Page 14 of Under an Oklahoma Sky

Her head bobbed a few times. “Not at all. Slow sounds good… and nice.”

“Yes, it does.” He leaned down and skimmed his soft lips across hers before straightening again. “It sounds very nice.”

Carrying the saddle outside, Adam set it on Othello’s back and followed Sage’s instructions for securing it. She then gave him a few pointers on mounting and riding, which helped push away the last of her embarrassment. It seemed to do the same for him.

After she’d covered the basics, he planted his foot in the stirrup and swung his other leg over Othello’s back.

“Not bad,” Sage praised as she mounted Topaz, trying to ignore how good Adam looked on a horse. “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be… I guess.”

She chuckled. “You’ll do fine. Just don’t let go of the reins.” She eyed his clenched hands. “And relax a little.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Giving Topaz’s sides a light tap with her heels, she led the way around the barn and headed toward Eagle’s Ridge. Most of Heaven’s Pastures was flat and perfect for grazing, but the property extended a fair distance up the ridge. She usually let Topaz run across the open land before they reached the treeline, but with Adam’s inexperience, that was out of the question today.

At a comfortable walk, it took them about fifteen minutes to reach the bottom of the ridge, where the ground began a steady incline. They followed a trail created decades ago, riding single file until it widened enough for them to continue side by side.

“How’re you doing?” She glanced over at him. He’d visibly relaxed during the ride and seemed much more comfortable than when he’d first climbed into the saddle.

“Well, Othello hasn’t thrown me into the dirt yet, so I guess I’m doing okay.”

Sage winced. If only he knew. Othello was the horse Mark had been riding the day of his accident and had returned to the barn without him. She pushed the memory aside before it could take hold.

“It’s beautiful up here. Do you ride through the woods often?”

Pulling a bottle of water from her saddlebag, she handed it to him before grabbing another for herself. It was cooler there among the trees, but the temperatures were still in the low nineties. Hopefully, the rain that was predicted for tonight would knock it down a few degrees. “Not as often as I would like. But I try to come up at least once a week. It’s my time to forget I’m a mother and ranch owner with all the stress those things involve. I get to clear my mind and relax. Some women go to day spas… I come up here.”

“I like your style. Although I get the feeling I’ll wish for a day spa when I’m hurting tonight.”

She pointed in front of them. “There’s a small, spring-fed lake about ten minutes from here. We’ll take a break there.” She grinned. “If you can make it that far, New York.”

A smirk spread across his face. “You’re on, Oklahoma. Lead the way.”

When they finally approached the lake, movement caught her attention, and she pulled on the reins. Beside her, Adam did the same, bringing Othello to a halt. “What’s wrong?”

“Look.” She pointed to the water’s edge, where a deer and two small fawns were taking a drink. The mother lifted her head at the sound of Sage’s voice and stared at them for a moment before lowering her muzzle to the water again. “That’s why I love coming up here. I’ve always loved animals… big, small, cute, ugly… any and all.”

“I could tell when you watched the foal being born this morning. Your eyes were just as bright as the kids’ were. It’s easy to see where they get it from.”

She blushed—why, she didn’t know. Maybe it was just that he’d noticed how much she loved watching the birth.

Leaving the momma and her fawns alone, Sage led Adam further around the lake before stopping and dismounting. She stifled a laugh when he groaned and stretched. She might have to give him tomorrow off since they still had the ride back.

Taking the reins of both horses, she led them to the water so they could drink. The sounds of nature surrounded them—the small waterfall fed by the underground spring from further up the ridge, the calls of the different birds, and the rustling of a small unseen animal running through the brush.

She could stay there all day.

“What are you thinking about?”

Startled, her gaze met Adam’s. “Why?”

He grinned. “Because you had this faraway look in your eyes, and you were smiling at something I couldn’t see.”

Shrugging, she took the saddlebag off Othello and sat on a large, flat rock. “Nothing really—just how much I love it up here. Believe it or not, this is still Hammond property, but I’m not exactly sure why they bought it back in the eighteen-hundreds or kept it over the years. It’s not farmable or useful for any reason. Well, maybe that’s why it still belongs to us because who the heck is going to buy it other than the government, and they’ll just make it into a state park.” She moved over to give him room to join her while pulling out the lunch she’d packed for them.

“Then you’d be dealing with hikers and campers traipsing through your backyard.” He took the sandwich and napkin she handed him. “Did you grow up in Rosewood?”