Chapter Eight
Two of a Kind
LeAnn groaned, walking with her legs bowed and her back arched. She looked like she’d failed at a contortion attempt and needed to be put in traction. “Are you going to walk like that all the way to the mess hall?” Kristin asked as she checked her makeup in the mirror above the dresser in LeAnn’s room. “Because I’d like a warning so I can prepare in advance to pretend I have no idea who you are.”
“Shut up,” LeAnn growled. “I took a muscle relaxer. I’ll be fine in fifteen minutes.”
Kristin snorted. “Well, I guess you won’t be getting laid tonight. There will be no pleasing any man with loose…muscles.”
LeAnn glared at her through the mirror as she carefully lowered herself to the edge of the bed. “You’re a bitch sometimes, you know that? Three days on a horse, and I can barely move. How do you spend that much time on a horse and not end up walking like your twenty months pregnant?”
“I have good posture on a horse.” She turned toward LeAnn with a sympathetic look. “It’ll get easier, I promise. But you might want to see if they have any Icy Hot here, or you won’t be able to get out of bed in the morning.” She sat next to LeAnn, who winced as the bed bounced. “What does it mean if someone you dated briefly more than a decade ago starts asking probing questions about the past?”
LeAnn was at full attention now, despite her pain. “I take it you found some alone time to catch up with Mr. High School Fling. Spill it, woman. What did he say?”
Kristin shook her head. She didn’t want to recount every last word that was said, even though it kept playing over and over in her mind like a movie reel set on repeat. “He brought up our…relationship, if you could even call it that, and the circumstances under which it ended.”
“And did you remember to tell him it never ended?”
“No, LeAnn, and I’m not going to.” Kristin knew she was whining, but her irritation was reaching the boiling point. “Listen, we sort of argued and then agreed to start over as friends. But he still asked a lot of questions, and I’ve been thinking about them ever since.” She glanced up at LeAnn’s eager face, then stared back down at her nails, picking at them. “All this time, I thought I had the answers. Actually, I didn’t think much about it at all. But it seemed cut and dry. But the more I think about it, the more I wonder if I’ve deluded myself into an alternate version of reality. I think maybe I’m in denial about a lot of things, and that means I don’t really have the answers I thought I did.”
“Either that was incredibly hard to follow, or my meds just hit me.” LeAnn shook her head as if to clear it. “Wait, I think I got it. You have a guilt complex because you think that, maybe, you’re the one at fault for whatever came between the two of you. And somewhere in the back of your brain, you’re curious what would have happened if you hadn’t sabotaged that relationship and run away screaming like a coward.”
Kristin frowned. She didn’t like the assessment. “Not exactly.” LeAnn raised an eyebrow in argument, and Kristin caved. “Sort of. I mean, Dale was an incredible guy. And I swear he just sort of walked away. But he says he came to walk me to class, and I basically blew him off and never called him again. LeAnn, I don’t remember it that way. How do I know whether I’ve convinced myself it was mutual or if he’s delusional?”
“Did he give you the ‘sad panda’ look?”
Kristin didn’t meet her friend’s eyes. “I knew it!” LeAnn shouted. She moved quickly, and Kristin noted that LeAnn was about to get very talkative, the muscle relaxers having had their positive influence and getting ready to add the inevitable chatterbox side effect. She sat up and crossed her legs in front of her. “You know what I think? I think you should try again. Now that you’re both adults who’ve succeeded at life…” she rolled her eyes as Kristin gave her a withering look. “Yes, Krissy, you’ve been successful. This is just a bump in the road to the ultimate success. Anyway, as adults, you’ve learned a lot more about yourselves, and you’re both mature enough to understand your feelings. I see the way you look at him and the longing glances he passes your way. There’s chemistry and desire and comfort, and that’s a perfect platform to stand on to make a second go at it.”
Kristin shook her head. “We were kids, LeAnn. I don’t think we have anything in common anymore, other than our love for horses and ranch life. And that’s not where I am anymore. I’m an executive, in New York. So it would never work. Besides, if I’m going to start fresh in my career, I don’t have time to dabble in a new relationship and ask questions about where it might or might not go.”
