Page 26 of Fooling the Forward
She offers me a reassuring smile. “Then don’t worry about it. I’ll live. I just may not smell great on the ride back.”
I laugh. “I doubt that.” I lean toward her. “You smell great right now.”
“Thank you. But I think you’re too polite to say if I didn’t.”
“Don’t be so sure. I have a bad habit of saying things I shouldn’t,” I tell her.
“Sometimes I find that to be a refreshing quality. Blatant honesty is underrated.”
“Are you sure, because my earlier orgasm comment wasn’t appreciated,” I say.
“I’d say I appreciated it too much. It literally made me trip over my own feet.”
We break through the last of the trees, stepping out into the direct sunlight. Calista slides the sunglasses down from the top of her head to cover her squinting eyes while I put my pair back on. Once she catches sight of what lies in front of us, she sucks in a quick breath. “Oh my God. How beautiful.” She whispers the words as if we’re entering a sacred space. And in some ways we are. It’s sacred to me anyway.
Her reaction makes me smile. “This view still takes me by surprise every time,” I say. My gaze leaves her enraptured face to look at the brook just below where we stand.
“Can we go closer?” she asks.
“Yep, that’s the plan.” I lead us to the water’s edge, where bunches of wildflowers sprout upward from the damp ground. The purple blooms appear to shimmer under the bright sunlight. Moss covered rocks dot the inside of the bed in a zig-zagging pattern that presents a challenge I’ve so far managed to resist.
“I really want to jump from rock to rock, but I won’t,” Calista says.
“I can’t believe you said that. Every time I’m here, I’m tempted to jump on them like I’m in a live version of the gameFrogger.”
“Yes.” She nods emphatically.
“The only thing that’s stopped me is that layer of bright green moss covering each one. It’s slippery as fuck and I’d probably break my ass.”
“Well, I’d love to give it a go, but I have a very demanding client to make lunch for soon.”
“What are you making him?” I ask, grinning.
“That depends on how long it takes us to get back to the house.”
CHAPTER9
CALISTA
“ShouldI just toss a bunch of carrots into the paddock or feed them individually?” I ask.
“It’s up to you. It’s faster to feed them all at the same time, but if you want actual contact with them, one on one is the way to go.”
These little cows are so adorable. I want to hug them and never let them go. But we still have the ponies to visit and I need time to prepare lunch.
“I’ll throw half the bag in and let them go at them,” I say, tearing open the end of the plastic. I grab a handful. “You take some too and it’ll go faster,” I tell him, handing over the bag.
“Sure.” He dumps a bunch into his cupped palm and passes the remainder back to me.
While I focus on spreading the carrots inside the paddock close to where we’re standing, Ryder chucks them one at a time toward the middle. Moose is the first to reach them and does his best to collect each niblet before the others can get to them.
Ryder chuckles. “See? He continues to earn his name.”
I nod. “I think I get it now.” Bending over, I peer between the wooden slats as the cow closest to me devours his carrot. When he raises his head, his large brown orbs stare at me as if to thank me for the treat. “You’re welcome, baby.”
“Shall we make our way to the ponies?” Ryder asks.
“Sounds good.”