, too."