said, looking back at me with a playful smirk on her face. “Then you can give me a hand with the horses so I can hit the Jacuzzi before dinner.” I followed her, shaking my head. For a minute, I thought she was teasing me, but she clearly had her mind on something else. I’d have to find Dan before dinner and see if he could have me changed to one of the guys. I didn’t want to make small talk with Kim halfway up the side of a mountain while yuppies from Seattle talked about the rustic ranch environment. Not at all.
The guests arrived in time for dinner, and my mood only worsened from there. So far, the guests had been decent, and some very sweet. But now we had the weepy recent divorcée and her embarrassed teenage son, two retired couples from Nevada, a family of five from Maine, and two gay men from Miami who looked somewhat shell-shocked. I was pretty sure none of these people would have anything to say on the trail, which might make them ask me why I was here. Or leave me open for more really fun talk with Kim about her perky, perfect life. I mumbled something about an early start and slunk off after Dan, who was nowhere to be found.
“Do you take it black?” Kim asked the next morning. “I thought you would. I brought us coffee.”
“I bet you don’t even need coffee in the morning,” I grumbled. Then I relented. “That’s sweet of you. Where are you planning on taking them for your first ride?”
“Our first ride,” she said. “We’re in this together.” I bit my tongue on the sassy remarks and followed her out of the barn. She’d made a chart of which horses to saddle up. She pointed to a blue sliver on the map: Prairie Star. It was a short, woody trail, with a nice meadow and a couple of scenic waterfalls. One of my favorites, actually.
“I’m impressed,” I said.
“Good. Drink up, though, cause we’re going to have to spark some life into this little group.” Then she smacked my ass with a crop as she strode into the barn and began leading out the horses. I nearly spit my coffee out. This girl—I just couldn’t get a handle on her. She was so cocky. So sure of what I wanted, which was the weird part.
The Prairie Star trail ride was better than we thought it would be. The gay couple got talking to the retirees about Miami RV parks, and the Maine mom went after the divorcée to plan a shopping trip for western wear. I let Kim talk, figuring she’d lose interest in me if we got this part over with. When we got to the meadow, Kim and I tied up the horses. The dudes trickled off to eat their picnic lunches. I figured I’d have about an hour for a nap, which was good. My body ached.
“Come here,” Kim said. “There’s something I want to show you.” She took my hand in hers and strode off across the meadow. She was wearing men’s jeans, a striped shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a black felt cowboy hat. The hat cast shadows across her face, so I couldn’t read her. The field was quiet until I heard the rush of water growing steadily louder. I hadn’t seen any streams near here.
“No one knows about this,” Kim said. “I like to keep it that way, but you looked so sore and tired.”
“No worse than usual,” I said.
“Don’t try to hide it. Keep hiding everything from me, Helen, and we’re never going to be friends.”
“We’re not—” I began, but shut my mouth when we disappeared into the trees to see water rushing down a rock face, crashing to the ground several hundred feet below. I hadn’t noticed the trail went up so high. “It’s lovely,” I said.
“Just like you,” she said, coming up behind me. Now her hat cast shadows on me. When her hands circled my hips, my body stiffened. “I know what you think of me. It’s not true, though, you’ll see.”
“What do I think?” I asked, trying not to gasp as her hands moved up to finger my nipples. She pulled lightly on them, rubbing with her fingers against the thick cloth of my shirt.
“You think
The guests arrived in time for dinner, and my mood only worsened from there. So far, the guests had been decent, and some very sweet. But now we had the weepy recent divorcée and her embarrassed teenage son, two retired couples from Nevada, a family of five from Maine, and two gay men from Miami who looked somewhat shell-shocked. I was pretty sure none of these people would have anything to say on the trail, which might make them ask me why I was here. Or leave me open for more really fun talk with Kim about her perky, perfect life. I mumbled something about an early start and slunk off after Dan, who was nowhere to be found.
“Do you take it black?” Kim asked the next morning. “I thought you would. I brought us coffee.”
“I bet you don’t even need coffee in the morning,” I grumbled. Then I relented. “That’s sweet of you. Where are you planning on taking them for your first ride?”
“Our first ride,” she said. “We’re in this together.” I bit my tongue on the sassy remarks and followed her out of the barn. She’d made a chart of which horses to saddle up. She pointed to a blue sliver on the map: Prairie Star. It was a short, woody trail, with a nice meadow and a couple of scenic waterfalls. One of my favorites, actually.
“I’m impressed,” I said.
“Good. Drink up, though, cause we’re going to have to spark some life into this little group.” Then she smacked my ass with a crop as she strode into the barn and began leading out the horses. I nearly spit my coffee out. This girl—I just couldn’t get a handle on her. She was so cocky. So sure of what I wanted, which was the weird part.
The Prairie Star trail ride was better than we thought it would be. The gay couple got talking to the retirees about Miami RV parks, and the Maine mom went after the divorcée to plan a shopping trip for western wear. I let Kim talk, figuring she’d lose interest in me if we got this part over with. When we got to the meadow, Kim and I tied up the horses. The dudes trickled off to eat their picnic lunches. I figured I’d have about an hour for a nap, which was good. My body ached.
“Come here,” Kim said. “There’s something I want to show you.” She took my hand in hers and strode off across the meadow. She was wearing men’s jeans, a striped shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a black felt cowboy hat. The hat cast shadows across her face, so I couldn’t read her. The field was quiet until I heard the rush of water growing steadily louder. I hadn’t seen any streams near here.
“No one knows about this,” Kim said. “I like to keep it that way, but you looked so sore and tired.”
“No worse than usual,” I said.
“Don’t try to hide it. Keep hiding everything from me, Helen, and we’re never going to be friends.”
“We’re not—” I began, but shut my mouth when we disappeared into the trees to see water rushing down a rock face, crashing to the ground several hundred feet below. I hadn’t noticed the trail went up so high. “It’s lovely,” I said.
“Just like you,” she said, coming up behind me. Now her hat cast shadows on me. When her hands circled my hips, my body stiffened. “I know what you think of me. It’s not true, though, you’ll see.”
“What do I think?” I asked, trying not to gasp as her hands moved up to finger my nipples. She pulled lightly on them, rubbing with her fingers against the thick cloth of my shirt.
“You think
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