Page 58 of The Wedding Ranch
“I’ve been looking forward to this all morning,” she said.
“Me too.” Only honestly, he’d been looking forward to it since Saturday. He backed out of the driveway, then turned west, taking her to the far side of his property, opposite The Wedding Ranch to be sure they didn’t stumble into any of the goings-on over there today.
He pulled in front of a bright blue pole gate.
“Are we allowed to be here?”
“Of course. I come here all the time.” He got out and opened the gate, then drove the truck through it and then hopped out to close and latch it behind them. “The paved entry used to lead to the old mill. The state has long since taken it off their maintenance list, but it remains in good shape.”
Lorri seemed to be enjoying the ride. “Look, there’s cows.”
“Just some young feeder calves,” he corrected her. “They won’t bother us.”
She kept an eye on the small herd as he drove down the overgrown path to the creek. The fescue was dotted with soft purple aster and bellflowers, and an occasional shot of goldenrod. Queen Anne’s lace peeked its head above the grasses too.
“I picked up some lunch. I’ve got my horse trailer up here at the Rest Stop.”
“Rest Stop? Like on the side of the highway.”
“Not exactly. Just a little place I built. I call it that because it’s in the middle of a field along the creek. The perfect spot to rest. There’s some chairs and an awning, or we can go inside where it’s air-conditioned. I thought we’d eat and then hike or ride down to the mill.”
She didn’t ask for further details. “I like the sound of that.” Her easy smile made it hard to take his eyes off of her.
Chapter Sixteen
Ryder found himself in strange territory. He pulled off the pavement onto the private gravel road that led to the Rest Stop.
She looked surprised when the tires crunched against the gravel, staring out the side window, presumably at the dust billowing around them.
“We can ride to the mill if you’re up for it. It’s about forty-minutes on horseback, but the views are breathtaking. Unless you’d rather me drive.”
“I’ve never ridden a horse, but I’ve always wanted to. Can we do that?”
“Absolutely.”
Lorri fidgeted, her eyes darting around as if she didn’t want to miss a single thing.
“Here we are.” He pulled into the campsite.
“Wow. That’s one long horse trailer. Is it yours?”
“Yep.” He hopped out of the truck and walked toward it. “Fits four horses, plus living quarters.”
“Do you live here?”
He looked around and laughed. “This is more like camping, don’t you think? It’s beautiful out here though, isn’t it?”
She took a step back. “It really is. Is that the water I hear?”
“It is.”
She raised her palm as a bright yellow butterfly danced across the top of the tall seed heads ahead of her. Lorri held her palm up, and the little yellow-winged insect seemed to hover mere centimeters from her fingers.
She spun, inhaling deeply. “Did you see that?”
“The butterfly?”
“Yes. Dancing in my hand!” She practically danced as she stepped forward.
