Page 8 of Wild and Unruly (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #3)

stetson

It was becoming rather evident that my cousin was purposefully keeping me away from the reporter.

Bonnie fucking Helix.

I’ve had a handful of conversations with the woman, and she was already stuck in my head, joining me in every fantasy, and each time my mind tended to wander, she was right there alongside it.

It was driving me half insane, and the most insane part was I was thoroughly enjoying it.

I genuinely felt like I was going a little crazy.

The last three days, my cousin had sent me away on various occasions, including but not limited to a cattle drive, which took the entire day and part of the night because a storm we had ripped down fencing that had to be fixed.

Going on a feed run, which was an hour away, because they “have the best deals,” according to Dani.

And going all the way into civilization for a food run for the whole ranch and an event I didn’t even know was happening.

I’m ninety percent sure that she came up with the event because it would keep me busy and away from the gorgeous woman who was hanging around the barn.

But that ended today.

It was a day where Dani couldn’t find extra work for me off the ranch, and I had horses that I had to ride since the last couple of days they got off easy with lunging from the hired hands.

“Yo! Mav,” I call out to the hand that’s been taking care of my babies. He’s the only one I fully trust. “How are the kids doing?”

He nods his head, taking his cowboy hat off and running the water at the faucet before dunking his head under it. It was starting to become sweltering outside during the day, and judging by the look of things, he’d been out for a while.

“They’re good.” He gestures inside the barn as if indicating which horse he’s talking about. “That little sorel has a hell of a barrel kick.”

I smirk. “Yeah, she’s a spitfire.”

“They’ve been good, though. That bay that just came in is learning to trust, I think.”

I fold my arms and nod. “Perfect. Thanks for the help, man.”

“You know, I don’t mind taking care of the young ones, but I could have done all that shit Dani asked of you.”

“I know, she’s punishing me.” I slap him on the shoulder and eye the lowering sun before heading into the barn. Thankfully, I know Bonnie is still here because her truck is right out front.

I find her sitting on a pile of saddle pads, looking at something on her camera, and I come up slightly behind her, taking a peek at the photo. It’s a great shot of Dani with one of her regular clients.

“That’s amazing.”

Bonnie jumps slightly and turns to look up at me. “Jeez, you scared me. I nearly peed my pants.”

I smile at the comment. “I would pay to see that.”

Her cheeks turn pink, and she shakes her head. “You…you know, you…” She groans and then looks back at her photos. “Never mind.”

“It’s okay, Bo. I’m flattered that I fluster you.”

Her expression when she looks at me nearly makes me burst out laughing. “You do not fluster me.”

I tap my finger against the stall that she’s leaning her back against, her feet nearly dangling off the floor with how high the saddle pads are.

“You know there’s an office with chairs.”

Bonnie smiles and shrugs. “I like being around the horses.”

I hum and move around to face her. “You do this a lot at home, I assume?”

She blinks up at me, and I swear I see a wash of sadness pass her face. “I don’t have a horse anymore.”

I blink and frown. “Seriously?”

“No, my uh…” She licks her lips and sets her camera to the side of her. “My dad sold them all after my brother’s accident.”

“Shit,” I say, thinking about not having horses. Technically, I don’t own a personal horse either, but I’m always so surrounded by them that I never have felt the need for one.

“Well, yeah, it is what it is.” She seems to frown at her own words, and I shake my head.

“That’s not cool though. I’m sorry.”

She shrugs and picks at the polish on her nails .

“Come on.” I nod behind me and reach for her hand.

“Come on, where?” she asks, looking rightfully skeptical.

I wander closer, grasping her hand as she sets hers in mine willingly. “We’re gonna go for a ride.”

Her expression flickers for a moment before she shakes her head. “Oh, I don’t know.”

“Come on, you’re already wearing your boots, and this will give you a mood boost.”

“Who says I need one?”

