"Why don't you buy yourself a bigger bed?"
“I’ll order one when we get back.”
"While you're at it, maybe invest in a pair of real boots." I grin at him.
Sawyer looks down at his feet. "These are boots."
"Not cowboy boots. You're on a cattle ranch."
"So? These work. And I've seen Wyatt wearing a pair very similar." He gives me a pointed look. "Cowboy boots aren't my thing."
"How about cowboy hats? Are they your thing?"
"I don't know. Are they yours?"
"Cowgirl hats? Sure. I have enough of them."
"No." He shakes his head. "Cowboyhats. Are they your thing?"
Oh. Ohhhh."I've been known to appreciate a cowboy hat on a man a time or two. But it's not my thing, necessarily."
"What is your thing?" He stresses the last word.
"I don't know." I brush my hand over the bumpy bark on the trunk of a pine tree as we pass it. "I tend to like nice people. Men who are strong. Tough and rugged, I like to think, although I don't know that I've ever actually seen a man I was attracted to in a situation where he was called upon to be tough and rugged. Growing up around men has had a hand in shaping what I think a man should be." And Austin was none of those things. After putting distance between me and ASU, it's hard to know what it was I saw in him in the first place. I think it's safe to say I'm so far over him. Apparently he is so far over me too, given that his phone calls ceased only a few days after I broke things off with him.
"So," Sawyer slips his hands into his pockets as we walk. "You're saying you like men who are nice, strong, tough, and rugged."
"Among other things."
"Such as?"
"Well, I'm told I'm a handful. Determined, driven, and tenacious, to name a few." I smirk at him. "So I guess mythingis a person who doesn't try and water me down. I need to be able to take up space in a room." I gesture out around me. "If I were forced to be small, I think it might kill me. Not literally, but it would kill my spirit."
Sawyer nudges me with his shoulder. "Is that a word of warning?"
I chuckle. "Only if you choose to take it as one." I want to ask him what his thing is, but I'm too afraid. I don't want to make him think of his wife.
I want this morning to be about us. It's not that I don't want him to remember her, I just don't want it happening at this exact moment. It's too perfect. Too enjoyable.
We get to the stable and walk inside. It smells of horses and hay, leather and wood. I introduce Sawyer to Priscilla, the gentle mare he'll be riding. She's old, dead broke, and won't give him a hard time. A leisurely ride is exactly what she'll provide, and exactly what we want.
Sawyer runs a flattened palm down her side. "I think she likes me," he says, looking proud.
I don't have the heart to tell him she's like that with everybody. Not when he's smiling at me that way. "She definitely likes you."
Next I move to Hester Prynne and get her ready to ride. I slip a saddle over her and buckle the straps, then give her a little love. She moves her face around under my touch. "I love you too, girl," I whisper.
When I was younger, she was an extension of me. I rode her less as I got older, and busier. And then, of course, going to college meant I only saw her when I came home. Wyatt rode her for me when I was gone, making sure she received love and attention. He texted me once while I was away to tell me she seemed sad and he thought she missed me.
"You ready?" I ask Sawyer.
He places his excuse for a cowboy boot in the stirrup. He swings his leg over, situates himself in the saddle, and does a cowboy nod. "After you."
"It's up here,"I say back to Sawyer, risking a quick glance his way. He's a natural in the saddle, his body relaxed and rolling along with Priscilla's movements.
He doesn't look like a cowboy, but I don't think he needs to. He's just… Sawyer. Tall, strong, assured.Cowboyis an attitude really. Much likecattle rancher. It’s more in how you approach life, not necessarily the occupation itself. And it looks good on Sawyer.
We arrive at the copse of bald cypress trees, and I stick out my arm, pushing away the flimsy lower branches as Hester Prynne walks through.
