Page 102 of Wilde Hearts

“What?” Ensley asked, glancing between Lori and me.

“She broke it about six months ago,” I explained, “falling off a different horse.”

“Never fell off a horse in her fifty-five years on this Earth before that fall several months back.” Lori shook her head. “I would have called, but you changed your number.”

“Sorry about that. Your dad has the new number.”

She gave me a warm smile. “It’s okay. I’m going to head to the hospital. Dad said to please show Ensley around the ranch, make yourself comfortable, and if you want to go into the house, I’ll keep it open for you.”

Holding up my hands, I said, “No need to do that. I’ll give Ensley a little tour, and we’ll head back into town and grab dinner.”

Lori exhaled. “I’m really sorry about this, guys.”

“Please,” Ensley said. “Don’t even worry about it. I hope everything will be okay with your mom.”

“I’m sure it will be,” Lori said, before taking a few steps back. “I’m gonna head inside and grab my stuff.”

“Tell your mother I hope she recovers quickly.”

Nodding, Lori said, “Will do! Enjoy your stay here, Ensley. See you both Tuesday morning.”

“Thank you and hope all is well!”

I turned to face Ensley. “We have a bit of sunlight left if you want to drive around the ranch.”

“Yes! I’d love that!”

We drove around the ranch, and I showed her where I had lived the last five years, the barn, and a few spots on the ranch that were my favorite areas.

“It’s so beautiful here, Colt. I can see why it would be hard to leave this place.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I learned a lot about myself and about cattle ranching on this place. If I didn’t love horses so much, I might consider getting into the cattle business.”

Ensley glanced around. “They certainly make a lot of money from it.”

“That they do. Are you hungry? I’m starved.”

“What do you say we grab takeout from somewhere, go back to the hotel, and relax? I didn’t realize how tired I was until just now.”

Ensley could’ve had no idea how amazing that sounded, and I was forever grateful she’d suggested it.

“That sounds perfect. Pizza?”

Her eyes lit up. “If you know of a place that has a stromboli, I’m totally down for that.”

I let out a short bark of laughter. “Do I know a place? Hell yes, I do! I’m about to take you to heaven, Pip.”

A slow smile spread across her face. “With a stromboli?”

“Yes! Just you wait.”

Ensley

I took the last bite of my stromboli and closed my eyes. I was so sad my meal was over. “Oh my gosh, that was amazing!

“I told you it was good.”

When I looked at Colt, I smiled. “I don’t know why I ever doubted you.”