Page 68 of Redemption

“Can we take the four-wheeler?” she asks the moment we step outside.

“You sure? It’ll be muddy.”

While it didn’t rain too heavily last night, there’s still a decent amount of standing water, and the forecast is calling for more. We’ve got a few hours if we’re lucky before it starts again.

“Yeah.” She takes the hair tie from her wrist and piles her blonde locks on top of her head. “I have no issue with a little mud. So, unless you’re worried about ruining your outfit”—she makes a twirly motion with her index finger—“then, I say we go for it.”

I laugh. “Okay, wiseass, the quad it is.”

We make the short trek to the machine shed and climb on the ATV. Once we clear the immediate area, I gun it, flying across the pasture. Presley’s musical laughter has me smiling the entire time as we drive along an old path we used to take back in the day. When we get to the arena, I park the quad and kill the engine, waiting for Presley to climb off before I do the same. It feels like someone took a fucking defibrillator to my heart when I get my first glimpse of her.

Presley’s hair is a tangled mess, completely fallen out of the bun, her face and arms are splattered in mud, and her eyes look a little crazed. She looks feral, almost, and for some goddamn reason, I find that incredibly hot.

“What?” Presley looks down at herself. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

I give her a leisurely once-over. “Because this whole dumpster fire thing you have goin’ on is making me hard.”

Her eyes widen before she belts out another laugh. “You’re disturbed, Beckett.”

I band an arm behind her back and pull her closer. “No doubt, honey. But I’m still thinkin’ about dirtying you up even more.”

Pres pulls out of my grasp. “Nuh-uh. Arena first, ravage later. Remember?”

“I should really get my priorities in order.”

She shakes her head and gestures to the steel-framed building in front of us. “Are you going to show me this thing, or what?”

I slide the door open and motion for her to go ahead of me. “Ladies first.”

Presley walks inside and surveys the area. “It’s huge! It seems much bigger from the inside.”

“We wanted it to be large enough to accommodate our regular lessons and the therapy program. Your dad went with the whole, go big or go home mentality and doubled the recommended size.”

Presley smiles. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

I grin. “What do you think?”

She turns in a complete circle. “I love it. Do you currently have a lot of people enrolled in lessons?”

“Nah.” I shake my head. “We’re maxed out on boarding, so riding lessons have taken a back seat. I need another trainer, which is easier said than done.”

Presley’s eyes wander around the arena again before coming back to me. “Could I help? I mean... I’d need to get a little more comfortable with the other horses first, but I’d love to start teaching lessons again.”

“Yeah?” I smile, really liking the idea of Presley being in her element like that. Doing something that’ll make her happy.

She nods. “Yeah. I think it’ll be good for me.”

I band my arms around her from behind and rest my chin on her shoulder. “I think so too, Pres.”

Her body relaxes as her back molds to my front. “Are we crazy, Beckett?”

“I’m gonna need you to be a little more specific, darlin’.”

Pres moans when I place a kiss on the spot where her neck meets her shoulder. “For thinking this could work? You and me, I mean. That we can just go back to the way things were with all the other garbage we have surrounding us.”

I turn her around and cup her delicate jaw in my hands. “I don’t want to go back to the way things used to be. I want the person you are now, Pres, and I’d hope you can say the same about me.”

Her eyes bounce back and forth. “I do.”

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