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Coop watches her ass as she walks away.
“You got a thing for her?” I ask.
“Hell no,” he
assures me. “She’s too prickly.”
“Then why are you staring at her ass?”
“It’s a great ass. Plus, it’s not me she has a thing for.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I always knew I was the smart one.” He pushes away from the table, but before he stands, he levels me with his eyes. “And for the record, she remembers—everything, if I had to guess, and she’s probably hoping for a repeat performance. Just make sure you think long and hard about saddling up for that ride.”
“You’re full of shit.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Am I?”
“Are you sure you don’t need anything?” Mom asks, following Nikki and me to the car.
“Viv, leave the poor boy alone. He’ll let you know if he needs anything,” Dad says, rolling his eyes behind Mom’s back.
“I’m good, Ma.” I brush a kiss across her cheek as she wraps me in a hug. “Sorry I didn’t call or come by sooner.”
“That’s okay. Just remember that I worry about you.”
“I know.”
“You’re still my baby, even if you spend most of your time off riding bulls.”
“I know—” I try to pull back, but she tightens her grip.
“And a call every once a while would be nice. Since you’re in town, you can come over for dinner and visit.”
“Maybe next week sometime.”
“I’d like that. Let me know what day, and I’ll make your favorite.”
Mom finally lets go of me and moves on to Nikki. “It was so nice getting to see you again.”
“You as well, Mrs. Allen. And thank you again for agreeing to let us use the ranch for the photo shoot. I’ll reach out to you as soon as I have some tentative dates.”
“Anytime, dear.”
I wave bye to my parents and climb into the car. Leaning back against the soft leather seat of Nikki’s rental, I let out a deep breath. “My mother is exhausting.”
“She loves you.” Nikki pulls down the lane and turns onto the two-lane highway.
She lied this morning when she said it would take her an hour to get ready. It took her two. By the time we got to my parents’, my mom was cooking lunch, and of course she insisted on feeding us. After lunch, we hopped on the Gator, and I gave Nikki a tour of the property. I took her along the bank of the creek, down by the pond, and we stopped at the various barns. We hopped off a few times to stretch our legs and enjoy the scenery, and when we made it back to the house, my dad insisted on getting Nikki on a horse.
There are some people who should never get on a horse. Nikki is one of them. The damn woman almost fell off a dozen times, but she loved every minute of it, laughing and carrying on as though she’d been born on a farm rather than a posh New York penthouse.
Several horrid childhood stories and five hours later, and we’re finally on our way home. I’m hungry, I’m tired, I need a beer, and I want to see Mo. Most of all, I want to see Mo. My original plan had been to surprise her at Animal Haven with lunch, but Nikki put a chink in that.
“Now what?”
I look at Nikki. “Excuse me?”
