Page 88 of First Date: Divorce
“I knew I liked that woman.”Eric’s eyes closed again.
To her chagrin, K.D.found she had softer thoughts about the woman, too.
*
At their post-lunch counseling session, Melody greeted them with the news that they shouldn’t sit down.
“It’s time for Eric’s pick of activities.You’re going horseback riding.We have a van that will take you there and bring you back after a cookout dinner, so I won’t see you again until tonight.”
“Riding?”K.D.repeated.Seeing an opportunity to make a point about their pseudo-relationship, she added to him, “You picked riding?You think you’ve become some kind of cowboy by moving to Wyoming?”
“What makes a cowboy?Tell me and I’ll let you know,” he shot back.
“Being able to shoot, ride, rope, drink, dance.”
“I can’t rope.”
She eyed him, concentrating on not asking about shooting, her first instinct.“But you can ride now?”
Was that why his butt … No, she wasn’t thinking about his butt.
“I’ve learned a lot of things since I moved here.”
“Let’s explore that more later, Eric,” Melody said.“But right now, you’re both going riding.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
They’d been sent to change, then were to meet on the front porch of Marriage-Save for the drive to the stables with two other couples going riding.
Eric was the last of the group to arrive.
“You’re wearing a cowboy hat,” he said in surprise when he saw her.
She’d brought one because all her ball caps had law enforcement markings.
“So are you.”And he looked comfortable in it.A lot of non-natives didn’t, even the ones who desperately wanted to.That sparked a line they could follow for their roles.“Is wearing a cowboy hat your way of telling me you wouldn’t consider coming back to Illinois?”
“Is wearing a cowboy hat your way of telling me you’d consider moving to Wyoming?”
“No.”
“That’s my answer, too.”
The exchange had the other couples — one about their age, the other in their early fifties — side-eying them as a Marriage-Save employee ushered them into a van for the drive.
The silent drive.
K.D.spotted the sign for the Weston Ranch B&B as they turned in.She didn’t let herself look at Eric.
But he used the motion of the turn to let his thigh press up against hers, conveying assurance that the people here would not give away their charade.
At the barn, Cambria awaited them with several horses already saddled.Beside her was the gray-haired man K.D.saw the evening of her arrival in Shakespeare County.With a start she realized that was just over a week ago.
She had known Eric Larkin for a little over a week.
That didn’t seem possible.
It had to be the result of all the time they’d spent together and the intensity of their preparations.Talk about immersion therapy.
