“Yikes. Well, be careful. I’m not equipped to administer CPR.”
The thought of her lips anywhere near mine caused me to stumble as I threw my leg over the back of my horse.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Yep. Let’s go.”
The two of us rode together in silence as the stamping of hooves underneath our bodies filled my ears. I was glad to finally have some alone time with her. It was something I’d been craving for years. Ever since prom and how royally I’d screwed that shit up, I’d been looking for an opportunity to have Katie all to myself again. But when she announced her engagement, I threw all ideas of that out the window.
Until a couple of nights ago when she called the wedding off.
We rode down a trail that went through a bit of the forest out back of the resort. It was one of the more intermediate trails, and Katie was handling it like a champ. The smile on her face was so big it almost closed her eyes, and the way she stayed mounted on the horse gave me the perfect view of her ass. It was hard paying attention with her body rolling up and down like it was.
So, I ran up alongside her and slowed both our horses down.
“Something wrong?” Katie asked.
“Just lettin’ our horses breathe. Midnight’s pumpin’ air pretty hard,” I said.
“It’s beautiful out here. Do all your resorts have trails like this?”
“They do. It’s our signature offerin’. Each has somethin’ different, but all of them have horses and trails to ride ‘em on.”
“You guys have done so well. I’m really proud of what y’all have accomplished.”
“I see that accent’s creepin’ back in,” I said with a grin.
“Can’t help it when I’m surrounded by accents like y’all’s.”
“They’re pretty thick. Even people in downtown Dallas look at us weird sometimes.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. I like them,” she said.
“Then that’s all that matters to me.”
“So, what have you been up to for the past few years?” she asked. “I never really got to see you guys whenever I’d come into town.”
“You were busy with your momma and things like that. It’s understandable.”
“Any interesting developments? Women in your life? Dating or side jobs of any sort?”
“No to all those questions,” I said with a grin.
“You mean to tell me you’re not dating anyone? Why not? You’re a great catch.”
“Eh, I found my woman awhile back. Things didn’t work, and no other woman measures up.”
“So, you’re a one-night-stander like your brothers,” she said.
“Unfortunately. I’ve got urges and shit, but no passion to settle down with anyone. I don’t want to settle, and I found my princess, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
“Why not?”
“Just wasn’t. We took different paths, and she was happy with hers. Can’t blame her for doin’ what she did, and I’d never ask her to compromise that to be with me.”
“Maybe she wouldn’t see it as a compromise.”
“Maybe not. But I’m okay with where I’m at. The company’s doin’ well, and I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. Don’t need no distractions like some lady wantin’ my time.”