I turn and walk out of the house and down the steps. My leg hurts, but I don’t care, I just need some space. I go to the barn and see Porky with his head over the stable door. He nickers for me to come over, so I take a handful of hay and walk over, giving it to him. He happily chews it as I rub his face.
A stomping sound from another stall has me looking around to see Diablo in his stable, he’s not in out in the yard so Rhett must have plans to work him. He looks at me, stomping his foot again and then smacking his nose against the stable door. I cross my arms, turning to him. “You’re trying to lure me over there, but I know when I get there, you’ll just be a dick. I’ve had enough of dicks lately, Diablo. I’m not in the mood for your shit. If I come over there, you better not be nasty.”
He makes a snorting sound and taps the door again.
I take a handful of hay and hesitantly walk toward him.
“I mean it, buddy, if you so much as bare your teeth to bite me, I’m going to smack your sorry ass so hard you’ll wish you never met me.”
He makes a grunting sound.
I approach him, carefully.
He stretches his head out, acting as if he’s going to eat the hay but as soon as my hand stretches out, he bares his teeth and tries to bite my hand. I react without thought, smacking him on the nose, not hard, but enough to make him shake his head and pull back. “No,” I say firmly. “We can be friends, but not if you’re going to act like a brat all the damn time. Now, are you going to play nice or not?”
He doesn’t snort this time, instead he just watches me.
I stretch out my hand.
He tries to bite me again.
I pull my hand back and tell him off once more.
“I’m just going to stand here, so you know I’m not going to hurt you, okay,” I say, standing and keeping my body language calm.
He watches me, paces his stable a bit, and then comes back over to the door after a few minutes. He stretches his nose out over the railing again, and I carefully extend my hand toward him. His lips come out and he very carefully takes a small bunch of hay off my hand, and then quickly pulls back.
I could cry.
My heart explodes with happiness.
“See,” I say, not pushing it any further. “I told you we were going to be friends.”
“Well fuck me,” I hear Rhett’s voice and spin around to see him standing at the entrance of the barn, leaning against the door, watching me. “He likes you.”
“And you’re surprised?” I scoff, dusting the remaining hay off my hands and crossing my arms.
“No, darlin’, I’m not.”
I swallow.
“Come with me, we’re goin’ to talk.”
Oh.
Great.
Well, this should be fun.
17
Rhett and I walk through the woods to the river, where we both watch the water flow as we sit on a rock, neither of us saying anything for quite some time. I’m not certain exactly what he intended to do bringing me here, but right now, he’s not saying anything and that’s making me nervous. After my little outburst, this could end a million different ways, and with my mind spinning the way it is, none of them are good.
“What do you want out of this?” He finally asks, turning to glance at me.
I blink.
Wait, he’s asking me what I want?
This doesn’t really feel like my choice...yet he’s making it my choice.
I swallow and look away, pondering that question.
It’s a valid question, and one I haven’t actually sat down and really asked myself. What do I want out of this? I am developing some pretty strong feelings for Rhett, feelings I haven’t felt before and that scares me because we live in different towns, we have different lives and if we were to be together, I’d have to give up everything I am used to, everything I care about. I’d have to be part of his life here, and my life in the orchestra...that will be no more.
“I don’t honestly know,” I tell him.
That’s the honest truth.
“You know I can’t leave the ranch.”
I nod, staring at the water.
“But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see where this goes.”
I glance at him. “You want something with me?”
He nods. “Of course I fuckin’ do. I didn’t create this retreat just to get sex from women. That isn’t what I’m doin’ here. Did I plan on meeting anyone? No. But there’s somethin’ about you that draws me in, and I want to see what that is.”
“The problem with that is I have a life and that life isn’t here. I can’t just give everything up for us to simply see where it takes us. If I throw it all away, and it doesn’t work...”