Wild Horses

"Um, Rick? We have our...date...but we still need to decide on a time," Erin reminded him.

"Right. Let's see."

He looked at the calendar on his computer screen as though it could somehow help him decide when to go then gave up.

"What works for you?" he asked, hoping she had a time in mind.

"Well, if you'd like I could make us a lunch and we could stop at this nice pond about two miles away from the ranch. Don't worry, I won't charge you for the extra time."

Her voice was different again. It was softer and less 'hickish' even though he didn't think of her as some kind of hick. He pictured her by a lake sitting on a blanket next to him, her long, blonde hair moving a little in the gentle breeze as he reached over and held her hand.

"I...that sounds...yes. I'd really like that."

"Yeah? Then I'll make us both a venison sandwich. If you're...game."

Her old voice was back and she laughed after saying that, and Rick found himself laughing, too, in spite of the corny play on words. Venison was supposedly gamey, but according to Erin hers didn't taste that way.

"Sure. Why not? You only live once, right?"

"So they say," Erin replied before telling him she was looking forward to seeing him at around noon. "And they also say what doesn't kill you is good for you."

Rick laughed again then told her, "You know, 'they' say a lot of things."

"They uh, they really do, don't...they?" Erin replied, another pleasant laugh accompanying her words. "So noon?"

"Noon sounds good. I'll see you then."

"Bye, Rick," she told him in that same sweet voice he longed to hear, and before he could say 'goodbye', too, the phone went dead.

He barely slept that night as he wrestled with himself about what he was doing. Kara was right. She was way too young. And yet, she was the first and only woman who'd made him feel alive since his wife was, and that was reason enough to want to see her again. Even if the feeling only lasted a few more hours, it would be well worth it.

As he made his way back to the Diamond D the following day, Rick felt good for the first time in so long he couldn't remember. Other than the the last time he'd been to the Diamond D ranch.

Having his daughter home made him feel good, too, but this was different. It was the kind of 'good' that a man his age got when the thought of being around a woman he liked made him feel young again. It was a little bit like a first date kind of feeling, but it wasn't quite the same. This was more...mature. It felt deeper and was tempered with the understanding that there was no promise of anything romantic.

Even so, he found himself smiling and singing along to a song he heard on the Sirius XM 70s station. He laughed because the song was called A Horse With No Name by America, and he was about to go ride a horse...with a name.

He pulled into the same parking space but didn't get out.

"What in the hell are you doing?" he asked himself as he looked at his mug in the car mirror. "You're 42 years old and she's Kara's age, for crying out loud."

But then he almost heard his daughter telling him Erin wasn't her age, and that made him laugh, and the laugh made him feel good again. He sighed then opened the car door, got out and headed for the main office.

He got about halfway there when he heard a female voice say, "Howdy, stranger!"

His brain recognized it before he turned to look, and he was already smiling by the time he saw her.

"Hey, there...stranger than me!" he called back.

Erin got it immediately and laughed.

"Handsome with a sense of humor. I like that!"

He walked toward and looked around as he did.

"Handsome? Where?"

Erin laugh again then told him it was true.

"Cmon. You're a very nice looking guy, Rick."

"Wait. You normally wear glasses but didn't put them on, huh?" he said as she welcomed him.

"No, I see quite well, thank you very much. Better than 20/20."

"If you say so."

"I do say so, and that settles it," Erin told him as she opened the side door to the office.

Rick stopped, folded his arms, then tilted his head a bit as he looked at her.

"What?"

"I may be old fashioned, but there's no way I'm not opening a door for a lady," he told her.

"Oh. Sorry," Erin said a little sheepishly in a way that caused a stir somewhere to the south of his belt buckle. "I like old fashioned."

He motioned for her to go in, and she took a little step then thanked him.

"I should have known you're also a gentleman."

"Gentleman? Where?" a gravelly voice called out.

"Hey, Grams. It's Rick."

"Rick? Oh. The fella you been talkin' about all week."

The much older woman appeared and smiled.

"Ma'am," Rick said as he nodded her way.

"My granddaughter is right. You are a right handsome fella!" the woman said with a raspy laugh.

Rick accepted the compliment and thanked her before looking to Erin for a hint of what was coming next.

"Cmon. I've got the venison all sliced up. You can choose your fixins because I have no idea what you like on your sandwiches."

"I uh, I've never eaten deer meat before, so I really don't know."

"I like lettuce, mayo, and tomato, but my grams likes horseradish, and some folks say it's really good. Maybe try it on a little bite and see?" she suggested.

