Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“Fuck,” I said. “He made you hide it?”
Jesse set his jaw, the shadows of the fire moving over his stony expression. “He would only allow us to be together in two places. His room in the frat house, or on these stupid little one-night camping trips, far away.”
So he had been through some shit.
“And… the women? They didn’t know, I assume?”
“None of them. He got one of them pregnant, then finally kicked me to the curb.”
How on fucking planet Earth could anyone not want you?
“Wow,” I said softly. “Was that recently?”
“Just a couple of months ago. But we’d been having problems for a lot longer than that.”
That was recent as hell. No wonder it seemed like Jesse’s wound was fresh.
“He sounds like a colossal asshole.”
He nodded. “I lived like I was walking on eggshells for so long around my ex, while he just lived a lie that looked perfect on the outside. I’m never doing that shit again.”
The rain had settled to a drizzle outside. It was clear that Jesse didn’t want to talk more about his ex, and I wasn’t going to press the matter.
“I need to go check on the horses, but you can stay here by the fire and warm up a little more if you want.”
“I’ll come out with you to see them.”
I grabbed my handheld electric lantern and headed for the back doors. “They’ve always hated rain, but they’ve been doing a little better with it since spring. Don’t like thunder, either, but most of it was pretty far off tonight, until the past half hour.”
I opened the back doors, showed him a pair of muck boots he could wear, and led him out onto the dirt path that led to the nearest stables. Jesse followed beside me.
The air outside smelled like fresh, wet earth. I loved the way the ranch smelled after the rain, even if it meant more mud. We slowly walked down the path, which was still somewhat lit up by dim solar lights I’d put all along the edges and under some of the trees.
“Do the horses get alfalfa? Timothy grass?” he asked.
I glanced his way. “Both, depending.”
“Any hard keepers?”
I paused for a moment. “Wait. Do you know about horses? Did you and Kane grow up with them?”
He laughed. “God, no. We grew up with an overworked single mom, and we could barely afford rent, let alone riding.”
“How do you know about hard keepers?”
He squinted off into the distance, looking up at the far-off clouds. “There was only one time my ex brought me home to meet his parents—introduced me as just a friend, of course. But his family had two horses. Star and Treacle. I really fell in love with them.”
“I’ll be damned,” I said. “Well, two things: I hate your ex, first of all. And second, get your ass over here and meet my horses.”
I could hear Chomp from the moment we walked into the stables. I walked to each pen with the electric lantern, introducing Jesse to Chomp, Maisie, Pippa, and Hopper. I checked all of their water and refreshed Chomp’s grain, but other than that, the horses seemed to have done very well after the storm.
“They seem so happy,” Jesse said, stroking Maisie’s mane. “Is this girl a Morgan?”
“Chestnut Morgan, you got it,” I said.
“And I definitely saw a Clydesdale down there,” Jesse said, looking down a few pens.
“That’s Hopper. Gentle giant. A lot of people’s favorite to ride. Although Chomp, the one with the spots on his hind leg, is also a favorite. Pippa’s my quarter pony and she’s a diva, but carrots are the secret weapon that can endear her to anybody.”
“They’re all so sweet,” Jesse said, his expression more peaceful than I’d seen it all night.
Can always tell somebody’s a good egg if Maisie likes ‘em. That’s what my dad always used to say, when new people came around to meet the horses.
Well, right now it was abundantly clear that Maisie liked Jesse. She snorted gently, nuzzling against his arm, and he smiled, leaning up against her.
“You can come out to ride anytime you want,” I offered. “I’m told I’m a good teacher. Promise I won’t ever bitch you out again like I did in the car.”
“Is that right?”
“Scout’s honor.”
I caught a hint of a smile as he looked down at the ground. “If I can fit it in, that would be amazing. I’ve got summer league practices and games, and I’m back in summer classes starting next week. But I could find some time.”
“They love people. The more the merrier. My dad used to be around a lot, but even with Finn and my other ranch hand, it’s still a ton of work now that it’s mostly just me around here.”
No sob story. No Mopey Mason Minton.
Don’t make it sound like you’re a lonely ranch hand.