Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“Meet Bunny,” Arden said, gesturing to the aging caramel-brown horse. “She’s not exactly what I’d describe as sweet, but she can’t really canter anymore. She’s an old lady, and you have to treat her nice like one. Got it?”
Whitt nodded. “Got it. Hello, Bunny.”
He held his hand out to her. Bunny sniffed his hand, bobbed her head twice, as if expecting a treat, then dismissed him entirely when she found the hand empty.
“She works best with treats.”
“Don’t we all?” I muttered.
“Eve, would you rather have Bramble or Trouble?” Arden gestured to two horses. One dappled mare and proud and the other midnight black with white down the gelding’s nose.
“Trouble,” Whitt said with a laugh.
“Oh, but Bramble is so pretty,” I said.
Arden shrugged. “Don’t let her deceive you. She’s equally a piece of work.”
“Trouble it is,” I agreed. “He looks like he wants to get out of here.”
“Doesn’t he always?” Arden said.
She went about saddling Bunny and Trouble while walking Whitt through the basic mechanics of riding. She had both horses in hand when she turned around and looked him up and down.
“Do you want boots?” she asked.
“Boots?”
I cackled. “Cowboy boots, Whitt.”
“We have some in basically every size. Most people don’t want to get their shoes dirty, and it’s easier to have them on hand,” she explained. “You’re what, an eleven?”
“And a half,” he said, dismay in his voice.
“Yeah. Grab some off that rack over there. Top shelf.”
He sighed. “I’m only doing this for you.”
“I know,” I said with a satisfied grin.
Then, he headed over to the rack to find his size.
“You got yourself a guy who’s never been on a horse or in boots,” Arden said with a laugh. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
“Plenty of guys like that since high school.”
“What are y’alls plans after this? We could grab dinner and catch up. I heard about your gram.”
“Yeah. It sucks. And your dad.”
“Yeah.”
We both sat in our grief for a second. It was nice to be around someone who knew what it felt like. Who knew that it didn’t need an apology. Just silence.
“I’d love to do dinner, but we’re working with the Kings on their new construction project. Malcolm invited us out to dinner to celebrate.”
Arden wrinkled her nose. “Oil money.”
“You could come with,” I offered.
“The only thing my daddy liked less than the big city was the oil industry.”
“You live in Midland,” I said with a laugh. “You can’t escape it.”
“They’ve been sniffing around, trying to buy up our land for fracking. And it’ll happen over my dead body, Eve. I don’t think we’d mingle well.”
She was probably right. Arden had never been one to hide her opinions. Much like me. I couldn’t imagine her spending more than a few minutes in Malcolm’s presence without denigrating their family business.
“Next time,” I promised.
“Well?” Whitt said.
I turned to look at him, and my heart stopped. Arden wasn’t wrong. I had an affinity for men in boots. When you grew up in Midland, Texas, around a bunch of cowboys, boots and hats ran in your blood. And made your blood pump. My reputation hadn’t entirely been unearned.
“Well, hello there,” I purred.
He shook his head at me. “I look ridiculous.”
“Boots look good on you.”
Arden nodded. “They’re a fan favorite.”
“If you insist,” he said. “Just don’t tell West or Harley. I’ll never live this down.”
I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture. “For my personal collection.”
“Lord save us.”
Arden laughed at the pair of us and then helped us onto the horses. It came back to me in an instant even though I hadn’t been on a horse in ages. Whitt took to it like he did everything else—with ease. It was a little unfair that he was that good at riding, considering it was his first time.
“Looks like y’all got it,” Arden said. “Have fun!”
I took the lead as we headed out onto a trail. “Do you have to be good at everything?”
“It’s just about control,” he assured me. Our eyes met. “I’m good at control.”
My cheeks flushed. Of that I was well aware.
We ambled lazily through the brush and ducked into a thicket of trees. There wasn’t a whole lot of tree coverage here in oil country, but the Rivers had owned this plot for generations. They’d cultivated the land around them, and like magic the earth opened up around them.
After a half hour, I gestured for Whitt to come off the trail and under a copse of trees. He didn’t direct Bunny so much as the old girl followed Trouble without him having to make a movement. As easy as Whitt was on the horse, Bunny was even easier to deal with.
I hopped off of Trouble, and Whitt dismounted next to me. He pulled out treats for the horses that Arden had given him before we left. She’d told us that Bunny might not move past halfway if we didn’t bribe her. So, bribing her was now Whitt’s favorite game.