I push him away from me now, and he laughs. “Jerk face,” I mumble. He puts his hand over my shoulder, and we walk out of the stall.
“Miguel!” He shouts at the guy who was mucking the stall with me. “Can you saddle down Lady M and my horse also?” Miguel nods. “We are going to have to get you some boots,” Casey says, looking down at my sneakers that are now dusty and dirty.
“I didn’t even realize they were so dirty,” I say, looking down at my shoes and bending over to dust them off. “How could this happen?”
“From the looks of it, you just mucked a stall. There is dust and dirt and all that.” He points at the shoes, then takes out his phone and types something. “Let’s go.”
We walk to the opening of the barn where Lady M is waiting, and beside her is a beautiful black mustang. “Is that one yours?” I look over at Casey, and he nods his head. “He’s beautiful,” I say. He smiles, and I could swear he puffs out his chest. “Can I touch him?”
When we stop beside him, he grabs the reins from Miguel. “You can.”
I walk over to him and pet his neck. “You might be even better looking than your owner,” I say loud enough for Casey to hear, and he just laughs. “If you buck him off, I promise to give you some extra treats,” I whisper loudly, which only makes Casey laugh even more.
“Let’s get you on your horse,” he says. I walk over to Lady M.
“Hey, beautiful girl,” I say, rubbing her neck. I put my foot in the stirrup, getting myself on the horse before Casey even walks over to me. Miguel hands me the reins, and I look over at Casey as he mounts his horse, flexing his whole arm, and his muscles come out more defined than before.
He looks over at me as I stare at him with my mouth open. “Better close your mouth before you catch some flies.” He laughs and then his horse walks over to us. “You ready?” he asks, and I just nod.
“I’m so ready,” I say as we make our way out of the clearing. “When are we going to ride?” I look over at him.
“We are riding, darlin’,” he says, smirking at me.
“I mean, it feels like we are ninety years old and using a walker.” I look over at him, and he shakes his head, laughing. “I want to feel the wind in my hair.”
“Okay,” he says. “When we go around that bend over there.” He points at the fence. “We can open it up, but I don’t want you to push her too hard or fast.”
“Got it,” I say. The minute we get past the fence, I kick her, and Lady M picks up speed. She goes from a gallop to a trot, and when she sees Casey’s horse beside her, she speeds up, and at the end, both of them are racing away. The wind blows into my hair exactly like I want it to, and then I feel Casey look over at me.
“We need to get them water,” he says, and I just nod as he leads the way to the creek. His horse slows down and so does Lady M. When he gets off his horse, he looks over at me, but I get off my own horse and hold the reins as I lead her to the water. “I’ve never seen her be that comfortable before,” he says, looking at Lady M. “You know I rescued her,” he says. I look over at him and then over at Lady M, my heart falling more and more in love with her. “She was skin and bones. They tried to train her, and when she wouldn’t listen, they would whip her.”
“What?” I ask, shocked. I lean over to her and hold her around her neck. “I’m so sorry, girl.”
He looks over at me, and I look back at him. “I’m sorry,” he starts to say, and I look at him. “For before. I shouldn’t have.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to apologize for anything.” My eyes never meet his. “It’s none of my business.”
I hear him huff out from beside me. “Do you want to come with me?” Now I look over at him. “I have to go to Atlanta for business and …” My eyes go wide. “It is only for two days, max three.”
“You know I can stay with Kallie and Jacob for those days,” I say, and I’m not sure if he’s inviting me because he wants to or because he has no choice.
“Olivia.” He says my name, and I look up at him. “Will you come with me to Atlanta?” The way he asks and the nerves in his voice are so apparent I want to laugh, but I don’t have time to because he walks over to me and puts his hands on my hips. “I want you to come with me to Atlanta.”