Page 71 of The CEO and the Mountain Man

“No!” River shouted, holding out his hand even as he gripped Cynthia tighter. The snake, not sure which direction to be mad at, stilled. Miguel kneeled a bit closer, then shook his head.

“Mi amor, it’s a bull snake.” Pointing out the tail, he explained, “This one has no rattle. Bull snakes imitate rattlesnakes by shaking their tails in dry leaves. And it’s pale with splotches, not diamonds.”

Now that he’d pointed it out, it was easy to distinguish the sound of rustling leaves from a genuine rattle. River kept his distance but seemed to take Miguel at his word.

I checked behind me, and Clark was still there, his gaze steady. Like maybe he trusted me too.

Focus, Beau.

Keeping an eye on the snake, I addressed the group.

“This means we’re dealing with a non-venomous snake, though the same rule applies.” I was, at least, proud of the calm in my voice.

I checked in with Colt and the horses. He’d pulled his rifle from its scabbard. He nodded and gave me a thumbs-up. The horses, luckily, hadn’t noticed the snake and were happily munching away at their feed bags.

Colt moved into position—close enough to make the shot, but far enough to avoid further agitating the annoyed reptile, who’d resumed shaking the leaves.

“We’re all just gonna stay in place,” I said. “If the snake moves into a strike position, Colt will handle it. Otherwise, we wait until it gets bored and wanders off.”

Thankfully, everyone seemed to understand what ‘handling it’ could look like, and we all did our best to remain calm while we waited. The snake shook the leaves and hovered for anotherlong minute, but, like most bullies, it didn’t really want any smoke from humans.

It cut a swift path away from us into the trees. Colt followed for several yards, then sent another thumbs-up. We all took a collective breath. We were losing the sun at a breakneck pace, and no one wanted to deal with a snake in the dark.

Which reminded me…

“Good job, folks. And now you know why we insist on you wearing the quite fashionable headlamps for any nighttime bathroom runs.” I held up my hand. “Remember, bull snakes are diurnal. Which means what?”

Stevie held up her hand, and I gestured for her to answer. “It means they’re not active at night.”

“Gold star to the gold medal barrel racer!”

Stevie and her dads chuckled—they’d seen snakes on their Texas property a time or two.

“And what does that mean?”

Connor called out, “It means the snake’s gonna go sleep off its shitty attitude.”

His parents rolled their eyes, and I confirmed that he was correct. “We’ve also laid down snake repellent around the campsite and made it as unwelcoming to critters as possible. We are in nature, but we’ve made our camp as safe as it can be.”

All eyes went to Colt, who was still holding his rifle. “I’ll keep this on me tonight.”

While all the parents had signed waivers and understood that wildlife was part and parcel of getting out in the wild, they seemed to appreciate being reassured that we were taking all the appropriate steps.

Cynthia’s parents were also grateful to River for taking care of their daughter during the ordeal. They’d had enough to handle, keeping their younger kids calm during the encounter, and thanked him until he went red to his hairline. He politelyescaped their gratitude and went back to helping Miguel. The parents then declared it an “adventure!” and went to check their tents.

I turned to Clark, who was watching River and Miguel. Tears formed in his eyes.

“Are you afraid? I promise, I doubt the snake will come back tonight.”

Clark shook his head and blushed. “Sorry. I’m … I’m being sentimental.”

“Oh?”

“Miguel saidmi amorwhen he told River it was a bull snake, right?” he asked, gesturing to the two of them as they kissed. “He called Rivermy love?”

Honestly, I hadn’t even considered it. But in fact, he had.

“Is that okay?”