Riding the River (17 page)

“After a narrow escape from drowning?”

She nodded.

“… And me with a wet shirt plastered against
you?”

“It was wonderful.” She grabbed the lapels of
his shirt. “Now shut up and kiss me…”

She didn’t have to tell him twice…

He closed his eyes and placed his lips on
hers. His lips were moist, firm…and brushed her lips again and
again. Soon her soft lips parted and the kiss became serious. His
warm arm slid around her waist – The heat and comfort of his arms
around her felt like a blanket.

Had she ever been kissed like this? No way…
There was no thinking allowed, only raw sensation. Her fingers
knotted in his hair as his hands ran freely along her back and
sides. She shivered, not with cold, but with desire. Matt broke off
the kiss to move her onto her side – His mouth then claimed hers
for another hungry kiss. They were ready for the next step
when…

“Knock, knock,” called out Richie. “Hey, you
two awake in there?”

“It stopped raining,” added Tess. “We need to
get going.”

Matt reluctantly lifted his lips off Sarah’s
sweet ones. He pulled back from her and grinned. “… Rain check,
miss?”

“Absolutely, cowboy…” she smiled back at
him.

He gave her a last lingering kiss and then
sat up. Matt stood and helped Sarah to her feet, then grabbed his
still wet jeans to put on. They would have to do. Everything was
still wet from that rain last night.

Richie and Matt took down the tent, folded it
and hung it off the back of Richie’s horse. Sarah and Tess had
tried to smooth down their bed-smashed hair with little luck. It
had dried somewhat while they were sleeping and looked peculiar.
Sarah redid her ponytail and was still working on Tess’ hair when
Matt called to them.

“Let’s get going, ladies. We still have that
river to cross.”

Sarah shuddered at the thought and gave Tess
a wide-eyed stare. Tess laughed at her.

“Come on. We’ve made it this far.”

With that, Matt pulled Sarah up behind him on
his horse, while Richie did the same with Tess. Soon both pairs
were ready on the horses and started down the riverbank once
again.

Matt kept one hand on the reins to guide the
horse and the other he kept on Sarah behind him. Not only did he
want to keep her from falling off, he just wanted to touch her – a
constant reminder that she was with him. He was long past the point
of not wanting to be involved, and she was becoming precious to
him. They’d just experienced their first kiss and yet he felt
rock-solid about her. Matt knew she felt that way about him too.
After all, hadn’t she just said his name at long last?
These
happy thoughts helped him to carefully guide his horse through the
river. He just wanted to be with her, so he held on a little
tighter.

Behind Matt, Sarah had put her arms around
his waist and was holding on for dear life. As he would probably
say, it wasn’t that big a step to know their relationship had
crossed a threshold into intimacy – And apparently, it was
consensual, a place they both wanted to go. She was so far from her
Baltimore self that she was barely recognizable – What would her
father say? Here she was riding on the back of a horse through a
river with a cowboy she was falling for… Or had already fallen for…
And she loved it… Matt didn’t like big cities -- He was buying a
ranch here. Would he ask her to stay with him? Could she live in a
remote corner of Nevada after having lived in a busy city all her
life? Sarah knew, as well as she knew anything that she would go
anywhere Matt wanted to go. She just wanted to be with him, so she
held on a little tighter…

Both Matt and Richie made it safely through
the river onto the other side, where Cooper was waiting with Sarah
and Tess’ horses.

“Have a nice ride?” smiled Cooper.

“Yes, sir,” said Matt. He was unwilling to
let go of Sarah behind him.

“Sarah, we only have a few miles left back to
the ranch. Do you want to ride your horse back or stay with
Matt?”

She didn’t hesitate. “… Stay with Matt.”

He chuckled. “I thought so.” Then he looked
over at Richie and Tess. “Tess?”

She shook her head while Richie grinned.

“All right, folks. Let’s get back.” He kept
their horses tied to his horse and they followed along behind.

As they rode back together, Cooper told them
about Dale.

“After I got the group back to the ranch, I
found Dale to see how he was doing.”

“How is he?” asked Sarah.

