Page 28 of His Wilde Little (Saddle Up #2)

The horses were still not my favorite animals to be around, but I’d committed to learning to ride them, and I was actually not that bad at it.

Over the afternoon, we took the horses out to one of the larger fields.

I rode on the back of Bramble and Lorenzo rode on Ashwind whose temperament he was trying to tame.

He was nowhere near as bad as Coal though.

Coal and Mary trotted alongside us, although Coal like to be ahead when possible acting like he was leading.

Lorenzo had packed a basket which he rode with on Ashwind. He wouldn’t tell me what was in it, or why he was bringing it along for the ride, especially since we weren’t going to be riding for too long.

We reached the edge of the land that bordered the thick of trees.

It was where the family land ended and one of the maple tree farms started.

We had our fair share of maple trees on the land, but they were rarely tapped.

I never learned the skill, and my father wasn’t getting around much because of his back.

Lorenzo got off his horse and pulled the basket down with him. “Come on,” he said with a gesture of his head.

“What?” I asked. “We’re supposed to go back. That’s what we’ve done all the other times.”

He laughed. “Not this time, babe, I brought snacks.” He lifted the basket and gave it a shake. “But you’ve got to come down to see what’s inside.”

Part of me wanted to refuse and be a little brat about it, but I wanted to see what was in that basket, and I wanted to give my ass a little rest. Nobody told you how much your ass would ache when you were slamming around on the saddle—and my ass had been slammed around quite a bit, but I still wasn’t used to it.

In some not-so glamourous technique, I swung my leg over the side and climbed off Bramble. She let out a little whine, almost like she was relieved I was off her. “Ok, now,” I grumbled. “I’m not that heavy.”

“Come on, over here, let’s sit down,” he said, waving me over to a spot a little away from the horses.

“Aren’t they going to run off?” I asked, kicking my way through the grass to the small area of dirt by the trees.

“No, they trust us, they know they get taken care of, they’re not in any danger, they’ve got no reason to run and they know that,” he said, opening the basket for a brief moment and yanking a rainbow blanket from inside. “See, they’re just eating grass and probably gossiping.”

As Lorenzo laid the blanket down, I continued to stare at the four horses. They were all so well behaved, it was a stark difference to the way the three of them had turned up. Lorenzo tugged on my arm as he sat on the blanket.

“So, what’s in the basket?” I asked, letting myself fall into him from where he tugged me.

Not to be dramatic, but my body demanded it.

I knocked his hat forward, and when he pushed it back again with me in his lap, the light hit his eyes just so—perfectly.

“We need to stay close for warmth,” I whispered.

“?” he asked. “I think we should share more of that warmth too.” He leaned in and kissed me. “That warmed you up?”

I nodded and wrinkled my nose. The exercise of riding the horse had warmed me up, but now we were sat, the fall chill whipped around us, sending a shiver through me. I nearly headbutted him in the process.

“Whoa, hold on there, baby,” he said, escaping my head by leaning back.

“Sowee, Daddy.” Pouting was a secret weapon, pulling it out wherever possible to be forgiven. “Do I get to see what’s in the basket now?”

“Of course,” he said, pulling it close while I was still in his lap. His multitasking was peak Daddy activity, and I wished I had my stuffie with me so I could fully embrace the moment, considering, I had already assumed it was going to be a picnic.“Close your eyes.”

“I can’t, I’m scared of the dark.”

“Well, you’re never scared of it when you’re with me.”

“Sometimes I am, but you’re right, I’m always with you, so it’s not as bad.”

“Then close your eyes.”

I screwed them shut, mostly because he was watching me do it, otherwise I might’ve peeked just a little bit.

And in my hands, he shoved something soft and thick.

I knew what it wasn’t because it was cold, and on his say so, I opened them wide to see my alpaca stuffy, Berty.

I let out a squeal, quickly hushing myself as not to spook the horses. “How did you—”

“I figured you’d want him with you while I got us a little snack,” he said. “So, you remember last week, I mentioned running errands in town for your mom. I also had some of my own errands to get done.”

“Ok?” I asked, turning my head but Daddy’s hand was faster, placing it at my chin and keeping my head and eyes focused on him.

“I found these cute little bowls with animals in them and a set of matching plastic cutlery,” he said, the sound of the plastic clattering together as he did something with them using his free hand.

“But that’s not everything, it’s just the start of all the things I wanted to get you. ” He let go of me.

On the blanket, there were a set of three small bowls in red, blue, and green, they had different midlife animals on them, and each came with a plastic spork and a knife. “I love them.”

“Pick one,” he said.

“I want them all.”

“You can only pick one for this. ”

That didn’t make a whole lot of sense because I definitely wanted them all. “Well, red, but I get to keep them all, right?” I asked, squeezing my stuffy against my chest. “Because it would be unfair if you took the other two.”

“You get them all,” he said. “I’ll just tell you, I made tomato soup, should be warm, or at the right temperature in a thermos. I’ve also cut up some of that bread loaf you made. And, we can’t have a picnic without some fruits and juice boxes.”

“Mhmm, that’s true, but what about—”

“And those overly processed cheese snacks, oh, I got some of those as well,” he said with a chuckle. “And there’s one more thing.”

“One more thing?” I placed a hand to my forehead and pretended to fall back. “I don’t know if I can take anymore.”

“Come on now,” he said with a big grin. “I got us a night at the B&B in town. For the week after Thanksgiving. I’ve already cleared it with your mom, so we won’t have to rush back in the morning, and we can have a nice day in town.”

A barrage of warmth hit my cheeks, followed by a small trickle of tears. “I love it.”

