Nolan

 

THE SECOND SHE ran up the stairs, I reached out for something to hold onto. It just so happened to be Steve.

“It’s okay, Nolan,” he said.

“Oh, Christ,” I gasped as I rubbed my chest. “God, I’m so tired of this.”

Amy stood in front of me and reached for my hand. “I called Dr. Overton. I told him what was happening.”

I glanced back over at the steps.

“He seems to think if she hasn’t regained any memories yet, she most likely won’t. Especially since she saw you.”

“She knows we were more than friends,” I whispered.

“I know. But we’ve come this far, Nolan.”

I swallowed hard and gave Steve one quick nod of my head to let him know I was okay.

“It was one thing walking away from her. Not telling her the truth,” I said. “I can’t lie to her, Amy. I can’t.”

She placed her hand on the side of my cheek. “Follow your heart, Nolan. No matter what happens, we’re here for both of you.”

The sound of Linnzi coming back down the steps caused all of us to take a few steps away from one another.

“Got my jacket, and I’m ready to go!”

She looked adorable. She had put a baseball cap on when she went upstairs and pulled her hair though the back of it. I stared at the cap in shock.

“What’s wrong? Do you not like the hat?” she asked, touching the brim.

“No, it’s just…that’s my old high school baseball hat,” I said before I thought better of it.

She raised a brow and quirked her mouth up on one side. “Another piece of the puzzle.”

“Puzzle?” Amy asked.

Linnzi laughed, kissed her mother and father on the cheeks, and said, “Private joke, Mom!”

I placed my hand on the small of Linnzi’s back and guided her out of the house.

As we headed down toward my truck, Linnzi looked at me. “Can I ask you a question, Nolan?”

I opened the passenger door and held her hand as she climbed up into my father’s old truck. “Of course you can.”

“Did you fly your own plane home?”

“Here, to Boerne?”

She laughed. “Yes, here.”

“I did. Why?”

She shrugged. “I was curious, that’s all.”

I walked around the back of my pickup and took in a few deep breaths before I climbed into the cab and started up the truck and turned to face Linnzi. With a smirk, I said, “I’ve got more planned than simply riding. You threw the gauntlet down on me last minute, so…”

A brilliant smile lit up her face. “Are you going to tell me the plans?”

I started down the driveway as I spoke. “I thought we would start with a quick car ride around the ranch so I could check on a few things. I’m only in town a couple of days, and I need to make sure a few things are taken care of before I leave.”

She frowned. “If you need to take care of things, we don’t have to…”

“I want you with me. It’s been too long since…”

I let my voice trail off, and for some reason, Linnzi didn’t press to find out what I was going to say.

“After that we’ll head to the barn and go for a horseback ride,” I said. “I’ve arranged to have a picnic waiting for us at a spot on the ranch my father used as a hunting cabin.”

“Have I ever been there before?” she asked.

“Yes, many times.”

She frowned, and I couldn’t help but notice the disappointment in her eyes when I looked at her. She stared out the window and didn’t speak for a few minutes. The silence wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. It was…it was like old times. She finally spoke as I pulled up to the gate of the ranch. “This is your ranch, huh?”

“It is,” I said as I clicked the gate opener.

“Cattle, right?”

I nodded.

“What type of cows do you have here?”

“Black Angus, Hereford, Limousin, and my father had a love for Texas Longhorns.”

“All for beef, I take it?”

I nodded. “Yeah. My mother used to have some Holsteins. She grew up on a dairy farm and liked having them here.”

“You don’t have them anymore?” she asked.

“We have a few; I don’t breed them like the others.”

“So, they’re pets?”

I laughed. “I guess you could say that. They’re spoiled as fuck.”

We drove down the long drive and past the house.

“That’s your house?” she asked.

Coming to a stop, I looked over at the two-story, white ranch house that had been in my family for four generations now.

“Yes, it’s not fancy, and it’s been in the family since my great-grandfather built it. He moved here from Arkansas to raise cattle.”

“It’s adorable!” she said, staring at it.

Pulling off, I replied, “I’ll give you a tour later.”

Linnzi turned her head and watched it as I drove down one of the roads that led to the main barn. “Oh, look at the cows!” she gushed. “They’re so cute!”

As we drove by, a few of them lifted their heads to see who was disturbing their morning munches. “They’re cute, but they’re also very tasty.”

She turned her head and looked at me, a snarl on her face. “They’re so beautiful! I don’t think I could eat them after raising them.”

I laughed. “Trust me, I can eat them with no guilt at all. They live a good life and when, or if, they get slaughtered, it’s done in a humane way.”

“Ugh. You just went down a notch in my books.”

This time I laughed harder. “I’ll have to try and make up for that then.”

Her arms folded over her chest as she stared out the window at more cattle. “You can try, but no promises.”

Even though her face was turned away, I still noticed her slight smile.

I pulled up to the barn and parked, lifting my hand to greet Paul.

“Who is that?” Linnzi asked.