“Feisty… I told him how well you did with
what food we had left and he couldn’t stop going on and on about
you.”

“Well, he’s just being nice.”

“… No, it’s more than that. Did Dale ask you
to be his assistant?”

Matt twisted around in his saddle to look at
Sarah.

“What’s this? You’re going to work at the
ranch?”

She blushed. “Yeah, I kinda forgot to mention
that, didn’t I?”

Matt turned back around smiling.

“I can tell you,” said Cooper. “Dale has been
badgering her to stay on with us and he talked Mr. Walker into
it.”

Sarah blinked. “Mr. Walker said okay?”

“That he did. You’ve got yourself an
assistant cook position, if you want it… Do you want to leave
Baltimore?”

Four pairs of eyes drilled into Sarah. Matt
was looking ahead, but he might as well have been staring at her
too. She screwed up her courage, straightened her back and told
them how she felt.

“I’ve wanted to leave Baltimore for a long
time. It’s never been a good fit for me and I think this is. I…I
want to give it a try.”

She could feel all the tension leave Matt’s
body as she said that. He must have known she meant it for him as
well – That she wanted to stay with him. She just hadn’t told him
yet and that was a subject for a more private chat.

Tess looked at her and smiled. “Good for you.
That means I’ll have a place to stay when I come back to
visit.”

It was Richie’s turn to twist around in his
saddle. “You want to come back to visit?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. If anyone here wants to
see me…” Then she gave him a big smile. “Of course, Phoenix is a
good place to visit too.”

Richie raised an eyebrow and turned back
around. Matt looked over to smile at Tess, as did Sarah. Cooper
gave her a bland look.

“If you’re coming to visit, we might have to
put you to work too. No free rides, you know.”

####

Seeing the ranch at last was a welcome sight.
It had been quite an eventful horse drive… Sarah knew it had been
life changing for her and an extraordinary experience – One she’d
never, ever forget…

That first day back was easy with no
expectations. She helped Dale out at lunch. They laughed easily
about the snakebite – scary though it had been– and discussed
recipes for the longest time. They also discussed what her new job
would entail. Dale raised his eyebrows when he asked where she was
going to live. Sarah just shrugged her shoulders.

She decided to take off for a ride before
dinner. She hadn’t seen much of Matt as he had lots to do in his
job since he’d come back. In the barn, she found her faithful
horse, Thunder, got Frank to help get him saddled, and took off for
that pretty meadow that she loved so much, not far from the ranch
house.

Once she and Thunder got to that same stream,
she dismounted to let him drink and graze a bit. Sarah shielded her
eyes to look up in the sky. A hawk was gliding easily through the
currents, looking here and there for his prey. She thought she
recognized the hoot of an owl and listened to the water float
lazily down the stream. The hills in the far landscape collided
with the mountain range behind them to stretch up into that blue,
blue sky. It was a sight she could get used to…

Sarah yawned, took out her horseshoe from her
saddlebag and lay down in the wildflowers by Thunder. She’d have to
thank Dan again for that horseshoe because it had definitely
brought her luck… Taking off her hat and placing it over her eyes,
Sarah felt the downward pull of her eyelids. It was just too
delicious…

And she was out, faster than she could say
Gregory Peck.

Matt had been looking for her and Frank told
him she’d taken off on Thunder. He knew just where she was going…
He saddled up and rode off toward the meadow. Finding her in the
exact spot where he knew she’d be, he rode up, dismounted and let
his horse drink by Thunder. Matt quietly sat down by Sarah and just
gazed admiringly at her.

When he’d found her asleep in the meadow the
first time, he knew she belonged here. Maybe she hadn’t known it
yet, but he had. So much had happened since then… And he was
thrilled with how far they’d come.

Sarah reached inside the cowboy hat to
scratch her nose. It fell off her lovely face. Matt picked a blade
of grass to tickle her nose. She scratched at it again… He tickled
her once more… Her eyes blinked open and she saw him there.

Sarah’s smile spread wide across her face.
“Haven’t we been here before?”

“Yes, ma’am, but you were mad at me
then.”

“What makes you think I’m not mad at you
now?”

