Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
Cassie looks at me in surprise. “Uh... I guess that takes care of that then.”
“Some guys just can’t take no for an answer. And when they don’t take no, words cease to work and you need to find alternative solutions.”
“Like punching him in the face?”
“It worked, right? He’s not bothering you anymore.”
She laughs. “You’re right about that. Maybe I should stick around you, it’ll discourage Doug from ever bothering me again.”
“I think I’d like you sticking around me too.” I smile gently at her. I’m no brute, no matter how much I enjoy busting faces of guys who deserve it. “What’s the story with Jennings and Danny?”
“Jennings says he’ll ride Danny home on his horse so he’s not stranded at the saloon.”
“Riding a drunkard home on a horse seems like a vomiting good time. I’m not jealous of my brother.” We walk side by side back to my horse.
“Hey, he has to get home, and I don’t think even a small town like Burly smiles on drunk driving.”
I offer her my hand. Still tentative, she takes it, and I hoist her up onto Monterrey, getting her on the saddle and guiding her hands to where they need to go. A moment later, I mount up behind her.
She’s surprised that I’m behind her. “I thought usually the driver went in front.”
“Think this is better for the weight distribution. And I can hold on to you this way.”
“Hold on to me?”
I wrap an arm around her waist, and she gasps, shooting me a smile. I pull the reins and Monterrey reads my mind. Cassie gives me her address, and we’re on our way. We’re not racing in the slightest, because I don’t want this ride to end.
Cassie is awkward, and overwhelmed by everything going on around her.
“Never been on a horse before?”
“I’m from Tacoma,” she says. “I told you, no horses there. And I didn’t grow up as one of those girls obsessed with horses, nor did I have a family rich enough to take me on vacations to ranches.”
“You’re not freaking out anywhere near as much as I’ve seen some city slickers do. You’re going to be fine here, Cassie. Maybe one day you’ll become a bit of a cowgirl yourself.”
“I’m not visibly freaking out, no, but I am kind of nervous. I have no idea how you're making sure the horse doesn’t snap and start running off somewhere.”
“I treat him well. He gets apples for these trips and knows where to get more. I comb his mane, which he likes.”
She laughs. “You? Big, burly, gruff mountain man standing around combing a horse’s mane? Sounding like the horse girl I say I’m not.”
“Don’t laugh. That’s just part of bonding. Have you had a dog?”
“Yeah. He was a sweetheart.”
“It’s kind of like that. Except this one can give me rides and outweighs me five times over. And can trample me if I piss him off too much.”
She nods along. “I get it.” She leans in and pets Monterrey as he steadily takes us where we need to go.
“Gonna make a horse girl out of you yet, I think.”
More laughter. “I think I’d like a dog again, but taking care of a horse myself seems a bit much.”
“Then maybe we can get you a dog. Good old farmhouse dog. Natural good boy, with lots of space to run free.”
“That’d be the life for a dog, wouldn’t it?”
“And lots of space for us too.”
“That’d be the life for us.”
She looks over her shoulder and smiles my way. She comes from a different world than I do, almost literally. But she seems ready to settle right into this life, and I’d love to be there right with her. My imagination is running wild about a future with some girl I just met. I wonder if this is how all the Rough boys felt when they first laid eyes on their girls.
I hold her steady, and I can’t help myself. I lean in, and lay a light yet passionate kiss on her neck, hearing her gasp and smile from the little peck.
She leans into my embrace, liking every bit of what I’m doing. If I wasn’t worried about freaking Monterrey out too much, I may have pushed my luck. I suppose that’s one advantage of cars over horses – they don’t spook.
Unfortunately, we ride up to the address Cassie gives me all too soon. It’s a nice little house on the opposite edge of town from where I live.
“Aunt Debra would be so confused if she looked out the window right now.”
I laugh as I get off to help her down. “They live in Burly. They have to be used to people just casually riding horses.”
“You’re right, but I guess I’m not used to it. And I guess I’m a little worried about Aunt Debra being her usually nosy self.”