I glance down at our list of activities for the week. It’s action packed, but that’s how I like things to be. We’ve got hikes, kayaking, water sports, raft building, camping, and of course some down time.
“How did you all enjoy your breakfast?” Lei asks, standing from her spot at the end of the table with all the guys.
Everyone sings their praises, and she proceeds to tell us that we can go back to our rooms and get changed, then spend the day by the lake if we wish. A lunch will be served here at midday. We’re also welcome to go and help out on the ranch, ride some horses and go with the guys.
“Lake or horses, what a choice?” Faye claps happily. “I can’t decide.”
“Feel free to do both,” Lei tells her. “They’re taking the horses out now for the morning jobs, you can come back and swim later.”
“Come with me,” Faye pleads, turning toward me.
Horses. Hmmm. I mean, I’ve ridden a few in my time but I’m not certain my stomach or head will handle being bounced around on a horse right now.
“I don’t think I have it in me to ride a horse today,” I tell her.
“You can ride with me in the buggy,” Enzo pipes up from his spot.
I look to him. A buggy does sound fun, and at least I can kick back.
I am interested to see what it is they do here.
I also wouldn’t mind having that eye candy for a few hours.
“I’m in.”
We gather up our things, and I follow Enzo back to the main house and into the barn. He comes out with a buggy that looks incredibly fun. It is a two-seater, has a roof and roll bars, and it looks like it is made for ripping through dirt. This is my kind of fun, no doubt about it. I grin and climb in, taking the helmet he hands me.
“How hard are you going to ride this thing?” I say, pulling the helmet on.
He glances at me. “Fuckin’ hard.”
My fanny just did a little happy dance.
Oh yes, I’m getting a piece of Enzo while I’m here.
No doubt about it.
He climbs in beside me and then gives me a sly grin before slamming his foot down. The buggy launches forward, and a delighted scream leaves my lips as he flies down the paddocks. Joy fills me as we zip around, chasing cows and going down dirt roads to check fences. This is the kind of life I could have forever. No doubt in my mind. I would love to live on a ranch.
I’m a country girl at heart.
I always have been.
Enzo pulls the buggy to a stop at a beautiful little river running through some thick woods. I pull the helmet off, heart racing, and turn to him. “That was awesome.”
“You can ride it home.”
“I can?”
He nods.
I happily cheer as I launch out of the buggy and rush down to the water, throwing my shoes off as I go. When I reach it, I dive in without thought. It’s only when I hit the water that I realize how damned cold it is. Any ounce of pain my head was enduring is now gone because my brain is frozen and I’m going into some sort of shock. I come up squealing and hear Enzo’s booming laugh filling the trees.
I get out, shuddering, and he reaches into the buggy and hands me a shirt. I don’t know who the shirt belongs to, and I don’t really care. I rip my tank off and throw it on the ground before pulling the shirt on. It’s dirty. I could be horrified, but I’m too cold to care.
“You don’t think much through, do you?”
I glare at him, lips clamoring together.
“We’re coming into winter soon, it gets cold. Or don’t you know that?”
“I’m going to kick you right in the balls soon,” I stammer.
He grins. “Come here, for Christ's sake.”
He reaches for me, grabbing me and pulling me against him. For a minute, I freeze. Not because it doesn’t feel nice, because oh, it does. The man has muscles for days and he’s strong and warm. It’s mostly because I realize I haven’t been held by a man in quite some time.
I take a moment to enjoy it, the smell of him, the feeling of him.
All of it.
Then, I say, “You better let me go, cowman. Or I’m going to do something wicked.”
He lets me go, his face blank. “What did I say about callin’ me that?”
“Yeah yeah, I changed it up. Deal with it.”
He sits down on a rock, and I sit beside him, the shivering slowly subsiding.
“Tell me about your son,” he asks.
I smile, because I always smile thinking about my son. He’s the light of my life, the absolute best thing that could have ever happened to me. I haven’t always had it good in relationships —in fact, I’ve had it pretty hard —but Hudson sure as hell made it all worth it.