“You should sleep on top of the covers.”
“What? You’re crazy, it’s freezing in here.”
“But—”
“You can trust me, Renie. Come closer.” He put his arm around her and pulled her into him.
“Put your head right here,” he said, patting his chest. When she did, he took her arm and draped it across his stomach. “Go to sleep, sweetheart.”
It took only a few minutes until she sounded as though she was. It would be a long time before he did the same. He doubted he’d sleep at all tonight. He had a lot of thinking to do. Funny how he usually wanted to be alone when he needed to think on something. Tonight he’d think better with her by his side. That must mean something.
5
Billy checked his phone. It was almost one in the morning. No wonder she fell asleep so fast. Not to mention the emotional wringer he put her through.
He realized at one point tonight that Renie was way ahead of him. She saw this coming before he did.
He had several things to consider. First, their two families were almost one. He was ten years older than Renie, and based on her reaction to him tonight, twenty years more experienced. She was his best friend. Of everything, that was the most important. She was terrified that he would hurt her, which meant she wanted more than friendship with him. If she didn’t, she would’ve said so, and she definitely wouldn’t be worried about him hurting her.
How long had he been taking her for granted? Probably since the day he met her. So often she looked at him in a way that said she knew exactly what he was thinking, and then she’d laugh a
t him for it.
Nobody called him on his shit better than Renie did. Not even his mom, who called people on their shit all the time.
A couple years ago, Renie’s mom broke her neck in an accident while barrel racing. Things changed between them then. Liv had been in a coma, and while Renie stayed by her mom’s side, Billy stayed by Renie’s. As Liv’s recovery progressed, Billy and Renie rode with her, encouraging her to get back in the saddle.
He thought back further. The first rodeo Liv competed in, his parents, Renie, Paige, Mark, even Ben, drove to Oklahoma to see her first barrel race.
That weekend he danced with Renie. When he held her close, he realized she wasn’t a little girl anymore, she was a woman, and every part of him stood up and took notice.
He even remembered the song. They danced to “Free” by Zac Brown Band. It made him wonder what it would be like to hop in a truck and go…travel around the country, just her and him.
When they caravaned home, Renie rode with him. He didn’t like anyone riding with him. People on the circuit said he was weird about it, but he didn’t care. It was the way he liked it. When she rode with him it was different. They’d talked, and laughed, and then were quiet, and no matter what, he was comfortable.
Then there was the wedding. Last summer, Ben Rice talked Liv Fairchild into marrying him. The wedding took place in Crested Butte, where Ben lived. His family had owned the Flying R Ranch on the south side of Crested Butte Mountain near East River Valley, since the mid-1800s. Each of Ben’s brothers, and their parents, had houses on the ranch. The week of the wedding, he and his parents stayed with Will, Ben’s youngest brother and his wife. Renie stayed at Ben’s with her mom and Ben’s two sons.
Ben and Liv got married on the porch of his parents’ sprawling ranch house—perfect enough that it looked like a movie set.
The house, built of dark wood, had a huge wraparound porch, and a spectacular view of Mount Crested Butte to the east, and the valley to the west. All around them, the Rocky Mountains rose majestically out of the earth, as though they were there to witness Liv and Ben’s wedding. The sun was shining, and the sky was a perfect cloud-free Colorado blue. A light breeze blew, but it was warm that day.
Ben’s sons walked Liv up the stone walkway that wound through the front lawn to the porch steps. Renie, her mom’s maid of honor, stood on those steps looking so beautiful, she took his breath away.
When he closed his eyes, he pictured the soft pink dress she wore. It was sleeveless and rested just above her knees. She was tan from spending all her time outdoors, and her blonde hair was loose, blowing in the wind, and her feet were bare. He remembered realizing that day that Renie was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen—and the sexiest.
He watched as her mother joined Ben on the porch, next to Renie. Renie looked at her mother with such pride and love that day.
The ceremony had been short. Liv stood, barefoot herself, one step higher than Ben because he was so much taller than she. When the ceremony ended, Ben sang to her. He wrote the song, “And Then You Fall,” for her, and released it not long after Liv’s accident, while she lay in the coma. There wasn’t a dry eye at the Rice Ranch the day of the wedding.
Even when she cried, Renie was beautiful. Her tears made her dark blue eyes sparkle more than they did normally. She cried softly, smiling, as her tears slowing spilling down her cheeks. Remembering how she looked took Billy’s breath away.
The party that followed went on throughout the afternoon and evening. Ben’s band, CB Rice, played for hours. Ben sang off and on, but each time he did, he brought Liv up on stage with him, as though he couldn’t stand not being able to touch her, even for a few minutes.
Billy danced with Renie most of the night, when he was able to get her away from Ben’s sons, who were now her stepbrothers. Why hadn’t he realized then how much in love he was with her?
It was close to midnight when the wedding reception broke up. Ben and Liv went back to their house, while Renie stayed there with Ben’s parents. When everyone else left, Billy hadn’t been ready to.
He and Renie sat on the porch and took in the wonder of the mountain sky that perfect summer night. They stayed there until sunrise.