CHAPTER 23
WYATT
I was saddling up two of our best horses for one of the couples staying at the resort. They were recently engaged and celebrating their love for one another, and I thought it was great. They were walking down to the stables, all giggling and laughter, unable to keep their hands off one another. It really was a beautiful sight, and it made me think of Katie. How happy she looked sitting on my lap that day and how easily her body gave itself over to mine.
I could see myself having that with her.
“First off, congratulations,” I said.
“Thank you so much,” the woman said. “I haven’t been horseback riding in a very long time.”
“And I’ve never done it. This is all her thing,” the guy said.
“Well, let me get ya introduced to the horses,” I said.
“Love the accent, by the way,” the man said.
“Y’all from out of town?” I asked.
“San Francisco,” the woman said. “Your resort comes highly recommended by our boss.”
“Well, tell that to the front desk. You can earn that boss of yours a free night’s stay if he referred ya here,” I said. “And welcome to Dallas.”
“Thanks,” the woman said. “Which one am I on?”
“Whichever one ya want,” I said with a smile.
“The brown one’s beautiful. Does she have a name?” she asked.
“His name’s Longhorn.”
“Oh! Well, sorry there, Longhorn. Mind if I get on?” she asked.
“Be my guest. Ya need any help?”
“I think I got it. I just gotta get my foot—”
The woman stumbled back, and I caught her before she fell. Her fiancé came over and helped me get her up there, using it as an excuse to cop a feel of her ass. I grinned at him, and he winked at me, and I knew the two of them would be just fine. Couples who could be playful like that always made it. At least, that was how it worked out here in the country.
“You need help gettin’ up? Since you ain’t rode before?” I asked.
“Probably, but you don’t get to touch my ass,” he said.
“Wouldn’t dream of it. If ya like, I got a stool you can step up on,” I said.
I got them mounted and ready to go before I walked both the horses to the beginner’s trail. It was smoothed out and very wide. It’d be comfortable for the horses to walk side by side. The two of them reached out for one another’s hands and interlocked their fingers, then they kicked at the horses and started walking. They really were a nice duo. The way they smiled at one another told me they really were in love.
And as I stood there making sure they got off to the trail all right, my mind slipped back to Katie.
I wondered what it would be like to settle down with someone. I was still young. Youngest of the Lee pack. Twenty-seven with a full-time job I loved and no taste for one-night stands at all. I did them for the release. A man’s got urges and shit like that. But they weren’t nothing to write home to Momma about, so I didn’t care if they stuck around. If they wanted to, I let them. It was nice waking up to something warm and soft next t
o me. But I wasn’t like Dylan. I wouldn't cook them breakfast or make them feel like they could stay longer if they wanted.
Waking up to someone other than Katie reinforced the fact that, well, they weren’t Katie.
I’d been wanting her more and more lately. There were still so many things I wanted to experience with her. Places I wanted to kiss and areas of her body I wanted to lick. I wanted to know what it would feel like to wake up to her in the morning. To roll over and see that beautiful face with those sparkling eyes and her dazzling smile.
Fuck. I needed to get my mind off her now.