Page 76 of Riding the High

“Have fun, kids,” he says with a laugh, like he isn’t four years my junior, before disappearing into one of the equipment closets.

“I’m gonna go ass over tea kettle, aren’t I?” Ginger says, a little worried.

I lean down to kiss her cheek. “Nah, I’ve got you, baby. Let’s go.”

I take her out into the field at the end of the barn loop where I have two of our quietest horses ready.

“This is Sunflower,” I tell her, gesturing to the chestnut horse she’ll be riding. “Do you remember how to get on?”

“As much as you do,” she replies coyly.

She looks at me defiantly, then pulls the little stepstool that’s leaning against the post over to her horse. I watch as she gathers up the reins, pops her foot in the stirrup and swings her leg over, mounting her horse like she does it every day. I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything this woman can’t do.

“Well, alright, clearly you don’t need my help then,” I tellher, getting on Smoke, my favorite horse to ride, just as effortlessly. If there’s one thing I can do, it’s ride a horse. Might as well have been born on one.

“Alright, ma’am,” I say with an exaggerated drawl, as though I’m from a fifties Western. “Welcome to Silver Pines. We hope you enjoy your tour. Save all your questions until the end please and watch for bandits on the trail. I reckon it’s a hot one today.” I tip my hat and trot by her. “See if you can keep up. There’ll be lunch and refreshments at the end of the tour.”

She laughs. “And what tour is that?”

I glance back at her over my shoulder. “All my favorite places, Vixen. Thought it might be nice to share them with someone,” I say, feeling freer than I’ve ever felt with this adorable cowgirl behind me in the greatest place on earth.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Ginger

The mulch riding trail through the Ashbys’ woods is one I haven’t ridden since the summer CeCe left for college, when she, Liv and I camped out here in a tent with a few bottles of wine. We hid it in thermoses so her parents wouldn’t know. Seeing the land through Cole’s eyes shines a whole new light on the area. As we ride along the path of silver pine trees his family’s ranch is named after, he takes his time showing me everything that matters to him: the place where he fell off his bike and broke his arm during a race with Wade; the remnants of a teepee fort he made with his dad; the wild raspberry and blueberry bushes CeCe and I used to help Jo pick from every July to make her famous jam.

The thick columns of pines stretch for a good hundred feet to my right and, through them, I can see the river that runs the entire back of the Ashby property. It’s buggy and warm but the canopy protects us from the sun, only allowing it to filter through slightly. The path stretches on ahead and, at the end of it, we’ll reach a clearing and the river where we all swam when we were kids. On the bank is a fishing cabin where Wyatt used to bringthe boys, and a little waterfall cascades over a set of boulders just behind it.

As we ride, we pass a smattering of maple and oak trees, the ground below sprinkled with wildflowers and honeysuckle. I should be taking in the beautiful nature around us—the bees fluttering, the birds singing and the tree frogs croaking. But instead, all I can see is Cole ahead of me. I know he’s ridden his whole life. But seeing him on Smoke is something else altogether. His body moves with ease on the chocolate brown quarter horse. His white t-shirt and worn-in blue jeans mold to his body perfectly as his strong arms work the reins. His brown leather cowboy boots and tattered hat, both of which I know used to be Wyatt’s, complete the look.

I watch from under the brim of my own hat as he pats Smoke and bends down to mutter something into his mane like they’re the best of friends. I feel myself wishing we could pull off into a bush somewhere just to tide me over until we can make it to a bed. There is nothing Cole does that isn’t attractive, but damn, cowboy Cole might sit at the top of my list.

“This is the tree my friends and I used to sneak beer to when my parents had friends over.” Cole laughs as he points to a weathered old birch with a low extending branch that could easily double up as a seat. “We’d sit and talk about life, the girls we both wanted, how annoying you and CeCe were.”

The closer we get to the clearing, the closer the water gets to the left of us. By the end of the path, the river will only be ten feet from the trail.

“You and your friends were always up to no good,” I say with a grin. “I remember one night I slept over and Wade had to bring you out a change of clothes and new shoes so your mama wouldn’t know you had been drinking and trying to swing into the river from that tree right over there.”

I point to a big crimson king maple that still has part of an old rope hanging from it.

Cole chuckles. “You and CeCe came out to take photos of us. We were drenched. You were gonna use them to bribe us. ‘Incriminating evidence for future use,’ you called it.”

“Hey, I knew your dad would kick your ass if he found out. You were barely eighteen and he wouldn’t have taken kindly to you stealing his bourbon. CeCe and I didn’t have to ask twice for a ride that whole summer,” I say, laughing at the memories.

“You were a little shit disturber even then,” Cole comments as he reaches the clearing.

“Had to shoot my shot. You can’t blame me for that.”

He slows as we enter the clearing and I ride up beside him. The beauty of the Ashbys’ land still takes me by surprise. The space is vast and flat; the grass is long, not really maintained here, and littered with wildflowers.

“Maybe you had to shoot your shot, but I have a secret.” He leans in slightly. When his amber eyes find mine and he smiles big enough for his dimples to appear, my breath hitches. “I would’ve done it any way, Vixen. Never could say no to you, even then.”

I smile back before he takes off and shouts, “Come on, cowgirl, see if you can keep up!”

I watch him go, moving at increased speed through the flowers.

“Alright, girl, I know we just met and all, but don’t fail me now,” I say to Sunflower as I tighten my legs around her and she starts to move. Cole isn’t going too fast, so I catch up to him in no time and we reach the grass near the fishing cabin. The waterfall comes into view and so does a Silver Pines truck.

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