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No one protests as one after another clumsily meanders over and disappears into their tents. Jack stays sitting on the other side of the fire, and we both stare at it until the flames get lower and the fire is nothing but glowing silt.
I take the water jug beside me and pour some on the fire. Smoke clouds go up to the sky. The moon is just a sliver this evening, and I can barely see Jack. She walks to me, and I put my hands on her shoulders.
“I guess this is goodnight,” I say.
Jack takes my hand in hers, kisses my palm and then my cheek and leaves my skin tingling where her lips touched.
Yes. Night four has always been my favorite.
Chapter Twelve
Jack
Morning. The morning of mylast day in New Mexico came far too soon, and I’m even more torn today than I was yesterday. This time with Luca has been amazing. Tender and caring. I can still imagine his fingers trailing up my arm and the sweetness of his kisses. And after the real conversation we had on the ride yesterday, I feel more connected to Luca than it seems possible. This week has been so much more than I ever could have imagined. Or hoped.
The last thing I want to do today is go home, but there’s not much choice. Last night, Emma mentioned that they had another group coming in on Monday, and I have a big project to get back to. Our pre-launch is only two weeks away, and I have to bring the project to completion, at the very least.
When we met Emma at camp last night, she’d brought the wagon back. This morning, we unpacked Lucy’s load, and instead of riding with me on Jasper, Luca mounted up on her.
Now, I reach down and run my fingers through the cinnamon-colored mane, marveling at how silky yet sturdy the hairs are. Jasper is Luca’s horse. Luca has tended to him at every stop, and there’s something that’s different about the horse when Luca is here too. It’s as if he’s settled... at peace, if that makes any kind of sense. “I miss him too, boy,” I whisper to Jasper, and the statement takes me off guard.
Jasper points his nose in Luca and Lucy’s direction and lets out a whinny that causes Luca to glance over. We exchange small, shy smiles, but I hold Jasper’s reins steady to keep us separate by some distance. I may be imagining things, but it seems like even the horse is urging me toward Luca.
“It’s okay, Jasper,” I whisper. “If he’s anything like me, he needs a little time to think during the morning’s drive.”
Jasper nickers.
“Do you want to be near Lucy?” I ask, starting to think she’s the reason he’s acting out of sorts.
The horse shakes his head. I blink several times, not believing what I’m certain is happening at the moment. Jasper pauses and, once again, actually shakes his head back and forth like he’s answering my question.
I sigh. “Okay. Perhaps it is time for me to head home. I’m starting to hallucinate.”
Jasper snorts. This time, I’m certain it’s a sarcastic sound. I know nothing about horse communication, but it feels like he’s giving off a ton of human emotions at the moment. And he hasn’t been this vocal for the entire trip. It’s too coincidental. I pet him, trying to calm him down. “Shhh”—I rub him down the long cord of muscles on his neck—“shhh....”
“Hey, Jack!” Eddie rides up beside me and tips his cowboy hat toward something in the distance. “Looks likethe cows are about to come home.”
I groan. “Sure does, Eddie, but I’m not sure that’s the correct usage of that phrase.”
He looks me up and down as we canter along. “Girl,” he finally says, but this time it’s with the normal Eddie sass I’m accustomed to. “You seem pretty low. Not what I would have expected after your ride with the hunk of a cowboy yesterday. And you two were the last awake around the fire, if I do recall.” He wags his brows.
I try to smile over at him, but it probably doesn’t come off with any kind of happiness.
He returns it with a smirk and one brow raised. We ride in silence for several more horse paces and then he lets out a long groaning-sigh, if that’s even possible, followed by, “Guess it’s girlfriend time. Dish,” he says.
Rolling my lips between my teeth, I hang my head. My personal feelings and utter confusion aren’t things I want to get all chatty about with a colleague. What if it comes back to bite me in the rump? I’ve listened to so many women motivational speakers who’ve advised against showing emotion with any professional acquaintances. Maybe that’s a problem. Perhaps those women were only lucky in their careers. If there’s one thing that’s become abundantly clear on this trip, it’s that I need to welcome a little trust into my life.
“Give me a sec, Eddie. ’Kay?”
He lets the semi-silence simmer for a few minutes, and in that time, I’m not sure I have one coherent thought. Where I normally have a dialogue running through my brain, all I have in those few minutes are images flashing through my mental movie screen.
Luca sniggering when I fell down the steps.
The quiet conversation with Emma around the fire.
Snuggling into Luca while riding Jasper.
Eddie coughs, pulling me from my own internal Hallmark film, and he starts in again in his imitation drawl, “Wanna know whatI reckon? If youhad your druthers, you wouldn’t be boarding that plane back to San Fran today.”
