Page 21 of Riding Hard

“Will do. Thanks again!” There’s a smile on my face as I disconnect the line.

Okay, maybe I can fix my life with one phone call.

I sit back on the leather sofa in the main room and stare out into the valley. Mountains rise and fall, and wildflowers dot the edges of the river that meanders through the property. I stare at the scene for quite some time, imagining a life I know deep down I’ll never have.

Two kids splashing in the river with the scent of pine in the air. A fishing pole dipped into the water on a sunny Sunday afternoon. A picnic basket with homemade biscuits and jam, gunner holding a woman tight in his big arms as they watch their lives unfold against the backdrop of the wild unknown.

Girls like me don’t get happily-ever-afters like that. And though Gunner wanted me to stay until he got home, I don’t think he meant forever.

I lean back on the couch and close my eyes, trying not to picture the perfect life that’s reeling through my head, but it’s impossibly there and stuck on repeat. For a moment, I see my face next to Gunner’s. I feel our bodies together, warm, and full. I imagine a life with a stranger based on nothing more than his single act of kindness.

Then, I remember who I am.

The girl that doesn’t stay. The girl who’s way too young for a forty-something man. The girl with all the secrets.

I roll toward the inside of the couch and release a heavy breath. Let’s be real. I was born to run, so running is what I’ll do.