Page 82 of Chasing Home
I know he’s looking at me without having to check. “I think every kid did that.”
“What did you use to wish for?”
“Isn’t the golden rule of wishing for something never telling anyone what you actually wished for?”
“Are you saying that your wishes never came true?”
“Not unless I’ve been walking around with a unicorn horn my entire life, no.”
“You wished for a unicorn horn?”
“I was a kid. Were you making perfectly thought-out wishes back then?”
Reaching out with his foot to tap the side of mine, he says, “I was, actually. I’ve always known what I wanted more than anything. Even more than a unicorn horn.”
I’m too chicken to pull my foot out of the stirrup to kick him back, so I shake my head at him instead.
“You’re not allowed to tease me for that.”
“But you like it when I tease you,” he replies, nearly purring the words.
“Right now, I don’t.”
He makes a disbelieving noise in his throat before leading us out of the ditch and onto a dirt path formed between clusters of overhanging trees. Tiny twinkle lights have been strung in the branches of the trees closest to the road, lighting it up just enough that my eyes don’t have to strain to see in front of us.
Frost follows Joker with ease, as if she’s ridden this path a million times before. If I was nervous at all, her comfortability would have helped settle me.
“Have you ever watched Cabin in the Woods?” I ask him when a small house appears at the end of the dirt road.
Small may be an exaggeration. It’s on the smaller side, but a good size with wide windows and a door with a stained-glass window. Its roof is peaked and adorned with two solar panels on both sides. The lawn is well-kept, the grass thick and green, not a weed in sight.
“Yeah, actually. I built my house based off the movies. Kept a few bodies inside for decoration as well. Hope you don’t mind the smell of decaying flesh.”
My mouth cracks open with a smile as I ask, “This is your house?”
“Yeah, darlin’. It was on Steele Ranch property when they first bought it God knows how long ago, and nobody made any use of it until I bought it from Wade two years back. A work in progress still, but she’s home,” he explains before swinging himself off Joker’s back and leading her toward the long wooden post beside the house.
Clicking his tongue, he calls Frost over to join them.
“You bought it from Wade? He didn’t want it?”
It’s hard to understand why. It’s secluded and private with the thick wooded area surrounding us. One glance up at the sky and I can see a thousand, maybe a million stars.
“It’s too far out, and they’ve got all they need already close to the main house. Brody and Anna built their house up near the shop, and it’s probably the closest place to here.”
Once he’s done tying Joker to the post, he moves to me next. “Hold on to the reins like you did when mounting, and put your weight in the stirrup. Pull your leg over her back and set it on the ground first,” he coaxes, guiding me with a hand stabilizing my back.
It happens quickly, and before I know it, I’ve got two feet back on the ground. I rub Frost’s neck a few times, hoping she can tell how much I enjoyed our first ride together, and walk beside her as Johnny ties her up.
“How big exactly is Steele Ranch?” I ask.
“Thirty thousand acres, last time I asked. It’s a whole lot of empty fields, though. It gives us the room to rotate cattle when we need to. The horses like the space too.”
“Is that why they’re building another stable? For more horses?”
He gives our horses a final couple of scratches before turning, his back against the beam, eyes focused solely on me. “Me and a couple of the guys have been trying to convince Wade to take on more horses and expand into training. We’ve got a good couple of trainers that work with us to saddle break and whatnot, but taking it a step further than that would be good for the future of the ranch. Puts our foot in the door for opportunities outside of cattle.”
I nod, enjoying learning more about this life that I’ve been sort of thrown into. There isn’t much I know about ranching, and I feel almost embarrassed about that.