Page 21 of Crossed Lines

“You ready to take a ride?” he asks her.

“Yes!” She pumps her fist into the air.

“Mr. Brooks is gonna hang out at the stables for me while we’re gone.” It’s then that I realize that the man Beck was talking to was Brooks. I was so focused on Beck that I forgot someone else was standing there. “I’ve got our horses all ready for us.”

I stay in my spot a few paces away and say, “I’ll wait here for you guys.” I gesture toward the bench.

Beck finally looks in my direction. “I don’t think so. You’re coming with.”

“I don’t want to intrude. I think Jade wants to spend time with just you.”

Beck sighs. “How many times do I have to tell you? You are not an intrusion. We like you being here.”

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been on a horse,” I say, hesitantly.

“Good thing Beck is going with you. He’s the best teacher in all of Georgia,” Brooks adds.

“I don’t know if I’d go that far,” Beck says with a laugh. “But I’ll help you, don’t worry. Plus, ridin’ a horse is like ridin’ a bike. Muscle memory.”

“Alright. If you insist.”

“I insist,” he says firmly.

Beck grabs my hand and pulls me along with him. I look down at our interlaced fingers. He’s holding my hand. Beck is holding my hand. I look back up just in time to see Brooks cock an eyebrow in my direction. He sees it too. Brooks looks between the two of us, smiles, and walks off shaking his head. I wonder what he must think. Heck, I wonder what I’m supposed to think.

Beck doesn’t drop my hand until we get to the horses he’s got ready. When he lets go of my hand, I look at it for a moment, trying to figure out if I should read into this or not. Surely he didn’t mean anything by it, though, right? After all, he keeps saying I’m family. Maybe that’s what he would do with anyone in his family? I don’t have time to dwell on the unexpected hand-holding because it’s time for me to mount this horse.

“Alright, Willow. Cookie is going to be yours.” Beck walks me over to a beautiful white horse with gray spots. I grab onto the saddle and hoist myself up. It’s been awhile since I’ve done this, so I’m glad I don’t embarrass myself.

“Jade is going to ride in between us,” Beck says. I nod and let him lead Jade’s horse next to mine before he gets on his own horse.

The trail we go on is an easy one. I know I’ve done it before with Sawyer years ago. But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it’s any less beautiful. I’m convinced there’s not a single part of Moonlight Ranch that isn’t absolutely beautiful. The trail leads us around one of the ponds on the property and then along the tree line near some woods, which gives us a much-needed respite from the sun.

“See, I knew you’d remember how to ride,” Beck says, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yeah, I guess it really hasn’t been that long.”

“Like three years, right?” he asks.

“Something like that.”

He smiles at me from over Jade’s head. “You know, it’s good to have you back in town. We missed you. I missed you.”

I know he probably means it in a friendly way, but I can’t help the way my stomach flips when he says it. I had assumed when I left that no one would really care besides Sawyer, of course. And maybe Beck didn’t care at the time. When I left, he was deep in the trenches with a three-year-old. But now that I’m back, he seems to be seeing me a little differently. I truly believe my time away was a good thing. So far, I’ve actually been enjoying my time back, which I never thought would be the case.

“It’s good to be back.” I almost tell him that I missed him too, but I don’t want to sound too desperate. Especially if I’m misunderstanding the meaning behind his words.

Jade takes over the conversation as she always does. I love hearing her little voice. And I love watching Beck and her together even more. He never stops smiling when she’s around. I know this because I can’t stop myself from looking at him. He’s always been attractive, but he looks even better now. He’s grown up just like I have. I never expected myself to be attracted to older guys. I always thought it was strange when Macy would point out older men or make comments about my brother. The last part is still strange, but I’m starting to understand why she leans that way.

The ride ends too quickly for my liking. If not for the sunburn forming on my arms, I could stay out here all day, but unfortunately, Beck still has a job to do, and Jade is asking for a snack, so it’s time for us to go.

Beck helps Jade off her horse first before coming over to me and holding his hand out to me. I stare at it for a split second before I put my hand in his so he can help me down.

“Thanks for bringing her up here. Seeing you both made my day a hundred times better,” he tells me. I’m sure he just means seeing Jade, but he’s being nice and including me.

“Yeah, no problem. It was fun.”

He gives me a knowing look. “Was it actually fun, or are you just saying that to spare my feelings?”