Actually, it was pretty good. It could have been badass good if the country twang about it could be removed. The lyrics were like poetry, and Johnny Cash’s voice was like nothing I’d heard before. When the CD moved on to the next song, I realized that, in a little over a week, I’d gone from hating-with-a-capital-H country music to tolerating, and maybe, just maybe, appreciating it.
What. In. The. Hell. was happening to me?
I didn’t know yet, but I did know the changes taking place inside and outside of me were good ones. They were changes to be proud of, so I would just keep keeping on. I didn’t need to have all the answers to my questions yet.
After a few more miles, I found what I was looking for. Even from a good football field length away, I made out which of the guys on horseback was Jesse. The white tee and straw hat were a dead giveaway, but it wasn’t just that. It was almost like I was . . . pulled to him. Almost like he was what my eyes were trained to find. Man, it was a cheesy thing to think, but Jesse was the only one I saw out there.
The cattle were stopped and grazing in the large field, and the riders just trotted around them, checking them over. A few of the hands must have noticed the truck because one shouted over at Jesse on the far end of the field. Everyone glanced over before steering their horses toward the truck. Those cowboys took their mealtimes seriously.
I parked Old Bessie under a large shade tree and jumped out. I checked my cell phone and, no big surprise, there was no reception In-the-Middle-of-Nowhere. If I’d gotten lost, Rose wouldn’t have been a simple phone call away.
Most of the guys’ horses trotted over. Jesse’s horse galloped. If nothing said “obvious” like a smiling guy riding his horse balls-to-the-walls toward an equally smiling girl, I didn’t know what did.
When he and his horse were so close I could make out the color of the horse’s eyes, Jesse pulled back on the reins. His horse came to an immediate stop. So immediate, a cloud of dust erupted from his hooves.
I smirked up at Jesse. The rest of the guys weren’t even close. “Hungry?” I asked, shielding my eyes as I looked up at him. Jesse made “cowboy” look good like no other, but him on a horse . . . I couldn’t imagine anything sexier.
He flashed me a knowing smile. “Like you wouldn’t believe. Especially after seeing you pull up in my sweet ride.” He winked before swinging his leg around and dismounting. He came toward me, horse in tow, and didn’t stop until his body was almost against mine.
“I missed you today,” he said as his eyes scanned my face. “I missed touching you.” Jesse’s hand dropped to my hip, and the breath I’d been holding rushed out. “I missed talking to you.”
My eyes closed for a moment when his thumb drew circles into my side. Jesse’s touch was hard to explain, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed it any less. When my eyes reopened, I noticed a few bobbing heads over Jesse’s shoulder getting closer.
“Cowboys on the horizon,” I said before stepping back. Jesse’s hand fell from my side, but I still felt it there. I swung around the truck and opened the tailgate before taking the cooler lid off. I heard Jesse’s footsteps and his horse’s hoofsteps follow me.
“Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?” I could tell from his tone he was teasing, but it was a delicate topic for me.
“No,” I replied instantly. “I’m embarrassed for you to be seen with me.”
Jesse’s eyebrows came together. “Well, that makes a whole lot of no sense.”
“It makes a whole hell of a lot of sense,” I said, giving his chest a gentle shove, “and you know it.”
He studied me for another moment with a furrowed brow before his expression cleared. “What are you doing right now?”
I swung my arms toward the cooler. “Serving lunch.”
“These guys know how to reach in and grab a few sandwiches,” Jesse said, tilting his head back at the guys dismounting behind him. “So it looks like you’re on break.”
“And what do you have planned for my break?” I crossed my arms. “You want to hide behind the tree and make out the rest of the afternoon?”
Jesse’s dimples made their appearance. “That sounds nice. Really nice,” he said, smiling at the tree behind me. “But I was thinking I could take you for a ride.”
“Oh, really?” I crossed my arms tighter.
Jesse lifted the reins in his hand. “A horse ride,” he said in an amused tone. “But if you’ve got another idea, I think I could be persuaded.”
I cleared my throat and tried to ignore the thick band tightening around my stomach. “A horseback ride sounds nice.”
“It doesn’t sound all that nice now that you’ve got me thinking of something else.”
That comment earned him a soft elbow to his hard stomach. I walked around the side of his horse and wondered about how to go about it. Jesse made it seem so easy. His movements were seamless whenever he got on or off of a horse.
Inspecting the saddle and all its gadgetry, it didn’t look anything close to easy or seamless.
“Wait,” Jesse said, coming up behind me. “Don’t try to get up on Sunny unless I’m already in the saddle.”
Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t have. I might as well have tried to climb Everest.
“So this is Sunny?”
“This is Sunny boy,” Jesse answered, patting the giant horse’s muscled neck.