Page 12 of Rebel Moon

A groom brought out an enormous old buckskin who ambled up the aisle like he was headed to the pub for a cold one.

“He’s old,” Soren said. “But steady. Knows every trail on this ranch better than I do. He could do this ride dead asleep, which is good, because he might.”

“You gave me a retired horse?” Knox asked.

“He’s not retired. Just slow,” Soren said. “Ivy thought he’d be a good one for you.”

I laughed before I could stop myself. Knox shot me a look.

“At least my horse isn’t a princess,” Knox whispered to me.

“She’s a duchess, not a princess,” I said.

I somehow managed to get on, thanks to Duchess standing like a statue as I ineptly mounted her. Once I was safely wedged into the saddle, I took a good look around. From up here, it was more obvious how expansive the property truly was, not to mention the white capped mountain range in the distance. “Stunning,” I said to Duchess, patting her neck.

Duchess’s ear twitched. I took that as a good sign.

Snow began to fall. Nothing serious, just some lazy, meandering flakes that caught in Duchess’s mane.

Knox swung up onto Cash with more ease than I expected.

“Have you ridden before?” I asked.

“I’m from Alabama.”

“Everyone in Alabama rides?”

“I don’t know if everyone does. Some of us clean stalls to earn enough money to buy a beat up old truck,” Knox said. “But yeah, I learned how to ride when I worked for a horse farm one summer.”

Of course he knew how to ride a horse. Was there anything the man couldn’t do? It was annoying.

Ahead of us, Soren mounted his horse and turned her to face the group. “Listen up, please. Stay with the group. If you somehow fall behind or get lost for any reason, look to the horizon for a line of smoke coming from the ranch fireplace and head that direction. Do not try and catch up. Just go back. The moment I notice anyone missing, I’ll turn the whole group around and head back. That’s just a worst-case scenario, though. I’ve never lost anyone in the years we’ve been doing this.”

“That’s a relief,” I said, mostly to myself, wishing I was at the lodge having a latte and a scone.

Soren flicked his reins and turned his horse in the direction of the trees. “Single file through the trees,” he called from the front. “Then it opens up. We’ll take the loop trail toward the overlook and circle back. Two hours, easy pace. Then a hot lunch back at the restaurant.” He glanced back down the line, and I could’ve sworn his gaze snagged on Duchess and me at the tail end. “Stay with the group. That’s the most important thing.”

“You hear that?” I asked Duchess.

She whinnied in response.

We headed up the hill and into the pines. Within minutes, I understood the appeal of a trail ride. The white blanket of snow made everything quiet and peaceful, with only the sounds of leather creaking and hooves crunching through snow. At one point, a raven appeared, scolding us for trespassing. Bunny and deer tracks appeared occasionally, reminding me that wild creatures lived in this forest. I shivered, remembering the haunting howls of coyotes last night.

Snow began to fall harder, making it difficult to see. Should I be worried? What if we got lost in a blizzard? That happened here, I’m sure.

“You good, Price?” Knox asked from behind, as if picking up on my worries.

“I’m fine.” I didn’t look back, afraid I might fall off if I did anything other than watching the trail ahead of us.

Duchess, as promised, did as she pleased. No, she would not trot to close the gap between us and the next horse. No, she did not care for that shadowy patch of the trail and would be going around it. Not ten minutes into the ride, the group had strung out ahead and it was just Knox and Cash keeping us company at the tail end. I suspected Knox had stayed behind on purpose. Just like a man to think we needed his protection.

“Your horse is holding up the parade,” Knox said.

“She doesn’t like to be told what to do. Reminds me of someone else I know.”

“Yeah, she reminds me of you too,” Knox said.

“I was talking about you.”