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“I’m so sorry, Eden, but he is right. You’re going back to Chicago and he’s here. Do you want a long-distance relationship?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I do know that I hate the thought of never seeing him again.”
“I certainly understand that. I feel the same about Dusty, but I have a feeling he wouldn’t want that type of relationship, either. Let’s just get through the rest of this vacation, and we can get out of here.”
“That’s not as appealing as it used to be.” Eden sighed.
She saw Ian come from the woods, carrying firewood, and watched him dump it beside the pit, then he walked to where Chip stood, and talked with him.
“He really is a gorgeous man,” Cammie said. “Tall, dark, and handsome all rolled into one. Not to mention those eyes.”
“Yes, and I’d best stop thinking about him. It will never happen again.”
“I was hoping when we returned to Chicago, we’d be all rested, and happy. But we won’t be.”
“No, we won’t. I have barely slept since Saturday night and if the next three weeks drag, I’ll go insane.” Eden sighed looking at Ian, but he never looked her way.
After a dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers, everyone relaxed around the fire. All she wanted to do was crawl into her tent, and not come out until they were ready to head back.
As everyone sat around the fire, Eden looked up at the millions of stars.
“It’s just beautiful here,” she said.
“Yes, it is. The air is so clean. Don’t get me wrong, I love Chicago, but you don’t see a sky like this at night in the city,” Cammie said.
“Could you live here?”
“What?”
“I’m just curious. Could you?”
“I don’t know. I’d miss home.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Could you?” Cammie asked her.
Eden looked across the firepit at Ian. His eyes met hers, but he looked away.
“I honestly don’t know.” She sighed.
****
The following day, after everything was cleaned up and the horses were saddled, Ian mounted his horse, and the group headed back to the ranch.
When thunder rumbled overhead, he saw some of the guests get fidgety.
“Don’t worry. It’s probably just a pop-up shower. Stay in line. You’ll be fine.” He rode his horse along the line to check on everyone. Some looked as if they were going into full panic mode. “Relax. The horses can feel your tension. As long as you stay calm, they will.”
He stayed beside the line as they rode past. He watched Eden go by without even looking at him. When the sky opened, rain poured down, soaking everyone. He watched as some of the riders laughed, while others were trying not to panic.
“Chip, get them going. This is going to be a hell of a storm.”
“Okay, everyone, we’re going to pick up the pace. Stick with me. Your horses will keep up with mine. Just hold on to the reins, and saddle horn if you need to. We need to get out of this.”
As soon as Chip finished speaking, lightning lit up the sky, and thunder cracked overhead.
“Go,”Ian shouted and watched as the riders nudged their horses to run behind Chip. Ian knew it wasn’t the safest thing to do in having unexperienced riders run their horse, but being out in the middle of a field with lightning striking wasn’t either.
