Chapter 33
Farrah
Istare at the bed of the truck. There’s no way we’ll need this much stuff. Right? We’re only camping for one night. Knox’s truck is literally full of crap. Not to mention, he has the trailer hitched to the back of it.
He just parked it in front of the barn so we can load up the horses. I have to force my thoughts away from how arousing it was to watch him competently back the trailer up without an ounce of effort.
Instead, I try to remember the last time I rode a horse. It had to be before I was a teenager. Likely at a birthday party for one of my school friends, since we never had the money for that kind of pastime.
Knox introduced me to Lady yesterday. She’s Sir’s best friend and only took a liking to me after she noticed Sir up in my pockets, trying to sneak a treat.
I gave one to both of them when Knox wasn’t looking.
Lady and I became good friends after that.
She wouldn’t let me stop giving her attention once she decided she liked me.
Finn animatedly showed me to his horse, Trace. He was super sweet, and I understood why Finn likes him so much.
The clomp of hooves echoes through the open barn door. Sir walks out, his sleek black coat shining in the morning sunshine. Knox leads him into the trailer and gets him settled inside. Lady goes next, and then Finn leads Trace out last.
A few minutes later, we’re on the road, headed to Muriel and Stan’s.
Nerves dance in my belly the closer we get to the farm.
I do not want to look like an idiot out there, but I have no idea what to expect either.
The only thing that kept me from flat-out refusing to go was knowing not a single one of my friends would make me feel bad for having very little experience.
They’ll probably tease me a little, but it won’t be mean-spirited.
Knox holds my hand as he drives. Between my work schedule at the diner and his long hours on the farm, we haven’t gotten to spend as much time together as either of us would like.
I’ve been dreaming of getting Knox naked again.
It was a heady experience to give up my control to him.
It gives me shivers every time I remember it.
Naturally, he notices. “What are you thinking about over there?”
My cheeks heat. “Nothing. Just wondering how cramped the tent will be.”
Knox raises an eyebrow at me. His brown eyes sparkle with mirth, seeing straight through me. “Finn has his own tent. Don’tcha, buddy?”
“Mm-hmm. It’s got superheroes on it. Daddy says I flop around too much to share a tent with him.”
I laugh at that.
“You somehow manage to take up a whole lot of space for such a tiny human,” Knox laments.
“I like to have my space, Dad. I can’t help it.”
“I’m even grumpier if I haven’t slept well, so for everyone’s sanity, Finn sleeps in his own tent.”
“Grayson calls Dad a grumpy bear when he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed,” Finn informs me.
“Who knew you were capable of being even grumpier?” I tease.
Knox tickles my ribs in retaliation, making me squeal. Finn laughs from the backseat, so I reach back to tickle him too.
Hearing Knox’s uninhibited laugh has become one of my favorite sounds. It usually only comes out when Finn is being particularly funny, but there have been a couple of rare occasions I’ve made him laugh that hard too, and it makes me feel ten feet tall.
We arrive to coordinated chaos at Muriel and Stan’s. It seems like we’re the last ones here. Horses are hitched to just about any place they can be while everyone buzzes around, getting their stuff unloaded.
I’m in awe of how everyone moves with purpose. Even the kids are helping in whatever ways they can. There’s a buzz of excitement in the air as I get out of the truck. Smiles are in plentiful supply, and echoes of laughter float around us.
“Are Holt’s brothers coming too?” I ask Knox as I help him unload the truck.
He narrows his eyes at me. “Why?”
Raising an eyebrow, I give him an unamused expression. “I’m just wondering who all will be here. What’s with the attitude?”
Knox blows out a breath, shaking his head as if to dislodge his thoughts. “Holt’s brothers aren’t going this time. Just us, Holt’s family, Grayson and London, and Emmett and his two kids.”
I hum in acknowledgment. “You didn’t answer my other question about your attitude.”
“I—” He sighs in resignation. “I’m a little jealous of your friendship with Nix. The guy is a player, and the first time I heard you were hanging out with him, it pissed me off. Now, I can recognize that I was jealous, but knowing he gets any of your time bothers me.”
His admission floors me. I can’t believe he’s jealous of Nix or that he’d even admit that. I fully believed getting Knox to tell me anything would be like pulling teeth. It seems the man is more communicative than I am.
“He’s only ever been a friend. Nothing more. And if it makes you feel better, I was jealous of that little blonde woman you brought into the diner.” I keep my eyes on my task. I don’t think I can look him in the eye right now.
“That’s Alicia. She’s my business manager for the cabins and stuff.”
I jerk my head up only to find Knox’s smug smile pointed right at me.
He guides me to sit down on his tailgate, stepping between my legs after he gently pushes them apart. “You were jealous that day?”
I nod. The way he’s looking at me makes my mouth dry.
“Is that why you came stomping up to my house after I tipped you?”
I nod again. “But also because that was a stupid amount of money. You shouldn’t have given me that much.”
He snorts. “Princess, I’ve been running a profitable farm since I was eighteen years old. Add in the tourist shit, and I’ve got more money than I know what to do with.”
