“I'm just trying to get to know my baby mama. Is that so wrong?”
“Don’t call me that. And no little relationships either. I work…a lot.” She blows out a breath but doesn’t loosen her grip on my forearms. “Okay, let me ask you a few things.”
“Sure. I'm an open book, but I'm gonna want to know about your four other favorite places. I refuse to believe that Los Angeles and Croatia are the sum total.”
“Fair enough,” she says. “Okay, question one. How’d you know it was me who slid down your hill?”
“I didn’t. I was laying bets on it being a stray goat or more likely a cow.”
I guide Dolly down a bridle path that takes us the long way back to Loveland Ranch, but Tessa doesn’t need to know that.
“You thought I was a cow?”
“I said most likely.”
“You really know how to sweet-talk a woman.”
“Don't take offense, honey. There are more cows than people around here. You could’ve been a giant boar if that image suits you better.”
“Not particularly. Okay, question two. What’s your story? Why don’t you do relationships?”
“Too complicated. I don’t do complicated.”
She turns to look at me over her shoulder, and I clamp my lips shut, unwilling to comment more on the subject. Tessa stares a moment longer, and I get the feeling she isn’t satisfied with my answer, but the conversation is over for now.
Dolly keeps clip-clopping along, turning down the road to Loveland Ranch without me having to do more than nudge her. Tessa doesn't ask how I know where the side entrance to her property is, which is a good thing because I don't feel like telling her I've done my share of creeping around, trying to gather information about the aquifer and whether the property line isdrawn in the wrong place. Unfortunately, the water is squarely on her land.
“Question three. Do you travel everywhere on a horse?”
“When I'm not going far, I do. Look at the sky and the weather out here. No reason to be cooped up inside my truck when I don't have to be.”
“Okay, I accept that answer, and I kind of agree with you even though I’m still a little scared of this horse. Question four. Do you have any siblings?”
My body stiffens. I tell my muscles to unclench, but they won’t.
“Yeah. One brother, Chad. Younger by two years.”
“Does he live around here?” Her tone is light, like she’s asking about the weather. I don’t want to talk about Chad, but I can already see that withholding information only fuels her.
“Yup. He does.”
“Maybe that was a dumb question, since your family goes back generations.”
“Come on, Duchess, even I know there’s no such thing as a dumb question. Give yourself more credit.”
“What makes you think I don't give myself credit? Then again, I got drunk and fell into bed with a cowboy, so…”
“Come on, I'd say that was one of your better decisions.”
“I'd say you're a little biased. Question five, did you bring your hazmat gear with you on the back of this horse? Because the ranch house we're about to enter is not for the faint of heart.”
“No hazmat here, but I do have a rain slicker. Will that do?”
She laughs. “I’ll let you decide.”
I lift her off the horse in front of the ranch house and let Dolly graze in the shade.
Still holding on to my arm, Tessa hobbles toward the front door, which she unlocks with a rusty key.
