AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I want to trust her,” he whispered to the glass, still trying to see her though she wasn’t there. “I want to get to know her, but that’s a two-way road.” And it felt like he was trying to get to Emma. He was in a very fast truck, with his foot pressing the accelerator all the way to the floor. He wasdesperateto get to where she was.
And she was running just as fast in the opposite direction.
* * *
Ted fell backinto the routine on the ranch. He didn’t mind doing the same thing day after day, especially because here, no one was telling him where he had to be, and when. Jess had taught him what to do, and Ted did it. He worked steadily, and he took a break when he wanted to.
He took his lunch and all the dogs to the shade under the trees, only a stone’s throw from the river, every afternoon, and he’d gone back to helping Emma with her foals and relaxing in her office in the afternoons. When he left the West Wing, his dogs were always waiting for him, panting in the shade of the backyard.
His conversations with Emma had gone back to normal things, like siblings and favorite pets, birthday meals, and their past careers. Ted learned something new about Emma every day, and he shared things about himself as well.
But they were just dancing, waiting for the end of this song to see what the next one would be. He didn’t like the dance. He wanted to sit down to dinner and have it out. Get the truth. See all the pieces and try to figure out how they fit together.
She left the ranch again that weekend, and Ted didn’t ask where she was going. She wasn’t going to tell him anyway.
San Antonio.
Visiting friends.
Making homemade bread.
The words ran through his mind on a constant loop, and he knew he was missing something.
“You’ve got to focus when you’re in the saddle,” Nate said, and Ted blinked his way out of his own mind. Because Emma couldn’t teach him to ride, Ted had asked Nate to do it. The ranch did horseback riding lessons on weekends too, but not after noon. So Ted and Nate had taken care of the horses from the lessons that morning, and then Nate had taught Ted how to saddle a horse and how to get on.
“Sorry,” Ted said. He squinted into the bright sunlight, grateful for his cowboy hat. “I’m paying attention.”
Nate went through how to balance, and how to get the horse to move and how to command him to stop. Nate had given Ted a pretty gray horse named Enterprise, and he’d learned that Ginger named all of the horses on the ranch, and apparently, she likedStar Trek.
“Now you try,” Nate said, and Ted nodded.
He held the reins loosely in his hand, and he moved his heels back. “Go,” he said, and to his great surprise, Enterprise started walking. A smile spread across Ted’s face, and he looked at Nate like he’d just done something great.
“Let’s go,” Nate said, and he brought his horse around to walk side-by-side with Ted and the four blue heelers. Nate rode a brown horse with a black mane and tail. It was a special type of horse that Ted had forgotten the name of. But he was beautiful, and his name was Painted Desert.
Nate led them down the road Ted had walked on with Emma several times. There would be some shade up ahead. The steady rhythm of the horse’s hooves soothed Ted, so he was off-guard when Nate said, “Ginger wants to have the wedding out here.”
Ted swung his attention to Nate. “She does?”
Nate nodded, his cowboy hat doing a poor job of hiding his displeasure.
“Why aren’t you happy about that?”
“In September? Out here? It’s going to be as hot as Hades.”
Ted let a beat of silence pass, and then he burst out laughing. “That’s what you’re worried about?” He continued to chuckle as he shook his head. “Nate, you have a ton of money. Buy some misters and fans. Get some big tents set up, and air condition them. It’ll be fine.”
Nate looked at him, new hope entering his eyes. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“Of course it’s not,” Ted said. “When you’re rich, you don’t have to be hot, even outside in September.”
Nate rolled his eyes and looked forward again.
“What?” Ted asked. “I’m right.”
“I was hot in River Bay.”
“Yeah, well.” Ted thought quickly. “We only got a hundred and fifty dollars a month.” Yes, he knew even the rich went to prison. Dallas was a great example, as the man had been a renowned surgeon before he’d been convicted of insurance fraud and medical misconduct.
