But I was safe on solid ground, and that was all I cared about at the moment. Flopping to my back, I closed my eyes and let the cold air wash over me. I didn’t care if I froze to death out here. I was never getting on a horse ever again.
“That wasn’t exactly the most graceful ride, but you made it,” Michael shouted as he rode up beside me.
“I think I shit myself,” I muttered.
“Highly unlikely.”
“She broke my balls,” I said, my eyes still closed.
“Well, that’s why you have to learn to ride.”
“Never again.”
I peeled one eye open and watched as he easily swung one leg over the horse and got down with ease. Striding over, he tipped his hat as he leaned on his haunches in front of me.
“I have to say that was one of the most enlightening things I’ve ever seen. Care to show me again?”
“I’m never getting on a horse ever again.”
“Well, you do have to get back.”
I shook my head, not interested in getting on even if it meant I had to walk the entire way home. “Call me a cab.”
“Yeah, we don’t have those around here,” he grinned.
“Then get a truck. Hell, I’ll walk.”
Scratching his jaw, he chuckled. “It’s quite a ways home. Not sure I’ve ever seen Susie ride so hard, so fast. Of course, she’s still pretty new.”
I finally sat up and looked around. “Where are we?”
“Out by Liam’s house.” He pointed in the distance toward a ranch beside the river, then across the river to another house. “Over there is one of our rental properties.”
“Great. I’ll just move in there. No need to go back to the barn.”
“Someone already lives there.”
Sighing, I got to my feet, wincing as every muscle in my body ached. “Fuck, who would do that more than once?”
“You get used to it. It’s the fastest way to travel around here.”
“Get me a four-by-four, and I’ll prove you wrong.”
I stood there for a moment, breathing in the beauty. The sounds of water falling got my attention, and I found myself walking further away from Michael and the horse of death. The more I moved, the better I felt, but I knew I’d be hurting for days to come.
It was about a ten-minute walk before the trees cleared and a huge cavern appeared, along with the falls I’d heard from adistance. It was hard to believe that a place like this existed, or that no one else was over here.
The weather was too cold to take a swim, but I bet it was beautiful in the summer.
“Murky Falls,” Michael said from behind me.
I hadn’t realized he’d followed me, and I kind of hated that he was ruining this moment for me.
“It’s what our family named the ranch after.”
“I figured that out when you said it was Murky Falls,” I muttered. “Does anyone ever come here?”
“Not really. As kids, we snuck out here all the time during a cattle drive to cool off.”