“Because,” he leaned down close with those
sexy, dark eyes, “you know I’m going to kiss you…”

She pouted. “Maybe I don’t want you to…”

Matt ran a hand through her pretty, blonde
hair and stopped to caress her cheek. “… You don’t want me to kiss
you?”

She sighed. “…I do… I really do.” She reached
over to bring his face closer and then they were kissing. It was
more familiar this time as he wrapped his arms around her. They lay
on the soft ground with white and blue wildflowers around them, and
it was comfortable, easy. It was where they both wanted to be. He
took another step and let his tongue tease hers. She sighed again
and pulses began to race. But he pulled back before the next step
was a step too far.

She protested when he broke off their kiss.
It had been a mind-blowing one, sending her senses into orbit.

“Matt?” She looked up him curiously while
tenderly touching his face. His breath was as uneven as hers. He
grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips for a kiss. “Why did
we stop?”

“… Honey, this isn’t the place for what we
have in mind. How about tonight? Will you stay with me in my cabin
out back?”

“Yes,” she smiled.

“I love it when you say my name.”

“Yes, Matt…”

He kissed her longingly again. When she
opened her eyes, he was gazing adoringly at her.

“What did you mean before about
being
it
?”

“When you said my name?”

“Yes. You said ‘
when I say your name,
that’ll be it’
.”

He looked into her beautiful blue eyes. Matt
was holding the girl he loved and he hadn’t even told her yet.

“I think you know, don’t you?”

She blushed. “Maybe we can discuss it
tonight, in your cabin.”

“Okay, although I hadn’t planned on a lot of
conversation. I’ll probably be tired and want to go to bed
early.”

“Really? That so?”

“… Uh-huh…”

“I’ll probably be tired too. Would it be all
right if I slept over?”

“Yes, please. I might even let you borrow my
toothbrush again.”

Matt kissed her eyes, her nose, cheeks and
along her jaw. When he started kissing down her throat, she was
breathing unevenly again and pushed him away.

“Listen, cowboy. If this is going nowhere,
we’d best pack it in for now.”

He laughed. “You’re right.” Matt helped her
to her feet. “Later?”

“…Absolutely.”

It was too good to pass up… He pulled her
into his arms while they were standing there. He held her tight,
while she listened to his heartbeat – It seemed rapid, so she
guessed he was excited. She smelled that subtle aftershave again
and he inhaled the fresh scent of her hair.

“Damn… This is as wonderful as I dreamed it
was going to be.”

She twisted around to look up into his
handsome face. “You dreamed about me?”

“Yes, honey… And often… I got lots of kidding
from Richie.”

“Richie?”

“I said your name in my sleep one time when
he was around and he wouldn’t let me forget it.”

She beamed. He bent down to pick up her
hat.

“Here… You’ll need this.” Matt glanced down
again and saw the horseshoe. He picked it up too and handed it to
her. She stuffed it into her saddlebag.

“It did bring me luck, you know.”

“I know it did, for both of us.”

They stood there staring at each other… ‘
I
love you’
right there at the tip of their tongues.

“… We have a lot to discuss…”

He kissed her again. “I know…”

She stood there in his welcome arms wondering
how life would get any better. He stood there happily holding on
tight to the girl of his dreams. Matt didn’t want to let her
go…

“… I probably need to get back… To help
Dale.”

“Okay.” Matt kissed the top of her head, but
when she pulled back, he couldn’t resist tilting up her chin for a
last, sexy kiss.

“Another one of those and we’ll never get out
of this meadow.”

Matt laughed. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

This time he helped her up on her horse and
she didn’t mind. What was important to Sarah now was Matt’s touch.
It made her feel happy, playful, calm. She wanted him around her –
She knew he felt the same.

They rode back to the barn to leave the
horses and then walked over to the ranch house and into the kitchen
to hear Dale complain.

“Well, you two certainly took your time. Did
you get lost in the meadow?”

Dale looked at Sarah with mock scolding
eyes.

She blushed and glanced at Matt who was
blushing too.

“Go along with you, Matt. Sarah and I have
work to do.”