Chapter 17 #2
Miles looks at me again, something quiet and warm in his expression. “You’re welcome here any time, Viv. Both of you.”
“Thank you, Miles!” Riley shouts before throwing her arms around him in a tight squeeze.
“Anytime, Smiley Riley,” he responds as he looks up at me, a smile tugging the corner of his lip.
It does something to my stomach, twists it in the warmest way. I blush a little as we look at each other for a couple of seconds.
Then Riley lets go and takes off running toward Greg and Mindy, who are now feeding a beautiful white horse.
I watch as Mindy crouches into a tickle fight with Riley, both of them laughing, while Greg stands nearby, watching with the softest smile on his face like the entire world could start and end with them.
Then I hear Miles’s voice close to my ear.
“Wanna ride?”
It catches me off guard. For a moment, I’d forgotten about the horses around us.
I look at him, cheeks already growing hot.
“Ride the horse, Viv,” he teases, and I catch the glint in his eye as he laughs and shakes his head. He grabs my hand.
“I haven’t been on one since I was little,” I admit, still holding his hand, trying not to let my gaze linger too long on the way his thumb brushes over my skin so easily. So casually. So…distracting.
He steps toward a rich, chestnut-brown horse with a soft white streak down her nose. “This is Maeve. She’s one of our newest additions, sweet girl, gentle, total beginner’s horse. So, how about it, Bambi?” His voice is low and smooth, teasing but steady, waiting for my answer.
A wave of something nostalgic rolls over me. I used to ride as a kid, back when Mom and Dad had their ranch. My horse was Rodie, wild, proud, beautiful. But when Mom died, so did that part of my life. We lost the ranch, the horses…a part of that life, it was too much for Dad to maintain on his own.
I look at Maeve, and her eyes meet mine like she knows.
“Okay,” I say quietly, reaching out to stroke her. Her coat is warm and velvety, and she leans into my hand. It feels like home.
“She likes you already,” Miles says, smiling as he watches us. “I don’t blame her.”
The flirty heat in his voice makes my stomach dip.
It’s been so long that mounting a horse takes me three awkward attempts. On the third, I feel his hands slide around my waist, strong, confident, and he lifts me like I weigh nothing.
My breath catches. His fingers linger just a second longer than they need to.
“You could’ve warned me,” I mumble, adjusting in the saddle.
He smirks, stepping back just enough to get a better view of me up there. “And miss the opportunity to put my hands on you? Not a chance.”
My jaw drops, half laughing, half scandalized. “Miles!”
“What?” He throws his hands up innocently. “Just being honest.”
“You are so—”
“Charming?” he interrupts, grinning.
I roll my eyes but I’m smiling.
He steps closer again, his voice soft but teasing. “You don’t seem angry about it.”
And god help me, I can’t.
Because I did.
A little too much.
I glance away, cheeks hot. “Maeve, please take me away from this man.”
Miles laughs, a low, satisfied sound. “Sorry, sweetheart. She’s not going anywhere without me leading her.”
He grabs the reins and starts to walk us forward slowly, his hand occasionally brushing against my boot. There’s an ease in his movements, a comfort in the silence between us that feels…right. Like we’re slipping into something neither of us planned but maybe both needed.
“You know,” he says after a few quiet seconds. “You look good up there. Like you never stopped riding.”
I look down at him, that same damn warmth curling through my chest. “You trying to flatter me, Cowboy?”
He flashes a grin that makes my knees weak even from up here. “Just calling it like I see it, Bambi.”
I glance around the ranch, letting the moment sink in. It’s beautiful out here, the fields stretching wide, the breeze lifting my hair, and the people I care about all around me. The rhythmic sway of Maeve beneath me moves my hips in slow, steady shifts, and I feel surprisingly at ease.
Riley claps her hands from a few feet away, bouncing on her toes. “Go, Mommy!” she squeals, eyes sparkling.
I laugh and wave down at her. God, I love that little girl.
“Want to join, Riley?” Miles asks, already knowing the answer. She takes off like a rocket before he can finish the question.
“I’m gonna lift you up to Mom, all right? When I say three, throw your leg over,” he says, crouching down to her level.
“Yes! Yes! I’m ready!” She practically buzzes with excitement.
“One, two…three!”
He lifts her with ease, his arms strong and steady, and I help guide her onto the saddle in front of me. She fits perfectly, her little hands gripping the horn of the saddle as she giggles.
“Woo! Go, girls!” Mindy cheers, waving her arms like we’re in a rodeo.
Riley throws one hand up in the air like a true cowgirl. “Yeehaw!”
I laugh as I hold Riley with one arm making sure she doesn’t fall off the side.
