I looked away, changing the subject. “Ready to ride him?”
Her head snapped toward me. “Huh? What? I can’t ride in this dress.”
I gave her a knowing but flat smile. “Really now? How are you supposed to see the vineyard then?”
She stared at me like I had lost my mind.
“Come on, Marlon, don’t be ridiculous. Surely there’s a golf cart or something.”
“Nope. The team uses ATVs,” I said, already reaching for the tack. “But they’re dirty as shit and slower than the horses. And it looks like rain. Muddy patches make it difficult to ride in.”
She glanced up at the sky, examining it for herself . “Seriously?”
“You could always walk,” I added, looking down at her heels. “Doubt you’ll get far in those.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again.
“I—” she exhaled sharply. “I hate you.”
That got a real smile out of me.
“Come on,” I said, tightening the reins. “I’ll let you sit up front.”
She looked between me, the horse, and her outfit like she was weighing her pride against her common sense.
Will she admit defeat or let me have this round?
With a sigh, she caved. “Got any riding boots?”
“Nah.”
“Fuck.”
“A horsethis pretty shouldn’t be trekking through mud in this vineyard.”
Her voice carried just enough attitude to let me know she still was in a mood.
Spades moved steady beneath us as we rode through the rows. The vineyard stretched wide on both sides with long lines of vines, thick with grapes, leaves brushing against each other in the breeze.
The ground shifted under his hooves, packed dirt breaking into softer patches where water had settled from earlier irrigation. Workers moved further out, some bent over the vines, others hauling crates, nobody paying us much attention.
“A horse is a horse,” I said. “Everyone here has a job to do. Including you.”
“Ugh. You so small-minded.” She shifted slightly in front of me, adjusting her balance. “If Spades was mine, he’d be a show horse. I’d show him off every chance I get.”
“Well,” I said. “technically, he is yours. Alice bred him for you.”
“Really?”
I stared ahead. “Did Dillon not tell you anything about this place?”
“No,” she said. “How well did you know my mom anyway?”
“We were all friends,” I oversimplified. “Me, her, and Dillon.”
“I see.”
We rode in silence for a moment. Just the sound of hooves and wind cutting through the rows. I can see Aurora taking it all in with a bit of distraction.