LeAnn stood suddenly. “I’m starving. Let’s get to dinner.” As they walked, she said, “The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. You’re both young. You have plenty of time to explore and take things slowly, even in a long distance relationship, if that’s what you prefer.”
Kristin’s mind whirled with possibilities she couldn’t really fathom. It made her dizzy, and she instantly shut it down. “No, LeAnn. I’m here to relax, and the thought of getting close to someone stresses me out. And you don’t even know that he’d want any kind of relationship with me. Just let it go, okay? I shouldn’t have asked the question in the first place.”
LeAnn frowned. “What was the question?” Kristin shook her head. “No, really. I want to answer the actual question. Remind me what it was.”
With a sigh, Kristin said, “I asked why he would start dredging up the past all of a sudden.”
LeAnn nodded. “Isn’t it obvious? He was in love with you, Krissy. And he’s hung onto it for a long time, which means he is very much into you, if you ever decide I’m right and you’re wrong. You’re two of a kind, and the chemistry I see between you is real.”
Kristin didn’t respond, brooding in her silence. She realized she was clueless, about relationships and, honestly, about her choices in life. It was all very confusing, and a dark cloud settled over her, dampening her mood as she entered the dining area to the cacophony of guests milling around and sitting down to wait for dinner. She wished for a huge glass of very stout wine, but so far, there had been no alcoholic beverages offered. She understood; people unaccustomed to being around animals could very easily spook them if they imbibed too much.
She noticed instantly as Dale came in the room and tried not to stare, but she couldn’t help herself. He was dressed down, in a pair of jogging pants and a tank top, and it was an incredible transformation. It also showed just how muscled his chest and stomach were through the tightly stretched shirt, and the waistband of his pants made clear his narrow waist and hips. Without his cowboy hat and his dark hair spiking in all directions, he looked like a combination of a model, rock star, and athlete. His eyes fell on her instantly, and he approached the table where she and LeAnn sat alone; LeAnn busy texting some of her clients or publishing a blog or some such on her phone.
“Is it okay if I sit with you tonight?” he asked, those mystical eyes filled with mischief.
“Help yourself,” Kristin said, trying to sound bright rather than anxious. He pulled up the chair next to her, across from LeAnn, who came out from under her rock long enough to offer a smile and a wave, before burying herself again. Kristin leaned into Dale with a conspiratorial whisper. “She took a muscle relaxer. It’s like meth or crack for her. She just dives into something with complete focus.”
Dale nodded understanding. “That’s ass-backwards, but whatever works for her.” He spoke under his breath as he added, “I hear she couldn’t seem to find her balance on Bessie today, and the only reason she didn’t slide off was that the saddle was, and I quote, professionally tightened.”
“That would be my work,” Kristin announced proudly. They chatted over dinner, a huge helping of chicken and dumplings Kristin couldn’t finish and actually shared with Dale after he finished his.
She was suddenly frightened that he would get up and walk away with the plates empty, and she asked quickly, “Why are you out here tonight? You don’t usually
eat with the guests.”
“I do. Or at least, after the first couple of meals, I like to. I just want everyone to settle in first. I can’t enjoy my food if I’m being assaulted with questions from every direction.” He smiled. “I typically end up at everyone’s table once or twice during their stay.”
For some reason, that little bit of information disappointed Kristin. She’d somehow started to assume Dale would give her preferential treatment, since they were old friends, and she’d looked forward to his company. “That’s a good business tactic. You should think about marketing your ranch like that. ‘Personal attention for each and every guest’. It would be a hugely successful venture.”
“Be careful, Krissy. I might just have to hire you myself,” he teased.
She scoffed. “You’d have to offer a pretty little package to get me out of New York and away from my life there.” She ignored the voice in her head reminding her she didn’t really have a life there, and at this point, not even a job.
Playfully, Dale scratched his chin and said, “I guess I’ll just have to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
Laughing, Kristin shook her head. “Funny.”
He shrugged and smiled boyishly. “I made you laugh, didn’t I?” He sobered and said, “In all seriousness, I think you might get bored tomorrow. We’re feeding pigs and milking cows.”
