Page 41 of Spurred On

“Alright,” He claps his hands, and rubs them together, “now let’s see you dismount.”

“Uh, I don’t know if that is a good idea.” Over my dead body am I about to crawl into the very ER I work in with a broken ankle. Talk about embarrassing. Especially if they find out it was from riding a damn horse. I would never hear the end of it. You can’t live in Windy Peaks and not know how to ride a horse.

“You can do it, sweetheart.” He puts his hand on my thigh, giving it a little reassuring rub. “Plant your foot in the stirrup, swing your free foot around, and hop off.” He removes his hand and gestures for me to get going.

My burning desire to rise to every task in front of me is fighting with the very reason that has kept me alive all these years. But if I have a weakness, it will always be my damn pride. Maverick stands close with a handout, ready to catch me just in case.

Planting my foot firmly in the stirrup, I swing my free leg around, keeping a grip on the saddle tip pommel. Three incredibly scary seconds later, I’m landing on the dirt floor, both feet on the ground.

Well, it looks like my pride will remain intact another day. Smiling, I turn around and look at Mav, ready to mouth off, but the look in his eyes makes me stop dead in my tracks. They burn into mine with an emotion too strong to put words to.

“What?”

“Nothing, just proud of you. That’s all.” My brow furrows in confusion, but before I can ask what he means, he reaches his hand out. I push mine forward and lace our fingers together.

My mind reels for more than one reason, mostly because I can see myself here. I can see myself with him. Life here is so much easier, I feel like I can breathe. And that scares me because that makes this just another thing I stand to lose.

Chapter 24

Maverick

Idrive to the big house to pick up the picnic basket Mabel made for my first official date with Ava. We kind of skipped right over the whole normal start to dating, and it hasn’t sat right with me, so I’m fixing to remedy that. It’ll be full of all the things I have learned Ava loves and a few of my favorites, like chocolate chip cookies. Maybe if I show her all my favorite things about out here on the ranch, she’ll learn to love it as much as I do. I can see her here, and I hope she can too.

My hands feel sweaty. Why do my hands feel sweaty? I wipe them against my jeans before regripping the steering wheel. And why the fuck am I nervous? I mean, sure, it’s been a while since I’ve gone on a date. I can’t remember the last time I cared this much about how a date went. But this is different because it’s her. It’s Ava.

I park my truck and walk into the house. Mabel stands on the other side of the counter, arms crossed, with a smile on her face that makes me feel like I’m going to regret having asked her for help.

“So you really like her, huh?” The pure glee on her face makes me want to retreat slowly out the door. How can someone who looks so sweet be such a menace?

Heavily sighing, I reply, “Whatever happenedto hello?”

She rolls her eyes and plants her hands on the counter, leaning closer to me as I walk up to grab the basket. “Hello’s stopped when you stopped knocking on my door.”

I throw my hands up in the air. “That was like twenty years ago.”

“And it only took you twenty years to notice.” The smile on her face has her eyes crinkling at the corners. Sometimes, I forget how much she’s aged over the years. I forget her grey hair used to be brown. I’ve spent a lot of time in this kitchen with her and her family, and that’s time I will always cherish, even if I don’t say it enough. She pushes the basket to the edge of the counter, and I reach for it.

“Alright, give me the basket. I’m already nervous. Don’t need you making me feel like a complete idiot on top of that.” I hide my eyes from hers, snatching the basket and ready to retreat, but she grabs it before I can.

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.” She walks over and gives me a quick peck on the cheek as she pats my back. The wicker basket is covered with a red plaid towel and stuffed to the brim with enough food to feed us for a week.

“No, you’re not.” I smile at her, unable to hold on to my faux anger. “But thanks for the food anyway.” With some extra pep in my step, I make my way toward the door.

Leaving everything but the flowers in the truck, I take a deep, settling breath before I knock on the front door. The front door of my own damn house, but if we’re going on a real first date, I’m going to go through all motions and make this her best first date ever. And if I’m lucky, her last first date ever.

Ava opens the front door; her cheeks have a rosy tint to them, and her long blonde hair falls in waves down to her waist. Fuck, she’s pretty. So pretty that I find myself completely tongue-tied right now. I’ve seenher a million times, but right now, I feel like I am seeing her for the first time. Like I would have if we would’ve done this whole thing the right way.

“Mav, what are you doing?” Her brows scrunch in confusion with a small smile causing her lips to lift.

“Ava, not legally Ryder, but Ryder in my eyes, I am taking you on a date today.” Earlier today, I had texted her to be ready when I got home, but I left out what to be ready for.

She looks me up and down. “You’re serious.”

“If I’m going to have you be mine, we’re doing this the right way. Now, if you can go ahead and put your shoes on, sweetheart, I have some plans for you and me.” I hand the flowers to her and kiss her cheek. “These are for you.”

She immediately sniffs the bouquet of bluebells, daisies, and sunflowers. I picked the flowers from the fields around the cabin while getting ready for today. I don’t get a lot of downtime and will be gone a lot, but I want her to always know she’s worth the extra time and effort.

“These are beautiful. I’ll go put them in a vase and then be right back.” Her smile turns shy before turning back around. The sun is just setting, so we should have the perfect background. There’s nothing more beautiful than a Wyoming mountain sunset.

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