Chapter Eighteen
“Have you ever ridden a horse before?” I ask Imogen.
“No. My cousins all had horses growing up but I never felt the need to get on them. I want to try new things now though, before it’s too late and I can’t.”
“What do you meanbefore it’s too late?”
“Well, you know, none of us are immortal. We’re all getting closer to death with each passing second,” Imogen replies nonchalantly.
“That’s… one way to look at life, I guess.” I have no idea what to say to that. Technically, she’s not wrong.
“What would you want to do? If you knew for sure your time was limited and you only had months left, what would you do?”
“Have as much sex with your brother as I possibly could,” I blurt out without thinking and then cover my mouth with a hand. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I did not mean to say that.”
Imogen laughs. “I think you did. And also,gross.”
“But he’s really good at it.” I sigh.
“Again, gross.” Imogen scrunches up her nose.
“What would you do? Other than riding horses?”
“I would try to spend as much time with my family as I could. I’ve already had a great life. There’re a few things on my bucket list but nothing major,” Imogen tells me.
“Are you close with your family?”
“Yep. Sometimes too close, but our family is pretty awesome. You’ll see when you meet everyone.”
I’m not sure I want to meet everyone.“It’s still very new. I don’t think we’re at the meet-the-family stage yet.”
“Sammie J is a goner where you’re concerned—trust me, you’re at the meet-the-family stage. He’s here meeting your family.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t invite him here. Jaxson did.”
“Still, I have no doubt Sammie J will have you back in Vegas before you know it,” Imogen says as we stop by the stable. “What’s his name? He’s so beautiful.”
“This one is Casper. If we were riding tonight, I’d pick him. Are you up for it?”
“To ride? I really don’t know how.”
“It’s okay. We can ride him together. Come on, I’ll show you how to saddle him up.”
After getting Casper ready, I instruct Imogen how to get up and then climb on behind her.
“I’ll go slow,” I tell her as I lead us out of the stables and into the paddock.
“This is amazing! Why didn’t I do this sooner?” Imogen asks.
“Yeah, it is pretty awesome.” I always loved riding. I haven’t been on a horse in a while. I’ve avoided everything to do with this ranch as much as I can ever since I lost my parents. “How much is Sammie going to hate me for doing this with you?”
“He won’t hate you. He’s just paranoid I’ll fall off or something.”
“Cool, because we’re about to go past the yard where they are.”
“Go faster,” Imogen insists.
“Are you sure?”
