Take Me Away (Southern Bride 6)

I could feel Linnzi’s eyes on me, but I didn’t look at her. “Good, thanks for taking care of that Paul. I owe you.”

“Nonsense. It turned out to be a nice day, so I think you should have a good ride,” Paul stated as he looked up at the cloud-covered sky and nodded. Linnzi did the same and appeared to be trying to see what Paul was looking at.

“Nice day, indeed,” he said once more before he headed into the barn.

Linnzi giggled. “What was he looking at? It’s cloudy!”

“Trust me, the man has some weird weather forecasting ability. I’ll bet you ten bucks the sun will be out in thirty minutes.”

She glanced up at the sky once more. “No way. Look at those clouds.”

I put my hand out, and she laughed as she took it. “It’s a bet,” she said.

Paul walked out with two chestnut geldings.

Linnzi inhaled a sharp breath as Paul brought both horses to a stop in front of us. She immediately did what the Linnzi from eight years ago always did when it came to horses. Her hands were everywhere on the first horse.

“He’s beautiful!” she mused. “Goodness, how old is he?”

“Seven,” I replied.

“Good temper?”

“He always has one when I’ve ridden him,” I stated as I looked at Paul.

“Whiskey is one of our best horses,” Paul said with a smile.

Linnzi looked up and grinned. “Whiskey? That’s a cute name.”

“Well, sure, considering Nolan drank a bottle of whiskey and lost his stallion in a card game in exchange for this guy.”

Linnzi’s eyes widened. “What?”

I laughed. “I was the one who ended up the winner. Whiskey is one of the best horses we have on the ranch. I’m surprised you didn’t let Ryan take him,” I said to Paul.

He snarled his lip. “Hell no. He’s one of my favorites.”

“I should be honored I get to ride him, then,” Linnzi said as she ran her hands down one of Whiskey’s legs and then lifted it. She dropped it and proceeded to do the same with his other three legs. Then she ran her hand along his body, and I gave Paul a quick glance before focusing back on Linnzi.

With a sigh, I said, “I’m starting to get jealous of the damn horse, Linz.”

She startled and looked over at me, her cheeks slightly pink. “I’m sorry. It’s just I haven’t been around horses in so long, I’ve forgotten how desperately I love them.”

“You’re more than welcome to come over anytime and ride,” I said.

Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as she took a step away from Whiskey. “Are you serious?”

“Of course. I’ll give you the gate code and make sure you have Paul’s number. We wouldn’t want him thinking someone stole his favorite horse.”

Paul rolled his eyes at me. “The sun is fixin’ to come out, go ride.”

Linnzi and I both looked up, and I couldn’t help but grin when I saw the clouds drifting away and making way for the blue sky.

“Damn,” Linnzi whispered.

“I’ll collect my ten dollars later.”

Linnzi looked at me, and I winked. Her teeth instantly dug into her bottom lip, and I had to force myself to look away as I mounted my own horse.

“What’s this handsome boy’s name?” Linnzi asked, giving Jack a loving pat on the neck.

“Big Mac Jack.”

She looked up at me, her blue eyes competing with the sky. “Is there a story behind that name as well?”

“There is. My mother named him after my father had gone and picked him up from a friend of his who needed to find him a new home. My father had insisted on pulling over and grabbing McDonald’s to eat, even though my mother wanted to beat a storm home. They didn’t beat the storm and ended up having to unload him in the rain, and he was fit to be tied. She called him Big Mac Jack ever since then. His name had been plain ol’ Jack before that.”

Linnzi kissed his nose and said, “You’re a sweet old boy, aren’t you?”

Jack bobbed his head, and we both laughed.

“Ready?” I asked.

She expertly mounted her horse, and we started down one of the well-worn trails. It only took five minutes before she turned to me and flashed a seductive smile. “I’ll race you to the next pasture.”

My heart stopped for a moment. Had she remembered? The way she said it didn’t give any hint that she did. But how would she have known about the pasture up ahead? I slowly let out my breath and tried to sound perfectly normal as I said the same thing I had all those years ago. “You won’t win.”

She winked, and before she kicked Whiskey into a run, she said, “Watch me!”LinnziIT ONLY TOOK a minute for the memory, or should I say memories, to hit me. Nolan and me racing to the next pasture dozens of times. It was so clear, it nearly caused me to gasp. I was so angry with myself. I had hidden in Paris like a damn fool. Now that I was back home, a part of me was angry that my parents had been clearly keeping something from me—though the other part was terrified they had a reason to keep whatever it was a secret.