Chapter 17
Bryson
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, OCTOBER 12TH
“Iused to ride horses every summer at camp from the time I was six until my last year as a camp counselor at sixteen,” Kennedi boasted proudly. She looked as if she were made to ride horses professionally. She carried herself with such poise and grace. After I had gotten the details from the clerk, Kennedi and I had gone home to change into clothes more suitable for horseback riding. Although I suggested going riding, she must have decided to do it when she first booked our trip, because she had brought a pair of riding boots with her.
“I have only ridden a handful of times. The first time was when someone stole a horse and brought it to the hood. All of us little kids wanted to ride it, and my little bigheaded ass was up there bragging about how I had ridden one before, knowing I was lying. They put me on that damn horse, and to this day, baby, I don’t know what spooked that horse, but he took off running, and my li’l ass was scared as hell.”
Kennedi laughed. “How did you get it under control?”
“I remembered some cowboy show I’d watched and remembered to pull on his reins.”
“You were lucky. You could have gotten injured.”
“You’re telling me. It was a surprise I didn’t piss on myself. Then, when a li’l nigga was standing on the ground again, I tried to act confident, like I’d been in control all along. I was twelve the next time I rode a horse, and it was at summer camp. I actually rode one four times that year. And the final time was during college when I went on vacation with some friends. So, I’m no pro at it like you are, but I’m no stranger to it either.”
“I came back from camp that first year, begging my daddy to buy me a horse,” she confessed, giggling. “He told my mama that he didn’t want my ass going back to that bougie ass camp.”
“What happened?”
“She sent me back the next year.”
We laughed, and I stopped when I saw something that caught my attention. “Hey, slow up. There’s something over there that I want to check out.”
“I thought we were riding back around to the lake.”
“We will. But let’s stop there first.”
We turned our horses toward a copse of trees. We were far away from the stables, the lakes, and anything else that the guests visited. Based on the map, we were near the X marked on the map, which was the edge of the property. It backed up to more property that was vacant.
After we climbed off our horses, Kennedi walked up beside me and grabbed my hand.
“What’s all this?” she asked with a bewildered look on her face. There was a blanket spread out with a small cooler and a basket on top of it.
“It’s a nice surprise for a perfect afternoon date,” I replied, reading the little card that was tucked in between the handles ofthe basket. I recalled the clerk’s words earlier. But how had she known we would be here?
I helped Kennedi sit down before I did. Once we were seated, I opened the basket and found two wine glasses and two slices of caramel turtle cheesecake sealed in plastic wrap. There were also two disposable forks, plates, napkins, a corkscrew, and a rope in the basket. I opened the cooler and found a bottle of wine.
“This was thoughtful. But when did you have time to do this, baby?”
I was so baffled, but I didn’t want to throw that on her too. Instead, I wanted Kennedi to relax and enjoy the moment. I grabbed the corkscrew and wine, and opened the wine as I explained to her, “Ya man is just full of surprises, baby.”
“I love this side of you. I’m so used to you out there defending the world that I’m not accustomed to the romantic side of you. I know the kick-ass Bryson,” she declared as she opened both pies and set them on the plates.
I laughed as I poured the wine. “There are many sides of me, baby, and I believe that it’s time for you to know all of them. I’ve been focused on my career and being this powerful criminal defense attorney, and it’s time for me to humble myself and be the man you need me to be. It’s not about me getting hype and glory from the streets about the number of cases I’ve won, the people I’ve gotten off, the amount each case earns, or any of that shit. None of that matters if my lady doesn’t know that she means the world to me.”
“Come here, beautiful.”
She crawled across the blanket to me, and I pulled her between my legs with her back against my chest. I grabbed a fork and a slice of pie, and I sliced a piece off. I fed it to her.
“Mm.” She moaned as she dropped her head back against my shoulder. “This is delicious.”
“I know something that tastes even better.”
“You, sir, are going to feed me this pie before you have a taste of me.”
“All right, but bet I’m gonna taste.”