“Aw.” He wiped my cheeks with his thumbs. “You deserve a break, and I cleared it with your friends there as well. You know, so you don’t have to spend the entire evening with me, you can go have a little’s party or something.”

“Oh my god.”

“Yeah, it helps that the guy who owns the B&B is with one of the people from your group, right?”

He was referring to Malcolm who was a new addition to the group, and we’d only communicated through the group chats which were a little dormant at the moment.

I assumed those who lived in town met up more frequently since they were all closer, and I wouldn’t have even been mad if they had an entirely different chat that excluded me.

“Thank you,” I said, planting a big kiss on his mouth, followed by several smaller fast pecks to his cheeks. “It’s gonna be so much fun. And obviously, I’ll be with you at night, and we can have a lie-in, which means—” I wiggled my brows. “You know what that means.”

“Oh, I absolutely do,” he said, “it means room service, ice creams, and a getting ourselves into food comas.”

He might have had a point there, I was absolutely going to order room service and pig out.

I hadn’t had a vacation in so long, even a temporary one.

The next best thing to a vacation was Saddle Up, it was my favorite event of the year, and knowing that was months away had been keeping me together while dealing with animals that tried to get caught up in the dirty rain-sodden grounds.

“Thank you,” I said again as my belly rumbled.

“Guess that’s a sign. You want to sit on the blanket while I get everything ready.”

I was enjoying the warmth of his lap, but I was willing to sacrifice that for soup from my new favorite bowls.

This was all new to me, the experience of a Daddy planning things for me without any nudging. I think he was learning to, and he’d come a long way, more than just how far he’d come from Texas, but with how much of an effort he’d made to no longer be a lone cowboy.

After the picnic, where I got soup on my shirt, and squeezed a whole juice box into my mouth and began coughing, we headed back to the ranch just as the dark clouds rolled in, bringing the thunder and rain with them.

All the horses were back in their stables when the bang of thunder hit.

There was a lot of neighing as the sounds stressed them.

Lorenzo played the radio, masking the thunder, and I went around giving them treats.

Mary wasn’t too phased by the sounds, laying on her bed of hay while the other three seemed to be talking to each other with their heads over the stalls.

We stayed with the horses until the storm passed, which wasn’t too long, but we kept the radio on for them once we left.

The other animals weren’t great with thunder either, but they also didn’t have the same rage power as the horses, and the last thing the ranch needed was to anything broken.

Plus, the barn cats were good at keeping order in the barn.

I think it might have had something to do with how big and fluffy they looked, they were so huggable, if they ever let you.

That night, I played with my toys for a little while longer and in the openness of the living room too.

Feeling the acceptance to play and be proud in front of Lorenzo was something I’d dreamed of experiencing for the longest time, so he was making that dream come true, alongside my dream of living in the guest house—which was now our house, and I wanted to make it mine— ours .

“Dinner’s ready,” he called to me. “And I made it special for you.”

“What is it?” I asked.

He gestured to the mess of wooden toy blocks on the floor. “Clean those up and come see.”

I knew better than to disobey him. I cleaned them away and headed to the kitchen.

In the center of the small dining table there was a lit candle, one of those long ones where the wax was already melting down the stem to the coaster it sat on. And two placemats, one the regular rolled wood, and the other was all colorful with little squares on it.

“More surprises,” he said. “Come on, take a seat.”

“Which side?”

“You know which side.”

All giddy, I sat at the side with the placemat and noticed the boxes there were asking to be written on. I looked up, and Daddy provided me with a small pack of pens. “Oh my god.”

“They’re whiteboard pens, so go to town on that thing with it if you want,” he said. “There’s also some drawing stuff there as well, in case you run out of coloring pages, you can always use this until we get you another book.”

I was already happy, he didn’t even need to feed me, I was being fed with all these nice surprises he’d been giving me all day.

“And dinner,” he said as I pulled out a black pen from the pack and at the top of the placemat, I wrote my name.

“I’m sure this is to your liking.” He slowly placed the plate in front of me, the same red with all the animals on it that I’d seen on those bowls.

“Spaghetti hoops, Vienna sausages, and some mashed potatoes with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. The good stuff, the imported stuff.”

Salivating, I gulped it back. “Have you been rummaging around inside my soul?” I asked.

“Well, I’ve definitely been inside you, if that counts.”

I slowly nodded. It definitely counted for something. “And what do you have?”

“Steak and potatoes, kinda similar. Unless you also wanted steak, there’s another in the pack if you want it.”

“Oh no, my little mouth cannot chew such a big steak. And I wouldn’t be able to cut it with my knife as it only cuts soft foods.”

He patted my head, ruffling his fingers through my hair. “I know what you like, we’re practically perfect for each other.”

“Like a jigsaw, you fit inside me.”

Lorenzo let out a laugh, putting his plate down at his setting. “I like that,” he said. “Is it ok if I turn the light out? I was trying to set a mood with the candle. I hope it’s working.”

“Yes, but only if I can touch the wax when it’s melting down the side,” I said. “There’s something about it that makes me want to touch it.”

Once the ceiling light was out, Lorenzo sat across from me, his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at me. “Ok, but only the stuff near the base. If you get burned, you can’t be mad. But I will kiss any little boo boos you makes on those precious hands of yours.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

“Let me give them one for good luck first.” He reached out and took both my hands, kissing each of my fingertips. “Ok, now let’s eat before it all gets cold. I want you to finish everything on the plate, or no dessert.”

Now, I was being spoiled, and that wasn’t anything I’d manifested as a little, but I liked the way it felt.