“What the hell is in it?”
“Whey powder, almond milk, bananas, pineapple…”
“And?”
“Kale, chia seed, and wheat grass. Try it. It’s really good.”
I shook my head. “If you say so. Bottoms up.” I took a drink. It wasn’t very sweet, but it didn’t taste like shit. Thank God.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“It’s okay.”
She laughed again. “You get used to it. Drink up. You’ll need it.”
It took some doing, but I managed to get the whole shake down.
“Now drink again.” She handed me a bottle of water. “It’s important to stay hydrated. Especially back home in Colorado.”
I knew that. I took a few sips of the water.
“Off to the fitness center,” she said. “Should we run?”
After I’d just drunk that shake? Doubtful. “I’ll walk, I think.”
“Good plan.” She packed up the cooler. “Follow me.”
“You know where you’re going already?”
“Of course. I worked out yesterday before dinner. I hate to miss a day.”
“You like working out?”
“It’s part of who I am. If I don’t do it, I get pretty antsy. I make sure I work out at least four times a week. Preferably six. You don’t work out?”
“Baby, my whole life is a workout. I’m a rancher, remember?”
“Yeah, but I thought you were the winemaker.”
“I am.”
“Do you actually stomp the grapes yourself?” She smiled a little.
“Of course not. No one makes wine like that anymore. This isn’t Italy in the fifti
es.”
“Then how exactly do you work out?”
It was a fair question. “I check the vineyards from spring until harvest. I go out during harvest and help if I’m needed. I’m always moving. Riding to one part of the ranch or the other.”
“Riding?”
“Yeah. On horseback. It’s how Talon and I like to get around the ranch. Joe not so much.”
“So let me get this straight. If you’re riding the horse, isn’t the horse doing all the work?”
“Baby”—why did I keep calling her baby?—“clearly you’ve never been on horseback. It’s work. Trust me.”