“Yeah, those are perfect. Or if you don’t want to get them dirty, you can borrow a pair of boots from either my sister or my mom, whichever fits.”
We stand there awkwardly for a few seconds as Levi gives me a pointed look.
Sensing the discomfort, Hannah quickly grabs her bag and phone, moves towards the door and says, “Alrighty then. Ready to go? I’d rather go now before I change my mind.”
“Yes, sure. Let’s go,” I answer as I follow her out the door, giving Levi my own look.
Beating her to the truck, I open the passenger door for her, making her blush once again as she softly says, “Thanks.”
Making my way to the driver’s side I get in and start my truck. “All buckled in?” I ask as I back out of Levi’s driveway.
“Yeah, all ready to go. Is it a long drive to your parents’ ranch?”
“About forty minutes depending on the traffic getting out of the city,” I answer, then send a chin lift to the cups in the cup holder. “I got you a coffee for the ride over.”
Looking at me a little shocked, she asks, “You got me a coffee?”
“Yeah, dirty, iced chai latte made with oat milk,” I answer, throwing her a wink. “I’ll even let you pick the playlist,” I say as I pass her the USB cord.
Ignoring the USB cord, she goes straight for the coffee and takes a big gulp, making me laugh.
“Good?”
“Perfect,” she answers with a sigh and relaxes into the passenger seat. “How did you know this was my coffee of choice?” she asks with an eyebrow raised over her Ray-Bans.
“Aw. That’s for me to know and you to wonder,” I tease.
“My guess is on either Lacey or Ellie.” She gives me a look that says she expects me to answer her.
“I’m not giving away my secrets; guess all you want, but you won't break me,” I say with a laugh.
“Fine—just for that, we’re listening to girl hits from the 90’s the entire drive,” she says with her own giggle.
“Be my guest,” I say, passing her the USB cord again. Little does she know, I grew up with a teen mom and have a sixteen-year-old sister. I grew up on, and still listen to, that kind of music on a regular basis.
Next thing you know, the Spice Girls are blasting through the speakers just as we hit the highway. Knocking her hand away as she goes to turn down the volume, I look her way and start loudly singing along to “Wannabe,” making her giggle and join in.
Once the song is over, I turn down the volume to look at her and say, “I grew up with a teen mom and I have a sixteen-year-old sister. I grew up on the Spice Girls, Britney Spears, TLC; you name them, I can probably sing along to them.”
“So you’re enjoying this? No way this will get you to tell me who told you my favorite coffee order?”
“Not a chance,” I say, giving her a smile. “Now, do you have any TLC on this playlist of yours?”
Thirty-five minutes later, after blasting the top twenty 90’s girl anthems, we pull into the ranch. Making my way to the barn, I park the truck a few feet away from the main door. As I turnoff the truck, I look over at Hannah, and damn does she look good in my truck. I should have taken a moment to appreciate the view she creates by comfortably sitting in my passenger seat. Like she belongs there.
“Ready to go?” I ask.
“I guess so,” she answers timidly.
Once I’m out of the truck and have rounded the front to open her door, which she beats me to, I ask, “I probably should have asked this before, but have you ever been around horses?”
“Ummm . . . Ish? A long time ago though. Summer and I convinced our parents to let us take lessons the summer we turned seven.” A wishful look appears on her face. “It didn’t last long though. We didn’t even get on a horse, per se. Turns out Summer is very, very allergic to horses. Or so she said she was. I caught her petting horses at fairs before she finally admitted to just being terrified of them. At seven, she hadn’t realized they were so big, so she chickened out, pretended to be allergic, and would say that her eyes were itchy,” she continues with a laugh. “Anyway, since we did everything together, I pretended to be allergic too,” she says with a big smile.
“All right—so you’ve been around horses but have never actually gotten on a horse?” I ask, confirming what she just said.
“Is that a problem?” she asks shyly. “I mean if I can’t go today, that’s fine. I’m sorry I wasted your time, making you drive out here. Maybe Levi will come pick me up so you can stay and I won't waste any more of your time . . .” she starts rambling and ringing her hands.
“Hey, hey, hey,” I say, facing her and putting my hands on her shoulders, stopping her rambling. “It’s not a big deal. I didn’t say it was a problem,” I gently say. “My mom does lessons, so we have plenty of horses that are perfect for beginners. I was planning on putting you on top of Lily anyways. She’s the mostgentle soul on this planet,” I continue bending at the knee to look her in the eyes. “You’re not wasting my time.”