Kristin tried to sound nonchalant. “That’s alright, it’s part of running a ranch.”
“True, but you’re on vacation, and running a ranch was a lifestyle for you, not a vacation. I thought maybe I’d take the day off, and we can go for a ride, take Rocky and Blaze and disappear for the day. We could leave after breakfast, be back by dinner. No one would even notice we were gone.” He winked at her.
Kristin hesitated. She didn’t want to say no. She liked the idea of skipping out on the parts of the experience that weren’t her cup of tea, and she was kind of excited at the prospect of spending some time alone with Dale, now that they’d worked out their differences and had been getting along. But she also felt guilty; she hadn’t spent much time with LeAnn, who had convinced her to come. And even if it meant taking the grin-and-bear-it attitude about the mundane labor, tomorrow would be a chance to simply hang out with her best friend.
She started to respond and turn him down, but LeAnn suddenly shouted, “Son of a bitch!”
Both Kristin and Dale turned to her in surprise, and she was on her feet, typing furiously on her phone. “Of all the times for one of my clients to pull a stunt like this!” She looked despondently at Kristin. “It’s an emergency. There’s going to be a whole lot of damage control on this one, and I can’t do anything from here. I’m sorry, but I have to head home early. I can’t ignore this one.”
Devastated, Kristin asked, “Isn’t there someone else who can handle it? We’re on vacation.”
“No, there’s not. That’s the biggest problem with my job. There’s no one I can trust to handle this kind of fiasco when I’m not there.” She turned apologetic eyes toward Dale. “You’ve been wonderful, and I’m going to have to come back and finish the experience. And next time, I’ll make sure I’m in better shape.”
“I’ll make sure you get a credit on it, so you can come for free on your next stay,” he promised, standing to shake her hand.
Kristin rose, as well, hating the situation. She hated that LeAnn had to leave, especially for work reasons, but more selfishly, she really didn’t want to go herself. With a sigh, she said, “I’ll call a cab as soon as we get back to the room, and we’ll pack up and head out.” She didn’t even know how to say goodbye to Dale at this point and thought about avoiding it altogether.
But LeAnn stared at Kristin like she had three heads with twelve eyes springing out of her neck. “I don’t think so! Krissy, stay. You need the vacation. I can get away any time for a few days. It takes an act of God to drag you away from work. Now that you’re here, relax and finish the trip. It’ll do you a world of good. Your reset button will be freshly smashed when you get home.” She offered a reassuring smile and a secretive wink.
Waffling, Kristin felt obligated to go with LeAnn. At the same time, it wasn’t like Kristin had anything to go back to right now. What was she going to do, follow LeAnn around like a lost puppy and act like a cheering squad while she did her job? She was torn and didn’t know what to do.
LeAnn didn’t give her a choice. Leaning in to hug Kristin, she whispered, “Go for it, Krissy. I’ll be fine, and I’ll call you in a couple of days to see how it’s going.” Holding her shoulders at arm’s length, LeAnn said in a normal voice, “Take a bubble bath. Shovel some hay. Do something to set your mind at ease while I go wring my client’s neck for being amazingly stupid.” She smiled at Dale. “Thanks again, and I’ll see you soon.”
Kristin saw Dale give a little salute and thought if he’d had his hat, he would have tipped it. The cowboy in him sometimes made her melt.
“I’m sorry LeAnn had to go,” he said as Kristin stared after her. “But she’s right. You’re here, and you should enjoy the break from the big city life.” She felt his hand on her back, a soothing gesture, and it made her body flood with heat. She was so unaccustomed to the way she reacted to him! And the worst part was, it wasn’t like she could do anything about it. “So, since you’re staying, what do you think about my plan for tomorrow?”
Kristin had almost forgotten about it in the brief commotion. She may have mourned LeAnn’s early departure, but now, she had no excuse for saying no and no reason to subject herself to the menial, grueling tasks the rest of the group faced tomorrow. Suddenly feeling invigorated, Kristin turned to face Dale, her heart thumping as she met those magical eyes. “I think it sounds like a fabulous idea.”