The only person I had was my sister, and although we were close, we just didn’t get to spend that much time together. I used to think it was her fault that we never saw each other, but my time at the ranch had changed my opinion on that matter. My sister was married and about to have a baby. She was in no position to be flying across the country to visit me. Yet every time we talked on the phone, I always told her I was too busy to come see her.
I owned an airline and yet I was too busy to fly to Florida and see her? It sounded so incredibly stupid when I thought about it. I couldn’t believe my sister even kept calling me to check on how I was doing. Whenever she called, I hardly made time for her and I was often not listening to what she had to say at all. It made me sick how I had treated her over the years and I vowed to do a much better job when the whole testifying disaster was finished.
Going back up over the mountain was much easier than it had been the first time. I felt much more in control of Buckjoy and was able to guide him back down the other side without any incident. It was a pretty big confidence booster to have ridden the horse all that way and back again without falling off or getting myself hurt in some other way.
“You’re becoming a regular old cowboy,” Sarah yelled as she passed me at the bottom of the hill. “I’ll race you home.”
Sarah was slapping the reins for her horse around and her horse was running fast toward the house. I didn’t feel nearly as comfortable with Buckjoy going that fast, but he didn’t seem to mind the running and wanted to keep up with her horse. I held on tightly and let Buckjoy lead me as he took off in a sprint after the white horse and Sarah. Soon we were right beside them and then quickly we moved past them. It was exciting to be moving so fast on a horse and it was something else that I hadn’t done before in my life.
When we got back to the ranch, we both slowed down to a trot and moved the horses into their barn to get them settled and let them rest. Buckjoy seemed perfectly happy to have gotten a good run in and I could see that I was going to have to take him out again for some fast action. My adrenaline was pumping and I couldn’t help but feel like I was on some sort of high from the ride. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to go riding again sometime very soon.
“So what do I get since I beat you?” I teased.
“The pleasure of knowing you can out-race a girl.”
“A very well trained horsewoman,” I added as I took a step closer to her.
The moment was filled with happiness and we were both out of breath from the ride and smiling from ear-to-ear. The sun was shining and the morning air was crisp and moist. I was going to kiss her. I had decided it and that was the perfect moment. I wouldn’t go any further than a kiss; I would just kiss her and see how she felt about it. If she pulled away, I would chalk it up to a riding high. If she stayed and kissed me, I would be a very happy man. It wasn’t a bet and we weren’t far away from the farm; this kiss was going to be purely because I wanted to and hopefully she did too.
Slowly I took another step toward her and kept my eyes locked on hers. She knew I wanted to kiss her, I could tell that she knew. Her lips were wet and she leaned in toward me as I closed my eyes and leaned in toward her. I felt my own heart beating so hard that I could hardly contain it in my chest, or so it felt.
Sarah was right there with me, eagerly awaiting my lips to touch hers. We hadn’t made a bet that resulted in the kiss so I felt like she genuinely wanted to be in the barn kissing me at that very moment. I knew that I wanted to be there with her. There really wasn’t anywhere else I wanted to be.
When our lips touched each other’s, it was a gentle and soft kiss. Sarah didn’t move away from me, but she didn’t move toward me either. I kept my hands at my side just waiting for some sort of sign that I could move forward with kissing her harder. It was daytime and we were in the barn, so anyone could come across us if they happened to be walking past the barn; but I was willing to take that risk.
“Garrett, are you in here?” I heard S
id’s voice yell from just outside of the barn.
I quickly pulled away from Sarah and smiled down at her as her eyes looked up at me dreamily. She was mesmerizing and I couldn’t wait to feel her lips on mine again. Hopefully, I would feel them very soon but for the time being, I thought it would be best not to have Sid see the two of us making out in the barn when we had just gotten back from our ride.
“In here. Just getting the horses settled,” I yelled.
“How was the trip?” Sid asked us both.
“It was good. It rained, but I think it made the sunrise photo more amazing. I’ll pick my favorites and get them to the realtor today,” Sarah said as she tried to hide the flush cheeks I had given her from kissing me.
“Garrett, I need to talk with you,” Sid said solemnly.
“Sure, what’s up?” I asked, thinking that he had somehow found out that Sarah and I had shared a tent. Or maybe it was something to do with my court hearing.
My gut filled with tension when I saw the look on his face. I desperately hoped that he wasn’t about to tell me that it was time for me to leave the ranch. I wasn’t ready for that, not even close. I wanted to stay on the ranch for at least a few more weeks as I got to know Sarah more. We had taken so long to warm up to each other, it wouldn’t be any fun if I left at that moment.
“Let’s go to my office.”
Suddenly the reason I was on the ranch was clearer to me than I had remembered on any day since I had first arrived. Was it time for me to go back home and testify? It had been several months and I hadn’t heard any news. My heart sank and I felt like the timing couldn’t have been more horrible. I was comfortable on the ranch. I liked the ranch. And most of all I was getting to know Sarah and she was softening up to me if I left at that moment I would certainly never get to know Sarah at all.
I followed Sid back to his office and resigned myself to hearing the news that I was going to have to leave. It was funny that the idea of leaving the ranch seemed like a bad thing to me; only a few months before I had hoped I would be able to leave very quickly after I arrived. But ranch life was starting to suit me very well. I was learning so much and I felt calm all the way down to my core. Living and working on the ranch was better than any yoga class I had attended at the fancy gyms in my city.
“Forest has left. I think you should take over,” Sid said quickly when we got into his office.
“Really?” I asked in total shock. I literally just talked to him yesterday.
Not only was I in shock that Forest had left without even a hint that it was on the horizon, but I was also shocked that Sid thought I knew enough to be in charge. I certainly didn’t feel like I knew enough to be in charge of anyone except for maybe myself.
“Yes, you have the best temperament for the job. Plus, Sarah or I can help when you have questions.”
“But…” I started to protest.