The horse blew out a soft huff of air as it bumped its muzzle into Hux’s hand. A soft warm smile illuminated Hux’s face. “Hey, bud. You miss me?” Hux pulled me closer and lifted our intertwined hands up, before letting go enough for me to press a hand to the massive horse’s cheek. “Darlin, this is Church. He's the best horse I’ve ever had.”
My heart fluttered as I ran a hand gently up and down his cheek. I didn’t know the first thing about horses, but I think he liked the attention. “He’s gorgeous. And huge. Like, really huge compared to the others.”
Hux laughed. “Most of the horses my dad trains are Quarter Horses. Church, here, is a Mustang Percheron mix I found at an auction my dad and I were at about ten years ago. Poor guy was gonna be sent off to the glue factory—”
“Glue factory?” I asked.
He aimed his gaze in my direction. “Slaughter.”
I gasped. “People actually do that?”
Hux shrugged, rubbing a hand up and down the length of Church’s neck. “You’d be surprised how common it is. Some people are fuckin’ assholes…” He shook his head. “Anyway, best six hundred bucks I’ve ever spent. This guy’s bomb-proof. You can put anyone on him, take him anywhere. He’ll do anything you ask of him. He don’t know how to hurry if his life depended on it, but if you need to get somewhere, he’ll get you there…eventually.”
I looked up at the horse, noting his kind, dark eyes. “He sounds amazing.”
“He is.” Hux patted him a couple times on the neck softly before taking a step back, gaze still focused toward me. “I’d offer to take you for a ride, but it’ll have to wait 'til next time. I wanna show you somethin’.”
“What is it?” I asked, my heart beating quicker in my chest.
“Can’t tell ya. You ever driven a truck before?” he asked.
“Um, no. But as long as it isn't a stick-shift, I can make it work.”
He held out a hand to me, and with a final pat goodbye to Church, we walked out of the barn.
“You notice a truck with a flat bed?” Hux asked. “Walker said she parked it outside the barn.”
I looked around and noticed a large black truck with a weird looking truck bed. “Does it look like just a big sheet of metal instead of like an actual truck bed with a tailgate?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then it’s just over there to the right.”
I led him over, and he made his way slowly around to the passenger side while I hopped into the driver’s seat—no easy feat in my sundress and high heeled sandals, I might add. I’d never ridden in a truck this big, let alone driven in one, and I had this weird, nervous tick about driving cars that weren’t mine. At least we weren’t going off the ranch—I hoped. Oh God, what if we were? Why was I freaking out about this? It’s not like I’d never driven before. I’d be fine.
It’s fine.
“Alright, there should be a road just east of the barn. You’re gonna take—”
I interrupted him before he could say anything else. “Which way is east?”
He chuckled. “You don’t know the cardinal directions?”
I scoffed, adjusting the rearview mirror to better suit my ridiculously short self. “I struggle with following GPS with step by step directions, you expect me to know my cardinal ones?”
Another laugh rumbled out of him as he placed a hand on my thigh and surprised the hell out of me by leaning over and pressing a deep, insistent kiss to my lips. I melted into his touch,loving the confidence in his caress. When he finally pulled away, my lungs screamed for air and my chest fell in heavy breaths.
“What was that for?” I managed to breathe out.
“No reason at all, darlin’.” He settled once more in the passenger seat, but his grip on my leg remained. “Alright, I can still get us there, even if you ain’t good with your directions. If you look toward the barn, there should be a dirt road off to the right. You see it?”
I looked out the windshield and spotted the road he was talking about. “Yes.”
“Okay, head that way for about a quarter mile.”
I did as he said, cautiously urging the truck forward. His fingers started up a soft pattern along my bare thigh, sending sparks of desire igniting low in my belly.Fuck.
“If you keep doing that, I can’t be held liable when I accidently crash your dad’s truck,” I said, my voice a bit high-pitched and breathy.
