Page 73 of The CEO and the Mountain Man

Miguel sat next to River, and they leaned against each other, sipping their coffees, looking out over the creek, cozy. Perfect.

I wanted to kick dirt on their boots.

Clark finally made his way out of the tent, clothes rumpled and hair a mess. He ignored breakfast but downed two cups of coffee. At least he’d be buzzed and ready to go when we got back to his cabin.

Miguel and I cleaned up after breakfast while Colt and Stevie fed the horses, then got everyone saddled up. The weather forecast for the day was clear and beautiful, and I was trying to let that improve my mood. I wasn’t entirely successful.

Clark, however, looked stunning on top of Betty. He was riding well, but more to the point, he wasbeaming. Like he couldn’t help but smile every time he looked over at Miguel and River. Meanwhile, I felt like a shithead.

Enough, Beau.Enough.

I just had to get through this trail ride. Clark and I still had plenty of time together. Besides, the skies were blue, the mountains sparkled behind us, and we were making good time. Colt was leading the way, so I hung back and worked on my attitude.

You can do this.

A few moments into my new-and-improved mindset, Betty started shying away from the edge of the trail.

“Hey, Clark? Is everything okay up there?”

“I don’t know,” he called back, gripping the reins, a tremor in his voice. “I think it’s one of those bull snakes?”

Colt looked back. “Did you say you saw another snake?”

Clark nodded, and Betty shied again.

“What the hell?” Colt circled back as I sped up. “We never see snakes along this part of the trail.”

Before either of us could catch up to Clark, Betty reared up. I’d never seen her do that before. From the shock on Colt’s face, I’m guessing he hadn’t, either. Clark scrambled to hang on as she beat at the ground with her sharp front hooves, parts of the snake flying in opposite directions.

She reared up again just as I reached them, this time nearly vertical. Clark, still off balance, lost his grip. He fell back, tumbling along her rump, landing on his side with a sickeningcrack.

“Clark!”

“Dad!”

We jumped off our horses, with Colt already there to take the reins. I got to Clark first, with River right behind me.

“He’s not moving!” River screamed, falling to his knees.

Even though Clark was a terrifying lump on the ground, we had to secure the area.

I turned to River. “Stay with your dad; I need to make sure the snake is dead.”

River was ashen, rocking back and forth over Clark’s body, but he sent me a single, tearful nod.

Thankfully, the snake—or what was left of it—was not hard to find. It was a massive rattler, cut in half by Betty’s hooves.

A dead rattler’s fangs and venom were still deadly, so I called out a warning. “We’ve got a dead rattlesnake, folks. What does that mean?”

“We need to stay on our horses,” Connor called back, gathering with his family. “And avoid the rock outcroppings.”

“That’s exactly right.”

Colt began circling up the families with Miguel’s help.

I knelt beside River. Clark was lying on his left side, still unconscious, and I was terrified of moving him.

I touched his arm. “Clark, can you hear me?”