I pull her up, and she loses her footing for a moment, bumping into me, and I take the moment to wrap my arm around her waist, steadying her. I let my eyes trail over her face for a second before meeting her gaze. Her hand that landed on my shoulder squeezes slightly, and I smile at her. “I do.”

It takes Bonnie all of ten seconds before a smile starts to bloom across her face, and she’s reaching down to run her hand over the neck of Moonshine, a horse that Dani bought a few years ago as a lesson horse. I stole Milk, who is CT’s ranch horse and needed some exercise anyway.

“How’s it feeling?” I ask her, smiling at the glowing one she has spread across her mouth. She was stunning, and I doubt she even realized it.

We were riding at a walk side by side up through one of the pastures that opened up. It was a great field because it was nice and clear, and you could ride your horse through at full speed without having to stop for a good long while.

“Amazing. I can’t lie,” she admits, taking a deep breath of the fresh mountain air .

We walk for a few more minutes in companionable silence, and I just stay quiet to let her enjoy herself for a few minutes. I try to picture not riding a horse for five years, and I can’t imagine it.

“So, were you always a horse girl?” I ask, wanting to know more about this woman beside me.

“Well, yes and no.” She starts scratching Moonshine again.

“I was a very girlie girl growing up. I did ballet and dressed in only dresses for years, loved bows in my hair and my nails done at all times. But then Mason…” She clears her throat and sighs.

“My brother got into it, and my parents bought him a horse, and I fell in love with that horse.”

My mind goes to the article I read that said the horse in Mason’s accident died. “Was that…?”

“Yeah.” She swallows hard and looks away from me for a minute. “It was him.”

For a minute, she doesn’t speak, and I regret asking the question, only to bring up this sad memory for her.

“Anyway,” she starts again, and I let out a breath.

“I started going with my brother to his lessons, and the trainer there was so nice. He was an older man who just gave kids lessons. As my brother got better, I begged my parents to let me ride too. Suddenly, we were at this barn three times a week, and my brother and I both started attending shows and winning.”

She shrugs. “I don’t know, I guess my dad saw it as some sort of fucked up retirement fund. That if we just kept winning and getting money, if we got better and better and kept advancing, we would win more money.

“Then we left that barn and went to another trainer, a way bigger facility with way more competition.”

Bonnie shakes her head and looks over at me.

“I thought I was about to make a bunch of friends, you know? Like we could have this fun little horse girl club or whatever. But not only did my dad tell me that they were more competition and not to become friends, but they felt I was invading their territory and never played or hung out with me. They’d go on rides, their little group, and leave me behind.

It kind of sucked.” Bonnie looks over at me.

“Sorry, this was way more than you asked for.”

I feel awful for her that she had to deal with that or put up with it, but I shake my head. “No, keep going. What happened?”

A deep sigh and she continues, “Well, I decided I didn’t want to be their friend anyway and just kept practicing.

I rode and showed until it was no longer fun.

It was work. And my dad didn’t make it any easier, pushing both of us, putting us in extra training sessions, making us eat and work out in a specific way as if we were Olympic athletes.

It was crazy. It took away this.” She points down at Moonshine. “Just the pure joy of riding.”

“Riding shouldn’t be about winning,” I say, gazing up at the mountains around us. “I don’t compete much, only small rodeos here and there, but my favorite part is the connection with the horses I work with. They trust me. It’s a good feeling.”

“Yeah.” I turn to see Bonnie looking at me, biting her lip. “Well, seems you’ve figured it out.”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so.”

Bonnie settles into her seat and shakes her head back at me. “Yeah, well, enough of all of this heavy talk.” She tilts her head at me as if assessing me. I’ll let her assess me as much as she wants. “How fast do you think you are?”

“What do you mean?—”

“Race ya! ”

Then she and Moonshine take off, Moonshine digging his hooves into the ground as his speed increases, and I smile at the woman who has her hair flying behind her, whooping and hollering as the horse makes her fly through the field.

I shake my head, then kiss my horse before taking off after her.

The chase was definitely on.