“I’ll race you.”
I laughed. “That’s not fair. Colby’s got you almost all saddled up.”
Colby grunted. “I got your gear out too. If you get moving, you might just stand a chance.”
It turned out, I didn’t, but I also didn’t need to. In the end, Charlotte got sidetracked talking to Colby about the horse and we enjoyed an easy rhythm as we got ready to go out. When it was time, she mounted with a confidence she’d been building over the past few weeks, and Princess Buttercup Sweet Tea took to her like she’d been waiting for this very job.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Hustle, the big, moody, stubborn gelding, flicked his tail like he resented being made to work after noon, but he fell into step with his new friend. Together, werode out through the wide fall fields where the grass had turned golden and the air smelled like cedar and upcoming rain.
Charlotte kept reaching down to pet Buttercup’s neck, murmuring to her and laughing every time the mare twitched an ear back like she understood. By the time we reached the back pasture that sloped down into the low creek bed, the horses were happy to graze, and Charlotte’s cheeks were flushed pink with excitement and wind.
I slid off Hustle’s back and, after relieving him of the simple picnic, sat down with my ass on the grass. She joined me a moment later, leaning into my side as if it was the most natural thing on earth.
“Thank you,” she whispered, glancing up at me with tears shimmering in her eyes. Again. “I mean it, Trent. Not only for Buttercup, but also for taking the time to have a picnic with me on a regular Tuesday and… just for everything else too.”
“Anytime.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head before resting mine against it. “You deserve horses with ridiculous names and boring sandwiches in the dirt.”
She elbowed me and I laughed, bracing an arm around her before reaching for the cooler bag with the other. While we ate, we watched the horses, Princess Buttercup Sweet Tea nibbling delicately and Hustle eating entire patches of grass like a lawnmower.
Finally, I let out a long breath and turned to look down into her eyes. “So, I have some news.”
She tilted her head. “You do? I thought I knew everything that was going on around here.”
“Almost everything,” I teased, but then I dragged in a deep breath and said words I didn’t think I’d be stringing into a single sentence for a long time to come. “Dad’s stepping down.”
Her eyebrows climbed slowly higher. “For real this time?”
“For real,” I confirmed. “He signed the papers yesterday. I think Mom finally convinced him.”
“Wow.” Her smile softened and she reached for my hand, threading our fingers together as she held my gaze. “This is a huge moment, and you celebrated by buyingmea horse and bringing a couple sandwiches out to a field?”
I chuckled. “Well, actually, Sadie called about the horse. She got word that the owner was looking to offload her and she knew I’d been looking for the perfect fit for you. It was kismet. As for the sandwiches, I was hungry before we even left the house and I knew you’d want to go for a ride.”
“So this isn’t a celebration?” She frowned. “That doesn’t seem right.”
I winked at her. “Feel free to help me celebrate in any way you please. Preferably naked. Right here or later, when we get back home.”
She elbowed me, but her cheeks flushed and she nibbled at her lower lip for a moment. “I’ll keep that in mind. Either way, it’ll be a surprise, but we’re definitely celebrating.”
“Yeah.” We fell into a comfortable silence for a beat, both of us lost to our own thoughts.
“This is all ours now,” I said after a moment, sweeping my free hand toward the horizon. In the distance, I could see some of the barns. All around us were the rolling pastures, the cattle, the creek, and the endless Texas sky. “Every bit of it.”
Charlotte looked out, thoughtful and quiet. The wind tugged her hair lightly across her cheek and I brushed it behind her ear, my eyes on hers. I got to the reason I’d even brought this up right now.
“What do you want to do with it?” I asked.
This ranch, the legacy, the responsibility, and the future it represented, was all changing hands—and not only from my father to me, but from me to us. She turned toward me andrested her head on my shoulder, our joined hands resting on my thigh.
“How about an in-ground swimming pool?” Charlotte asked as she watched Princess Buttercup Sweet Tea stomp at a patch of grass like she was considering taking up gardening as a hobby.
I laughed under my breath. “Yeah? All this spaceanda brand-new horse, and you’d rather be swimming laps every morning?”
“I might just like a swimaftermy ride,” she said primly. “We always get all sweaty and dusty out here. This way, we’d get to take a cool plunge when we got home.”
“Mmm.” I nodded slowly. “I’ll look into it. Anything else you want to put on the list, sweetheart?”
She inhaled slowly, but it was too slow, almost like she was gearing up for something. “And…” She trailed off, her eyes on the pasture, but her voice light in a way that made every hair on my arms stand on end. “I’m going to need a bigger car.”
