Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 77936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Nope.” I shook my head, another moment of understanding passing between us. Damn. I’d missed having a friend like this, someone I could open up to, share the family crap that plagued us both without judgment or a lecture. I’d always appreciated that despite being a born problem solver, Maverick had never tried to solve my issues for me. He was a good listener, and that was probably a big part of why he’d been so successful at turning hotels around.
“Dad!” Willow came rushing up, Hannah close behind her. “Hannah and I had the best idea!”
“What’s that?” I asked with the sort of wariness that came with a dozen years of parenting experience.
“We want to swap tents so we can share, and then you can share with Maverick instead.”
“Sounds good to me.” Maverick spoke first.
Lies. Being trapped in a small tent with my former best friend and first love sounded like a recipe for disaster, but who was I to deny the girls their fun?
“Fine.” I nodded sharply. “Let’s get to camp in one piece first.”
I wasn’t looking forward to nightfall in the slightest. At best, I hoped the trail ride exhausted us all, replaced the thrum rushing through me with something calmer. Friends. We were friends again, but that was all it could ever be.
Chapter 17
Maverick
I could watch Colt Jennings on a horse all damn day. He was the hottest thing in a black cowboy hat I’d ever seen, that was for sure. Somehow, someway, I was supposed to survive sharing a tent with him tonight without dying of lust for that magnificent ass. Unfortunately, my vantage point meant that I was also on a horse, and by noon, my butt and thighs were sore, yet we weren’t at the campsite. To add to the appeal of the benefit trail ride for tourists and locals alike, two historic wagons followed the line of horses, carting the cooking and camping supplies. The organizers, which included some ranch employees, had ensured the campsite would have feed and water for the horses as well, but it would be on the participants to make camp once we finally arrived.
Assuming I could still walk at that point. The lunch break had been way too brief. However, Colt confidently mastering the horse that made me so nervous was an excellent distraction. Adzuki and I plodded along, having made peace with each other. I didn’t ask him to go faster, and he, in turn, was content to follow Firecracker along the scenic trail.
When I was younger, I’d hated everything to do with horses, but Adzuki’s placid ways, the rhythm of the ride, and the gorgeous scenery I’d taken for granted as a kid had me reconsidering. Wide sweeping vistas of red rocky canyons blanketed by the bluest of skies hit differently after years away. Most of my last twenty years had been in big cities, mainly the concrete jungle of LA. Out here felt a million miles away from that life, and surprisingly, I didn’t hate the distance.
When we finally reached camp, we were divided into teams to tackle a list of tasks. Fate saw fit to put Colt, Hannah, Willow, and me on the firepit team. No one appointed Colt leader, but he took over anyway, directing others on our team to fetch a water bucket and rocks while assigning himself and the rest of us to finding kindling.
“Easy there, cowboy,” he teased as I limped after the girls. “You look like you’ve been riding for days.”
“Feels like it.” I lightly slapped my ass to make him laugh. Tired from the ride, I was content to carry my water bottle and let the girls round up most of the kindling. “I should have signed up to ride in one of the supply wagons.”
“Those wooden seats are no joke either.” He shook a finger at me. “And you better not groan all night about your sore butt. I want to sleep.”
“How am I supposed to sleep with that image in my head?” I shot back as thoughts of all the more fun ways to get a sore butt from Colt flooded my brain.
“What image?” Colt wrinkled up his face before his eyes widened. “Oh. I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I know.” I chuckled. “Which made it funnier.”
Before Colt could reply, a shout echoed from the girls ahead of us.
“Uncle Maverick!” Hannah shrieked, dropping her armful of kindling. She was several yards ahead of Willow. “There’s a snake!”
“Fuck.” There were plenty of nonvenomous snakes in Colorado, but I wasn’t about to take any chances. Snakes responded to vibrations, so I followed Colt’s lead in slowing my footsteps, inching toward the girls.
“Hannah. Don’t move,” Willow warned as a tell-tale rattle sounded. I didn’t have the best view of the snake, but as Colt and I crept closer, it certainly looked big and deadly.