“Oh! That tickles.”
“Look at you,” Rolani said, already pulling out his phone. “You a natural.”
“Boy, stop. I’m just feeding her.”
“And looking fine as hell doing it.” He snapped the picture before she could protest. “That’s my new wallpaper. All of that right there.”
“All of what?” Kennedi cut her eyes at him.
“You know what.” His grin was slow.
“Nasty ass. Ms. Diane is right there.”
Ms. Diane laughed. “Baby, I've been married forty years. Ain’t nothing I ain’t heard.”
Rolani grabbed an apple slice and fed Thunder—a bigger, more spirited horse in the next stall—with annoying ease. The horse nuzzled his hand like they were old friends.
“Of course, you get the one named Thunder.”
“He knows real when he sees it.”
“You and this horse bonding over ego. That’s cute.”
Ms. Diane offered to let them walk Buttercup around the paddock, and they spent the next hour brushing her coat, feeding her treats, and wandering the grounds while the sun climbed higher. Rolani stayed close, his hand finding the small of her back, her shoulder, her hand—always touching her like he couldn’t help it.
“You having fun?” he asked as they stopped by the fence, watching the other horses graze in the distance.
“Yeah.” She leaned into him. “This is perfect. Thank you for figuring out a way to make it work.”
“That’s my job, baby. Make it work for you.”
When they finally said goodbye to Buttercup, Kennedi’s cheeks hurt from smiling.
“What’s next?”
“I figured we’d be a little tired so I scheduled couple’s massages. I thought of everything.”
Back at the villa, they showered, and she came out to find him on the deck, rolling a blunt.
“Really?”
“We on vacation.” He patted his lap. “Come here.”
She curled into him, watching him roll the blunt with practiced hands.
“I fed a horse today. I’m basically a whole different person.”
He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. “You still you. The relaxed version.”
“I like the relaxed version.”
“Me too.” He kissed her temple. “But I like all your versions.”
She went quiet, letting the weight of his arm around her and the peace of the moment mellow her out.
And maybe he needed it too. He’d spent so long rooted in Coupeville, tied down by loyalty and family, letting grief keep his world small because it felt safer that way. But sitting here withher, watching her eyes light up at the horizon, he felt it… that quiet pull to want more again.
Different cultures. Different foods. Different experiences.