My jaw drops, and Knox laughs at my shock.
“The only thing I spend money on is Finn and the farm. Everything else gets invested.”
“You still shouldn’t have tipped me that much. I was actually kind of rude to you.”
The widest grin stretches across Knox’s face. I’ve never seen him smile like that before. It’s dazzling. Reaching up, I run the pad of my fingers across the grooves that appeared in his cheek from his expression.
He slides his fingers into my hair at the base of my neck. “You’re perfect, you know?”
I frown. “Hardly.”
“Perfect for me, I should say then.” He kisses me before I can respond. I have no idea what I did to make him think I’m perfect for him, but the way he’s kissing me distracts me enough not to care.
“Come on, lovebirds!” Emmett yells, making us startle apart. I giggle when Knox winks at me.
We finish loading the horses, and then it’s time for me to show off how little I remember about riding a horse.
I use the stand Gia recommends to get into the saddle.
Lady stands perfectly still while I get comfortable.
I talk quietly to her, reminding her about how I haven’t done this in a while and to take it slow with me.
I’m probably imagining it, but I swear she nods her head at me in understanding.
“You ready, Princess?” Knox’s voice startles me.
Thankfully, Lady isn’t fazed. “I think so. If I fall off, just leave me on the trail and let the buzzards eat me.”
Knox barks out a laugh. “I’m not going to do that, but I will promise not to make fun of you if you do fall.”
I relax a little in the saddle. “I’ll take it.”
“Just follow behind Finn. Lady won’t need much direction with all the rest of us riding together.”
With that, I click my tongue to get Lady moving, surprised that the sound comes easily to me.
I clench my muscles with her movement before I settle into the saddle.
We move as a caravan, riding along trails created over years of use.
It’s a beautiful day. The sun streaks through the trees in sparkling rays while the canopy of leaves provides enough shade to keep us cool.
The kids laugh with each other, all of them riding their own horse, with the exception of Grayson’s daughter, London. She’s happily riding with Gray, randomly patting their horse’s neck with her little hand.
We only stop when the kids start to get hungry. Holt leads us to a clearing with a massive pond for the horses to drink from. Blankets are set up, and food is handed out with only a vague sense of organization. Everyone shares what they’ve brought with anyone who wants some.
Stan is going to meet us at our campsite in the side-by-side tonight with coolers full of drinks and dinner. For now, we’re all happily munching on sandwiches and chips and drinking from water bottles we filled before we left.
We get back onto the trail an hour later, switching up the order of our horses. The kids are all riding together, and I happily ended up next to Gia, closer to the front of the caravan.
“You doing okay?” she asks me.
“Better than I expected, actually.”
We invited Gwen to come with us, but she suspiciously backed out at the last minute. I’m not sure if she just wasn’t feeling up to a group outing or if something else is going on. I plan to ask after we get back.
“In my thirty years of life, I never would have expected to be riding a horse, let alone enjoying it.” Gia laughs. She grew up in a small town but was never a country girl by any stretch of the imagination.
“I’m pretty sure the last time I rode a horse was at a kid’s birthday party when I was in elementary school. I didn’t care for it much back then, but now that I think about it, it had more to do with the girls attending the party than the horse.”
“I am so not ready to deal with the mean girl culture. Lauren’s so kind to everyone. It’s either going to make her the popular girl or a punching bag.”
“With you as a role model, I think she’ll be the girl people gravitate to when the others are being hateful.”
Gia blushes, a bashful smile quirking the side of her mouth. The woman can be a contradiction sometimes. She’s confidently bold and couldn’t care less what people think about her, but the second one of her friends compliments her, she gets all squirmy. It’s one of my favorite things about her.
“I hope you’re right. Otherwise, I might tell her to punch a bitch, and we both know that is the least helpful advice.”
I cough out a surprised laugh. “That’s probably the worst advice to give an eight-year-old.”
Gia shrugs, unrepentant. “Tell me what’s going on with you and Knox. Have you”—she glances around to see if the kids are nearby and spots Finn and Leah right behind us, so she lowers her voice—“done the nasty yet?”
“Gia,” I admonish.
“What? I’m determined to get you laid. I also am dying to know if that man is packing the big dick energy he exudes.”
I giggle like a little girl, my face the shade of a tomato.
“Oh, he so is!” Gia crows. “I knew it. Does he know how to use it?”
With my face flaming, I nod. A quiet squeal has me shushing her. “Stop that. I do not need anyone knowing what we’re talking about.”
“But he was good to you?” She looks at me seriously. They don’t know all the dirty details of my history, but Gia and Gwen know that my sexual past was not the best.
“Very good.”
She groans. “I want to know aaaaall of the details, but this is not the place for that.”
“I’m not even sure I could get them out of my mouth.”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem.” Gia grins. “Give us a margarita night, and I’ll have you spilling everything.”
We descend into giggles like high school girls, gossiping about boys. I find myself dying to share what I know about Knox’s accessories with Gia. I have no doubt she’ll appreciate the information, and it’ll shock the heck out of her.
I can’t wait to see her expression.