“Well, don’t act like a horse’s ass, and I won’t,” I say, and he just glares at me. “Now I want to take Lady M out.”
“Is that so?” he says with a smirk, and I finally realize that he is too good looking for his own good.
I push him away from me now, and he laughs. “Jerk face,” I mumble. He puts his hand over my shoulder, and we walk out of the stall.
“Miguel!” He shouts at the guy who was mucking the stall with me. “Can you saddle down Lady M and my horse also?” Miguel nods. “We are going to have to get you some boots,” Casey says, looking down at my sneakers that are now dusty and dirty.
“I didn’t even realize they were so dirty,” I say, looking down at my shoes and bending over to dust them off. “How could this happen?”
“From the looks of it, you just mucked a stall. There is dust and dirt and all that.” He points at the shoes, then takes out his phone and types something. “Let’s go.”
We walk to the opening of the barn where Lady M is waiting, and beside her is a beautiful black mustang. “Is that one yours?” I look over at Casey, and he nods his head. “He’s beautiful,” I say. He smiles, and I could swear he puffs out his chest. “Can I touch him?”
When we stop beside him, he grabs the reins from Miguel. “You can.”
I walk over to him and pet his neck. “You might be even better looking than your owner,” I say loud enough for Casey to hear, and he just laughs. “If you buck him off, I promise to give you some extra treats,” I whisper loudly, which only makes Casey laugh even more.
“Let’s get you on your horse,” he says. I walk over to Lady M.
“Hey, beautiful girl,” I say, rubbing her neck. I put my foot in the stirrup, getting myself on the horse before Casey even walks over to me. Miguel hands me the reins, and I look over at Casey as he mounts his horse, flexing his whole arm, and his muscles come out more defined than before.
He looks over at me as I stare at him with my mouth open. “Better close your mouth before you catch some flies.” He laughs and then his horse walks over to us. “You ready?” he asks, and I just nod.
“I’m so ready,” I say as we make our way out of the clearing. “When are we going to ride?” I look over at him.
“We are riding, darlin’,” he says, smirking at me.
“I mean, it feels like we are ninety years old and using a walker.” I look over at him, and he shakes his head, laughing. “I want to feel the wind in my hair.”
“Okay,” he says. “When we go around that bend over there.” He points at the fence. “We can open it up, but I don’t want you to push her too hard or fast.”
“Got it,” I say. The minute we get past the fence, I kick her, and Lady M picks up speed. She goes from a gallop to a trot, and when she sees Casey’s horse beside her, she speeds up, and at the end, both of them are racing away. The wind blows into my hair exactly like I want it to, and then I feel Casey look over at me.
“We need to get them water,” he says, and I just nod as he leads the way to the creek. His horse slows down and so does Lady M. When he gets off his horse, he looks over at me, but I get off my own horse and hold the reins as I lead her to the water. “I’ve never seen her be that comfortable before,” he says, looking at Lady M. “You know I rescued her,” he says. I look over at him and then over at Lady M, my heart falling more and more in love with her. “She was skin and bones. They tried to train her, and when she wouldn’t listen, they would whip her.”
“What?” I ask, shocked. I lean over to her and hold her around her neck. “I’m so sorry, girl.”
He looks over at me, and I look back at him. “I’m sorry,” he starts to say, and I look at him. “For before. I shouldn’t have.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to apologize for anything.” My eyes never meet his. “It’s none of my business.”
I hear him huff out from beside me. “Do you want to come with me?” Now I look over at him. “I have to go to Atlanta for business and …” My eyes go wide. “It is only for two days, max three.”
“You know I can stay with Kallie and Jacob for those days,” I say, and I’m not sure if he’s inviting me because he wants to or because he has no choice.
“Olivia.” He says my name, and I look up at him. “Will you come with me to Atlanta?” The way he asks and the nerves in his voice are so apparent I want to laugh, but I don’t have time to because he walks over to me and puts his hands on my hips. “I want you to come with me to Atlanta.”
I watch him, and the only thing I can do is nod. “Good. We leave tomorrow morning.” Leaning down, he pecks my lips. “Now let's get these horses back.”
I don’t say anything because I’m scared shitless that my voice is going to crack or I’m going to sound like a giddy teenager. So instead, I just follow him back to the barn.
Chapter Twenty
Casey
“Are you ready?” I shout, grabbing my bag and walking out of my bedroom. “Flight leaves in an hour.”
“I’m coming!” she yells. I see her walking out of her room, and I’m again forced to see why the two of us could never be. She looks like she just walked off the runway. She wears white jeans with a pink top, and a matching white jacket with leopard heels. “I’m ready.” She smiles at me, and I see she has makeup on this time, and her hair is loose and curled. It’s crazy that she went from mucking a stall yesterday to this catwalk version.
Seeing her ride Lady M at full speed made her so fucking sexy. I was in awe by the way she handled Lady M when she thought she was going to do something. Now she blows me away again, and all I can do is watch her. “Is this okay?”
“Yeah, darlin’.” I grab my bag. She just looks at me now, and it’s her turn to stand there with her mouth open. Gone are the worn Levi’s and in their place are dark blue jeans and a white V-neck shirt with a leather jacket. I pick up my bag and walk out of the house, and she just watches me. “What?” I try not to smirk.
“You really are all that and a bag of chips, Casey Barnes,” she says, walking to me and then turning to run back to the kitchen to grab her carry-on bag. She stops in front of me. “Now I’m ready.”
I open the door for her, and she steps out and then stops. “Is that yours?” She points at the black Range Rover parked in the driveway. It’s the top of the line with tinted windows.
“Yeah,” I mumble and lock the door behind me, grabbing her luggage and loading the trunk with our bags. She stands there and looks at me. “It’s just a truck,” I say, and she walks toward me as I stand next to the truck. “I only use it when I travel or when I have a special day.”
She smirks at me now. “Are you saying that I’m your special day?” She wraps her arms around my neck, and I want to say that every single day with her is special. But instead, I just shake my head and kiss her. I open the door, and she steps in, and I try to come up with the words to say that we aren’t exactly flying there commercial.