“Paul, the ranch foreman. He’s my rock, and the guy I depend on to keep this place running while I’m gone.”

After I opened my door and jumped out of the truck, I tried to jog around and get Linnzi’s door, but Paul beat me.

“Paul, this is Linnzi Cunningham. Linnzi, this is Paul Hart. Y’all have met before, but…” Paul smiled at Linnzi. “He keeps this place running,” I finished saying.

Paul reached out his hand and shook Linnzi’s. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Ms. Cunningham.”

“Please, call me Linnzi.”

With a nod, Paul replied, “Linnzi, it is.” He turned to look at me, and I could see it on his face. It was hard how everyone knew that in the past it had always been us together, and now they had to act like they didn’t know a thing. “I’ve got two geldings saddled up for you. And the group you were expecting earlier is up at the hunter’s cabin now getting everything ready for you.”

I could feel Linnzi’s eyes on me, but I didn’t look at her. “Good, thanks for taking care of that Paul. I owe you.”

“Nonsense. It turned out to be a nice day, so I think you should have a good ride,” Paul stated as he looked up at the cloud-covered sky and nodded. Linnzi did the same and appeared to be trying to see what Paul was looking at.

“Nice day, indeed,” he said once more before he headed into the barn.

Linnzi giggled. “What was he looking at? It’s cloudy!”

“Trust me, the man has some weird weather forecasting ability. I’ll bet you ten bucks the sun will be out in thirty minutes.”

She glanced up at the sky once more. “No way. Look at those clouds.”

I put my hand out, and she laughed as she took it. “It’s a bet,” she said.

Paul walked out with two chestnut geldings.

Linnzi inhaled a sharp breath as Paul brought both horses to a stop in front of us. She immediately did what the Linnzi from eight years ago always did when it came to horses. Her hands were everywhere on the first horse.

“He’s beautiful!” she mused. “Goodness, how old is he?”

“Seven,” I replied.

“Good temper?”

“He always has one when I’ve ridden him,” I stated as I looked at Paul.

“Whiskey is one of our best horses,” Paul said with a smile.

Linnzi looked up and grinned. “Whiskey? That’s a cute name.”

“Well, sure, considering Nolan drank a bottle of whiskey and lost his stallion in a card game in exchange for this guy.”

Linnzi’s eyes widened. “What?”

I laughed. “I was the one who ended up the winner. Whiskey is one of the best horses we have on the ranch. I’m surprised you didn’t let Ryan take him,” I said to Paul.

He snarled his lip. “Hell no. He’s one of my favorites.”

“I should be honored I get to ride him, then,” Linnzi said as she ran her hands down one of Whiskey’s legs and then lifted it. She dropped it and proceeded to do the same with his other three legs. Then she ran her hand along his body, and I gave Paul a quick glance before focusing back on Linnzi.

With a sigh, I said, “I’m starting to get jealous of the damn horse, Linz.”

She startled and looked over at me, her cheeks slightly pink. “I’m sorry. It’s just I haven’t been around horses in so long, I’ve forgotten how desperately I love them.”

“You’re more than welcome to come over anytime and ride,” I said.

Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as she took a step away from Whiskey. “Are you serious?”

“Of course. I’ll give you the gate code and make sure you have Paul’s number. We wouldn’t want him thinking someone stole his favorite horse.”

Paul rolled his eyes at me. “The sun is fixin’ to come out, go ride.”

Linnzi and I both looked up, and I couldn’t help but grin when I saw the clouds drifting away and making way for the blue sky.

“Damn,” Linnzi whispered.

“I’ll collect my ten dollars later.”

Linnzi looked at me, and I winked. Her teeth instantly dug into her bottom lip, and I had to force myself to look away as I mounted my own horse.

“What’s this handsome boy’s name?” Linnzi asked, giving Jack a loving pat on the neck.

“Big Mac Jack.”

She looked up at me, her blue eyes competing with the sky. “Is there a story behind that name as well?”

“There is. My mother named him after my father had gone and picked him up from a friend of his who needed to find him a new home. My father had insisted on pulling over and grabbing McDonald’s to eat, even though my mother wanted to beat a storm home. They didn’t beat the storm and ended up having to unload him in the rain, and he was fit to be tied. She called him Big Mac Jack ever since then. His name had been plain ol’ Jack before that.”

Linnzi kissed his nose and said, “You’re a sweet old boy, aren’t you?”

Jack bobbed his head, and we both laughed.

“Ready?” I asked.

She expertly mounted her horse, and we started down one of the well-worn trails. It only took five minutes before she turned to me and flashed a seductive smile. “I’ll race you to the next pasture.”

My heart stopped for a moment. Had she remembered? The way she said it didn’t give any hint that she did. But how would she have known about the pasture up ahead? I slowly let out my breath and tried to sound perfectly normal as I said the same thing I had all those years ago. “You won’t win.”

She winked, and before she kicked Whiskey into a run, she said, “Watch me!”