Greg, standing a few feet away, tilts his head thoughtfully. “You know what would make this day even better?”
We all look at him expectantly.
“There’s a lake nearby,” he says with a grin. “We should ride there. It’s not far, and it’s perfect this time of day.”
The reaction is unanimous.
“Yes!”
“Come on!”
“Let’s go!”
Greg turns to Mindy with that spark in his eyes. “All right, Trouble, I’ll get you up first, then I’ll hop on behind.”
She scoffs, rolling her eyes with a smirk. “You think I can’t do it myself, Greggy?”
Miles mutters under his breath, already shaking his head.
Riley leans toward me, giggling into her hand. “She’s gonna fall.”
“She absolutely is,” I whisper back, smiling.
Sure enough, Mindy grabs the saddle, hoists herself halfway up, and then…
Flop.
She loses her grip and lands right on top of Greg in the grass, Tucker tries to lick both their faces as they struggle to stop him from doing so.
We all burst out laughing.
Greg groans, half-laughing, half-winded. “Why are you so damn stubborn, Mindy?”
“You couldn’t catch me?” she huffs, brushing off her dress. “Now, pick me up, Cowboy.”
He does just that, hands secure at her waist as he lifts her effortlessly onto the horse. “There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“It’s the dress,” she insists.
“Sure it is, Trouble.”
Miles turns to me, the corner of his mouth twitching. “I’m gonna go and saddle up on Willow and ride beside you, okay?”
I nod, heart still fluttering from the way he just looked at me. “Okay.”
He walks off, and I turn my focus back to Riley.
“You ready, cowgirl?” I ask, tickling her belly.
She giggles. “So ready!”
* * *
“Wow, this is beautiful, Greg,” I say as we reach the lake.
The sunlight dances across the surface of the water, turning it into a shimmering stretch of gold and silver.
Birds chirp from the trees, and the breeze carries the faint scent of wildflowers.
Grass brushes our boots, dotted with tiny white and yellow blooms. The whole place looks like a painting—soft, calm, untouched.
We dismount the horses one by one. I watch as Miles helps Riley off, his hands steady around her tiny waist. She hits the ground with a little bounce and immediately tugs off her boots, giggling as she sprints barefoot toward the edge of the lake.
“Come on, Tucker!”
And he obeys, running beside her as she giggles.
“Be careful!” I call after her, but she’s already crouched down by the water, poking at it like she’s discovered treasure.
“She’s a wild one,” Miles says beside me, amused.
Greg chuckles, leading the horses to a shady patch near a tree where they can rest, tying them off and giving each one a gentle pat. Then he joins Mindy and Riley by the shore, where Riley has already declared herself “Queen of the Frogs.”
I take a deep breath as I step out of my boots, curling my toes in the grass, and glance over at Miles.
So, we walk over to a little slope by the edge of the lake and sit side by side, toes skimming the water. It’s cold at first, but refreshing. I lean back on my hands, letting the sunlight warm my face, and from the corner of my eye, I catch Miles watching me.
“What?” I ask, my lips quirking.
“You’re glowing.”
I scoff. “I’m sweating.”
He nudges my shoulder. “Still glowing.”
I roll my eyes, but the heat in my cheeks has nothing to do with the sun.
We fall into a comfortable silence, Riley shrieks from a distance, something about a frog escaping, and Mindy laughs, chasing after her.
“I’m glad we came today,” I whisper.
His hand inches closer, the back of his fingers brushing against mine. “Me too.”
And this time, I don’t pull away.
I lean into the quiet, into the warmth beside me, and into the start of something I never saw coming, but now don’t want to let go of.
“Guys!” Mindy suddenly calls from farther down the shore. “Is that—” She points to a thick rope hanging from a tree branch, swaying slightly in the breeze like it’s just been waiting for someone bold enough. “Oh, hell yes,” she says, eyes already sparkling.
“Mindy,” I warn, half-laughing. “Think this through.”
But she’s already hiking up her dress, tossing her sunglasses to the grass. “I never think. That’s your job.”
“Gonna have to jump in after her,” Greg mutters beside Miles, then grins.
We all move closer, forming a little half-circle around the tree as Mindy backs up, takes a running start, grabs the rope with both hands and swings out over the lake with a wild whoop of pure joy.
The water explodes beneath her as she lets go at just the right moment, disappearing for a second before popping back up and we all cheer.
“Your turn, Greg!” she shouts, wiping her face and flicking water at us.
Greg doesn’t hesitate. “Don’t mind if I do.” He yanks off his shirt—Mindy definitely notices.
“Don’t you dare land on me!” she calls out.
“Oh, shame,” he shouts back, and swings out with ease, letting go and landing with a splash that rivals hers.