Suddenly she had the house to herself and it was far too quiet. Yeah, a ride was exactly what she needed. Dumping her breakfast, she turned on the dishwasher on before climbing the stairs to her room. Exhaustion pulled her down, and the bed looked very tempting, but the sunshine and fresh air called to her more. Pulling on some stretch pants and a tank-top, she slathered on sunscreen and grabbed her phone, putting it in her back pocket.
Moving downstairs, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and a small backpack from the hall cupboard. Sipping on the water, she moved out to the stables.
“Hey, Lila,” Ron greeted her. He was one of their older ranch hands; he’d been around as long as she could remember.
“Hey, Ron,” she called back.
“You taking Sunshine out?” he asked, coming towards her.
“Yep, thought I’d go for a short ride.”
Ron nodded. “I’ll saddle him for you,” he said, moving away before she could protest that she could take care of the task herself.
She was placing her water bottle and cell phone in her backpack when her phone beeped. Smiling as she saw Laken’s name on the display, she read the text then quickly shot off a reply.
Ron brought Sunshine out, distracting her. She placed her backpack down, resting her phone on a fence post as she patted Sunshine, crooning to him. He ate up the attention.
“Just a big baby. Except when it comes to riding him, then he’s strictly a one-woman horse,” Ron teased. “I’ll see you later, kid. Ride safely. Which direction you headed in?”
“Thought I’d head towards the lake,” she told him. “Sunshine and I like sitting by that old shack.”
He snorted. “Old shack, more like a few planks of wood held together by two rusty nails.”
“That’s the one,” she sung, grinning.
*****
About an hour later, Lila pulled Sunshine to a stop and let out a long sigh. This had always been her thinking spot. Clay had known about it but he’d never told the boys, although she wouldn’t be surprised if they knew.
Tethering Sunshine in the shade, she moved over to sit and look at the lake, drawing her bottle of water out. Taking a long drink, she wiped her forehead. It was a scorcher today. She’d taken the ride slowly, just enjoying the day.
Lying back, her mind immediately turned to her men. Her men. God, part of her still thought she was dreaming. She couldn’t believe that they returned her feelings.
Part of her wondered if it could last.
She’d never really believed in forever. Things always came to an end. Her father had abandoned her. Her mother had given her away.
The only one to keep her was Clay and now he’d even left her.
How the hell could she trust them to stick around?
You need to try.
The thought whispered through her head, but the voice sounded suspiciously like Clay’s. She didn’t believe in ghosts, but she figured if she would ever have a guardian angel it would be Clay.
This was right. She knew it was. They were going to be hers.
“Jeez Louise.” She rubbed her eyes, yawning tiredly. “Maybe just a little nap and then I’ll head back.”
Closing her eyes, she drifted off.
****
Gavin stood in the kitchen peering out the window with a frown. He glanced over at the clock. 1pm. She should have been back by now. He’d already made sandwiches for lunch.
Picking up his phone, he tried calling her. It rang then went to voicemail.
Where the hell was she? He’d give her another ten minutes then he was going looking for her and God help her when he found her.