“I asked if we’re almost there. I think Sofie is tired.”
Beau snickered. Sofie wasn’t tired, but he bet Alice’s butt and thighs were getting sore. Not to mention her mouth.
“Actually, we’re here,” Beau said, bringing his horse to a stop at the bluff overlooking the dam.
He climbed down and grabbed Alice’s stuff, which he’d placed in the saddlebag. Then he helped Alice down, inadvertently catching another glimpse of her sweet little butt cheeks.
“Are your legs sore?” he asked.
“No. But I admit they’re a bit shaky.”
“Tomorrow, they’ll be sore.”
“You ride every day. Do yours get sore?”
“Nah. I’m used to it. My thigh and butt muscles get daily workouts.” Riding a horse was better than a gym membership.
Alice’s eyes flitted below his belt, as if checking out his thigh muscles, and he remembered how he’d gotten to her that night at the hotel. He’d been shirtless then, but it appeared she also enjoyed seeing him in chaps.
Most women did.
“How do we get to the river?”
Beau pointed at the bluff. “Down that trail. And you need to stick close. Maybe grab hold of me. Because those sandals weren’t made for trails.”
Alice looked at her feet with a frown. “Do you think they’ll get ruined?”
“Just be careful. But next time, wear boots. You don’t wear sandals to ride a horse.”
Why was he thinking about a next time at the dam with Alice?
“I don’t have boots.”
“Then we’ll have to get you some.”
And now he was talking about boot shopping. With Alice.
He started down the steep trail with Alice on his heels. They hadn’t gone very far when her sandal slid on some rocks, and she crashed right into his back with a dainty grunt. He was big and sure-footed, so he barely budged.
“Settle down back there, Allie Cat,” he said. And then, because he felt like he had no option—Alice wore shitty shoes and was clumsy on top of it—he reached back for her hand. Without a word, she took it, and the two of them continued down the trail without further incident.
After they got to the riverbank, they picked their way over rocks and roots to get to the picnic table. He let go of her hand to set the bag on the bench, and for a moment they just stared at each other while his hand tingled.
The river flowed gently over the top of the dam, and the soothing sound calmed his nerves. It was so peaceful and quiet—
“Did you know that it’s the limestone bottom that makes the water so clear? And there’s a subterranean river here. We can’t see it, but if it weren’t for the dam, we’d probably be able to hear it if we got super quiet.”
Beau snorted. “You’d have to stop talking for a minute, Allie Cat.”
Alice crossed her arms. “What?”
Beau shrugged. “Nothing. You just talk a lot, is all.”
Her foot started tapping, and Beau couldn’t help but notice her little toes had gotten dusty on the trail. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then she promptly shut it and stared at the ground.
Oh shit. He’d hurt her feelings. The silence was heavy. Oppressive. Guilt-inducing. And he swore he could hear that damn subterranean river, just like Alice said. It, along with the water trickling over the dam, was babbling away, saying, Beau is an asshole Beau is an asshole Beau is an asshole.
Beau cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
Alice leaned over and brushed the dust off her toes with her fingers. The pink toenails caught the sun and sparkled. Every second that she didn’t speak was a second that made Beau feel worse.
Maybe he could get her chattering again. “The river is so low up by the highway that we’ve had cattle crossing it.”
Alice straightened. Looked at him. Shrugged.
“And to think,” Beau continued. “Just two years ago we had the biggest flood in our town’s history.”
Alice nodded. Silently.
“The weather is definitely becoming more extreme,” Beau said. “There’s a conference on how climate change is affecting ranching in Texas coming up next month.”
Alice’s eyebrows shot up. Her lips trembled. Her pink toes tapped. It was obvious she had climate change facts lined up, and they were banging their fists around in attempts to get Alice to open up her mouth.
“It sounds really interesting,” Beau said.
Alice was now biting her lower lip. Clearly dying to say something. She probably had some pretty strong opinions about climate change.
“Of course, I don’t know anything about it,” he said. Because saying you didn’t know something was like dangling a juicy peach in front of Alice.
Her eyes were big and round. She was probably holding her breath or biting her tongue.
Time to put her out of her misery. “Do you know anything about climate change and how it’s affecting ranching?”
Alice let out a big breath, and Beau had to try very hard not to smile.
She searched his eyes, brows drawn together, as if trying to figure out if she was being played. Beau tried hard to appear earnest and sincere, because he was. Not only did he feel like shit about hurting Alice’s feelings, he also actually wanted to hear what she had to say. And since she was the smartest person he’d ever known besides Gerome Kowalski, there was no doubt that she was a good source of information.
The little wrinkle in Allie’s forehead disappeared and she took a deep breath.
Beau sat and leaned back against the picnic table, crossing his arms.
Alice started talking, and even though it was interesting . . . something about the difference between extreme drought and desertification . . . he couldn’t stop noticing how pretty she was. The sweet spot at the base of her throat pulsed softly with excitement.
Damn. He’d drifted. He had no idea what this lecture was about anymore, but he was enthralled, nonetheless.
Alice was having a hard time staying on topic with Beau’s long legs stretched out like that. For one thing, the
