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Evie hesitated, but cautiously took the box and set it on the sand. She lifted the lid and gasped. Inside was her Rodeo Queen cowboy hat, her sash, and the belt with the last buckle she won.
She looked up at Matt with tears in her eyes.
“The rodeo queen gets to ride in the arena, carrying the flag while the national anthem is sung, but you never got to do this. Now’s your chance!”
Evie wrapped her arms around Matt and hugged him tight. She began to tear up and then mentally slapped herself. When did she become such a crybaby?
“How did you get these?”
“Your sister brought them.”
“Yesterday?”
Matt nodded.
“And you planned all this yesterday?”
Matt nodded again.
Evie wrapped her arms around Matt again and then she stepped back, took off her boots, slipped on her shorts, and put her boots back on. She pulled the belt out of the box and put it on. Then she placed the sash on. Matt had already retrieved the hat and gently placed it on her head.
Evie tried to grab her hair but forgot she didn’t have any.
“Karma will get whoever cut your hair, but for now… you’re going to dazzle all of us standing here as you ride like the wind.”
Evie breathed deeply and then looked at the horse beside her. She made sure the saddle was on securely, placed her foot in the stirrup, and gracefully mounted the horse. She took the flag from the teenager and slipped the end of the pole inside the flag carrier attached to the saddle. When the national anthem began to play, Evie kicked the underbelly of her horse and she took off.
She ran her horse in circles. Her hat came off because she didn’t have it pinned to her head, but she didn’t care. This was a moment Matt had gifted her.
Had he planned the other dates with such care and detail? That might be a rabbit hole she didn’t want to venture into, so she tried to imagine an arena filled with people… all cheering for her.
When the music ended, she galloped back to Matt and the owner of the horse. She handed the flag back to the young man and slid off the horse.
“That was fabulous. Thank you for giving me this gift!”
“Do you want to go for a ride?” asked the cowboy.
“Really? You trust us?” Evie asked as she looked at Matt.
“I just saw you ride and I’ll trust you on the back of any of my horses. As for this strapping cowboy… I know his dad really well and I’ve seen him ride before. He can handle a horse.”
“You did all this?” Evie cried. “Matt, this is amazing.”
“Then let’s go for a ride, my love!”
That was the second time he called her his love and she wasn’t about to refute it… but she was about to use his charming skills and mount the horse to see for herself how well Matt rode.
She removed her sash and placed it in the box alongside her hat, which someone had retrieved from the sand after it fell off her head. She mounted her horse one more time and saw Matt mount his with just as much ease.
“You take the lead,” Matt ordered.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Evie exclaimed, and off she went.
A few seconds later, Matt was by her side as they shot down the coastline. They raced side by side as if they had been doing it together their entire lives. When they got to a part of the shoreline that was no longer a beach, they slowed down.
Evie was breathing deeply and her cheeks were sore from smiling. She looked at Matt… he was breathing just as deeply and staring at her with an emotion that made her stomach take flight. Matt grabbed her reins and pulled the horses closer together.
He quickly glanced around the sky, and Evie followed suit.
