Page 43 of Ember Meadow
“It’s nice they have such a good grandpa like you to protect them.”
Miles’s laugh fills the evening air, igniting sparks of happiness in my blood. It’s been quite a while since I made him laugh. It feels good.
“Yeah, yeah, we get it, I’m old. You’re the one who’s into older men, if I recall correctly.” His flirting catches me off guard. My cheeks start to heat. Two can play at that game.
“Only one,” I chide. “A really long time ago. Kind of ruined me for any others.”
He chokes on his beer, turning beet red. Mission accomplished.
As much as I don’t want to admit it to myself, Miles ruined me on a few counts for other men. I certainly haven’t been with anyone that much older than me since. They could never live up to him. Miles is in his own category.
Not that I’deveradmit that much to him for real. His ego would have a field day.
Just as Miles regains his composure, Isabella pops her head outside and calls his name. They chat about when dinner will be done and a few other ranch related subjects, and when he returns to the grill at my side, his mask of seriousness is locked back on.
“Are you busy tomorrow?” He asks. My heart stutters as I find his gaze. Brown eyes aflame.
“No, why?”
“I was thinking of heading up to Ember Meadow. Give Claro a bit of exercise. Walter’s horse needs it too, and you mentioned before that you ride,” he avoids my gaze, suddenly intent on checking on the steaks sizzling on the rack of the grill.
“Are you asking me to go on a ride with you tomorrow?”
He sighs, finally looking up at me. There’s hesitancy in his gaze. “Yes, Mac. Parker is gone and I need someone to ride with me so both horses can get a walk in. Are you in or not?”
Right. Parker would normally go with him, I’m just the back up. My chest deflates a bit. Maybe this will be good. I haven’t been on a horse since I was at Hazel’s dude ranch. It’ll be relaxing to let my mind wander a bit. No to-do list tempting me.
“I’m in,” I nod. Hopefully I won’t regret it.
It feels good to be back in the saddle.
Literally.
Riding horses is muscle memory for me at this point. I grew up riding with Hazel and Wade at her dude ranch, and it’s one of my favorite things to do. The feeling of freedom that comes with it is unmatched.
I’m not sure how much riding Miles thought I had done, but it seemed to surprise him when I didn’t need his help mounting or keeping up with him. The upward twitch of his eyebrows was all he let on.
Walter’s horse, Sundance, is gentle and pretty old. He’s a great horse for a beginner. Even though I ride horses with Hazel back home often, I still appreciate not having to worry about a just-broken horse. I pat Sundance on the neck, feeling his mane under my fingers.
We’ve been riding for about an hour now, in complete silence. It’s not an awkward silence, though. I can tell Miles is just lost in his thoughts and prefers to stay that way. I’m sure he has a lot on his mind between his dad’s sickness and running the ranch pretty much on his own.
Most of my thoughts are centering around not staring at his ass in his saddle, however. So far, it’s not working very well.
His wavy hair bobs up and down as I follow him on horseback through the mix of aspen and pine trees that cover the back section of the ranch. His hair is longer than when I arrived at the cabin at the beginning of summer, just peeking out of the bottom of his cowboy hat.
It still feels like I just got here, even though it’s been more than a month already. With less than a couple of weeks until July, my summer project is already halfway over. My heart sinks at the realization that I’ll have to leave soon.
I’ve come to really like this place during my time here. The cabin is starting to look really beautiful, and I’m proud of our work so far.
I rush Sundance up a bit to ride side by side with Miles and Claro. I’ve had enough silence for one ride.
“Hey,” I say, matching my pace to his.
“Is there something you need, Mac?” Miles’s words don’t match his tone. He can pretend to be annoyed with me all he wants, but I can hear past that. Behind the tough exterior is a softness I saw through the cracks the other day, and I’m determined to see it again.
“Some human company would be nice. Do you have any of those here, or is it all just robots like yourself?”
He rolls his eyes, looking over at me with a scowl. A sarcastic smile paints my lips.
