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“I’m still in shock. Like, pinch-me shock.”
She tugged on his belt and he turned. Smiled down at her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her lips met his. He tasted like coffee, and she leaned into the warm, masculine smell of him.
Oh, how she loved this man.
She released him. “Thank you. For everything.”
“Of course,” he said, that crooked smile turning her to mush.
They made quick work of saddling. Her fingers trembled with excitement when she slid the bit into Rio’s mouth. She adjusted the brow band and then the stirrups.
“Ready?”
“Yeah. I think.” Her heartbeat thumped a million miles an hour.
Grayson gave her a leg up, then hopped up on Jet.
They rode across the parking lot, the hooves clip-clopping on the asphalt until they reached the trailhead.
The sandy track wound through stunted fir and tall clumps of grasses.
“That’s called Nestucca Spit.” He pointed to the body of water to their left. “It reaches the ocean up ahead.”
The thunder of surf swelled, the tide swirling in and spraying against the cliff. Several seals sunned themselves on the rocks.
They crested the final dune and she met the ocean. Nothing could have prepared her for the sense of greatness and smallness. Both a roar and a whisper as the breakers crashed onto the sandy shore.
The endless green-blue waves rising, peaking, and tumbling over, rushing across the sand.
The wind lifted Rio’s mane, and Beth could taste the salt on her lips. The twenty-minute ride along the windy trails had warmed up the horse, and she could feel Rio’s body tightening beneath her.
She shortened her reins.
“You good?”
“Yeah. We’re good. He’s excited.”
“What if next time we can bring Tally?”
She grinned. “You think she’ll be ready?”
“I do. She’s got a big and forgiving heart, like someone else I know.”
“I’d like that.”
He pressed his hat down. “Rio’s been here before and is comfortable even in the waves. I’ll be right beside you.” Grayson circled Jet around. “You set the pace. Rio will respond.”
He settled Jet next to them and reached down to pat Rio’s neck. “Be careful.”
“I will.”
He gave her his crooked smile. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
Oh. Right. Rio. And the realization nearly unraveled her. She wasn’t the only one who’d faced fears. Even the most solid of horses were still horses. Things could happen and she knew what it took for Grayson to take this risk. To release his own fears. To trust God.
For both of them. She held out her hand to him, and he placed his in hers. She drew it to her lips, kissed it, and released it. “We’ll be okay.”
He nodded. “You ready to run?”
