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Somehow, he still collected enough tickets to win her the cutest little plushie, He grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the prize booth to choose and she rounded out the day with a frivolous, eight inch plush unicorn under one arm, while she licked at the ice cream he bought her as they wandered back to the jeep. Her other hand was tucked firmly into his as he swung their arms with abandon and took huge, unapologetic bites out of his own cone.
Ellie was truly amazed by it all. She couldn’t remember the last time she had just let loose and enjoyed herself for no reason other than to have fun. It was surely sometime before her parents had died, when she’d still been a child. She’d had to grow up fast after that and as much as she had done for her, Gran had really been too old for those kinds of shenanigans, even in those days when Ellie had still been a youngster.
The day was by no means over. After the most humongous cheeseburger with all the trimmings at a quaint mom and pop diner, Ezra drove her back to the ranch, but there was no going back to the house. Oh no. He pulled up at one of the barns, grabbed a rucksack that he’d obviously left there ready, and then started up one of the quad bikes. It was a full-size machine and there was room for her to ride with him, which seemed to be his plan.
They tore off at breakneck speed across the fields to who knew where and Ellie was certain Ezra purposefully maneuvered across every ridge and dip so that they frequently sailed through the air and Ellie hung onto him for dear life in between squeals and laughter and the constant plunging of her stomach.
It was approaching twilight when they arrived at their destination, and Ellie found herself faced with another hidden jewel that existed on the ranch, which she had never known about. She couldn’t help wondering how many more there were, and if this one had also been a special haunt for the Carson great Grandparents.
The sun hung low in the sky and fingers of pink and gold crept stealthily across the sky. While it would seem the timing hadn’t been a part of Ezra’s plan, that certainly didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to seize the opportunity.
There was a pool spread out in front of them which reflected the colors of the dying sun in the half light, and furtherbackin the pasture was amassivebroad leafed oak tree with low, wide branches.
“Come on,” Ezra encouraged, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards it. “The view is great from up here.”
“Ezra, I haven’t climbed a tree since I was a kid.”
“Then it’s about time you remembered how. Don’t worry, you can go first, and I’ll catch you if you fall.”
He looked so adorably pleased with himself, Ellie couldn’t resist. Besides, it was an easy climb.
She scrambled up the first couple of branches and suddenly felt something brushing at her rear. Looking down, she found Ezra with a palm on each of her butt cheeks.
“Are you feeling up my ass?” she demanded.
He threw her a look of mock innocence.
“Of course not. I’m just helping you up.”
Ellie laughed and climbed out of his reach. Stopping at a sturdy branch that spread out at an almost perfect right angle, when he called to her, she maneuvered herself along its length to give him room to perch next to her.
It took him just a couple of brisk moves to join her, and he cuddled up close with his arm around her before the pair of them looked out from their new vantage point.
Ezra was right. The vista from here was something else. They got a bird’s-eye view of the pool and the pastureland stretching away from it, and in the distance; the hills blushed pink in the evening haze while the sky stretched on forever. It was no wonder this state was known as Big Sky Country.
This was a different side of Ezra, quieter, reflective, a little more like Syrus. She snuggled into his side and they watched in an amicable silence as the sun went down.
And that was as long as it lasted. As soon as the last rays of light dipped below the skyline, Ezra virtually jumped up and was shimmying down the tree, jumping and swinging like a damn monkey and making just as much noise.
“Come on, the night is young, and we have more to do, still.”
“We do?”
“Yes, we certainly do.”
As she made the climb a lot more sedately, Ellie was slightly taken aback to find Ezra stripping his clothes off.
“What are you doing?” she asked, trying her best not to sound too shocked and prudish.
“Skinny dipping!” He said it with a flourish as he flung his shirt aside and started rummaging about in the bag he’d brought. A moment later, he produced two large beach towels and spread them out on the ground before plopping down on one of them to take his socks and boots off.
“You can’t be serious!” Ellie exclaimed as she dropped down nexttohim.
“I am totally serious,” he told her with a wicked grin. “Now get ‘em off before I do it for you.” An exaggerated wink and a wiggle of his eyebrows accompanied the threat.
Ellie sat there looking at him, completely gob smacked. Her mouth must have literally been hanging open, because he leaned over and pressed cheekily on her chin to close it again.
“If you don’t hurry up I’m going to tickle you into submission,” he threatened and removed his jeans until he sat before her dressed only in a pair of skintight black boxers which left very little to the imagination. It wasn’t shock that stopped her this time. She was one hundred percent too busy drooling!
