Colt’s voice is soft and tender, much like his gaze, and I look away.
“Okay. What else?”
“Your ass will be sore after today. And your legs. It’s a longish ride for your first time.”
I snort a laugh. “Okay, and how will you make that feel better after?”
Colt, to my surprise, doesn’t blush or clam up. Instead, he dips his head with a quiet laugh. For once, I’m happy about just saying the first thing that funnels from my brain to my lips.
“Are you, ah, always this forward, Ethan?”
“No, but when the opportunity presents itself, I don’t want to waste it.”
He presses his lips together and nods. “Right. Do you need help mounting?” I open my mouth, and he adds, “The horse, Ethan. Do you need help?”
“I can do it.”
After a few attempts under his watchful eye, I’m in the saddle by myself, and I have to say, it feels great doing it on my own. I know I didn’t have to prove anything to him, but I feel like I might have won some points with the cowboy.
“You’re a natural, Ethan.” He swings himself into the saddle with ease and moves his horse next to mine. “Let’s go to the creek.”
It takes some getting used to being this high on a horse. While we aren’t moving very fast, the sway and distance from the ground make for a unique experience. Also, knowing the animal could run and I’d have to hold on for my life is slightly terrifying. How do people get used to riding a running horse? I’d probably crash a horse if it ran.
“How long have you been doing this?” I ask Colt so my mind doesn’t fixate on how much it would hurt if I fall off.
He glances my way with an easy smile. “I’ve been working here since I was sixteen. My uncle Albert told me I should get a job, and they were hiring for ranch hands.”
“Wow, so that’s what…twenty years?”
He laughs. “Twenty-four years. I just turned forty, remember?”
“Ah, yes. You did, and I said you don’t look a day over thirty.”
He hums, and I let it drop… but not before I sneak another look at him on his horse. Maybe it’s just me having a thing for cowboys, but I’m slightly obsessed with the way he sits, so relaxed and confident in the saddle. Paired with his shy smile and messy brown hair, I have to admit I’m a little entranced by the man.
Until now, I thought my type was the business suit and polished shoes kind of guy. The kind with perfectly styled hair and a spa on speed dial. Maybe that’s been my problem. All these years, I’ve been dating the polished façade of men and not the roughened, yet very real version.
The saddles creak as we sway and walk, and he swivels his head around, taking in everything outside like it’s the first time he’s been here. I do the same, trying to see what he sees and wondering if I’d ever get sick of the view. Colt babbled a lot about greens and grasses on our drive to town, and maybe it’s something you learn to love the more you live here?
Or maybe it’s something I can capture with a photo?
Feeling confident, I pull out my phone and snap a few photos of the scenery.
“I’ll take you here a few times over the summer, and you can see how it all changes as the leaves fill in and wildflowers grow.It’s beautiful,” Colt says as he watches me, happily snapping away.
“You like being outside? In nature, then, I mean?”
He nods, still with that soft smile. “I do. It’s peaceful. The chaos of a city is….” He trails off, and I glance his way to find him biting at his lip. “Overwhelming,” he finally finishes and puffs out a breath. “Sorry. That probably sounds lame, but it’s the truth. I don’t have a great relationship with the city.”
I study him a moment as he keeps his face forward, but something in his voice signals to me that this wasn’t an easy revelation for him.
“I’m overwhelmed on top of this horse,” I offer, and he turns toward me. “I’m afraid of heights from on top of four legs.”
Colt smiles and nods. “I promise you won’t fall.” He says it so softly I’d think he didn’t say it if I wasn’t watching his lips move.
He faces forward again, and my phone sits limp in my hand.
Colt Beckworth is a man I just can’t figure out.