There was a small spread on what looked like a cafeteria table, and along with the thinly-sliced meat were a half dozen or so options to add to it.

"Okay, sure. I can do that," he told her.

"What can I get you to drink with it?" Erin asked as she began assembling her own sandwich.

"Water is fine or whatever you've got."

"Two bottles of water coming up!" Erin said as she looked his way and smiled.

Rick was so smitten with her natural beauty he didn't even smile back, and by the time he realized that, Erin had turned away.

"Get hold of yourself," he said to himself. "This isn't a date. It's just a ride. Especially to her."

"Yeah, but it's a second ride. With the same woman. Who's flirting with you," his brain argued back just as the younger woman came back with two bottles of water which she held up and shook.

This time when she smiled at him, Rick smiled back.

"What can I help with?" he asked as he moved closer to her.

"Nothing really. I've just about got this."

"Here. You kids'll need this," a raspy voice said.

Grams had a checkered tablecloth just like they always seem to have for a picnic on TV.

"Grams. Are you sure? This was always so special to you."

"It still is," her grandmother told her. "And that's why I'm letting you have it."

"I'll take good care of it and bring it back just like it is."

Erin's grandmother looked at Rick, and even though no one else knew, she did.

She smiled at Rick when she told Erin, "Who knows? You might just get a lot of use out of it, hon."

Erin hugged her grandmother and thanked her. It was just a tablecloth and yet it was a sort of family heirloom, and to a girl who'd been poor all her life, it was more a treasure than anything else.

As she left the room Rick put a dab of horseradish on a small piece of venison then popped it in his mouth.

"Whadda ya think?" Erin asked.

"Not bad. It's...tangy."

She laughed then asked if that's what he wanted on his sandwich.

"Yes. Please."

"You got it! " she said cheerfully, a very pretty smile on her very pretty face.

Rick carried the picnic basket outside while Erin went to grab the two horses she'd saddled up just before he arrived.

"Who do you want to ride? Captain or America?" the pretty blonde asked as she led them both out.

He laughed and told her to choose for him.

"You ride Captain," she said. "Yeah. That suits you."

Rick didn't ask why nor did her care. He was too busy staring at Erin as she pulled herself up onto her horse. She was thinner than he remembered, and while he never thought of her as 'big', he just hadn't noticed she had a very nice figure.

He most definitely had noticed her hair looked different today, though. Her hair was long, shiny, and silky, and when he mounted his horse, he got a whiff of the scent of her shampoo that smelled like strawberries.

She was wearing jeans and cowboy boots again, but the button-down shirt had been replaced with a very pretty, light-gray cable-knit sweater, and he'd also taken note of a pair of gold earrings. The only other difference he noticed was that Erin was wearing mascara today, and it really made her bright blue eyes stand out.

"No cowboy hat?" he asked when she looked over at him.

"Not today," she said with a smile that just wrecked him in the best of ways.

They talked the entire way to the pond which almost a lake. The entire body of water was surrounded by trees, shutting off from the outside world. It was a bit chilly but it wasn't cold enough for a coat, and Rick was happy that it wasn't as he was able to see every little curve in this pretty, younger woman's body; a body that was making his ache.

They tied off the horses then spread out the tablecloth before setting the basket in the middle.

As they ate neither of them spoke for a couple of minutes, the first real lull they'd had.

"This is nice," Erin said after taking a sip of water to wash down a bite of her venison sandwich.

"It really is. It's so peaceful."

"This place always reminds me of Montana," Erin mused. "Just without the mountains."

She turned his way and smiled, and when she did, Rick didn't smile back. He just kept looking at her until she said, "Cat got your tongue?"

He continued staring for several more seconds before realizing he was.

"I'm sorry, Erin. I didn't mean to be rude."

"Rude? That wasn't rude. That was...nice," she told him very quietly as she now stared at him.

His mind was at war with itself again, and one side eventually won out and caused him to ask, "Do you think you'll ever get married again?"

When she turned away he felt embarrassed. And old. But she wasn't upset, she was just thinking.

"I've had trust issues with men since, you know...."

"I get that," Rick told her immediately, relieved she wasn't angry.

"I'd like to find someone, though," she offered. "Someone I could...trust."

She glanced his way then looked back down at the food in front of her before asking him, "How about you?"

"Had you asked me that two or three weeks ago, I'd have told you 'no' or 'I don't think so'."

"Oh? Has something changed in the last month or so?" she asked without turning his way at all.

"It has," he quietly replied.

She knew he was staring at her again, and while she came off as this hard-as-nails tomboy, she was really a very vulnerable young woman who very much wanted to fall in love again. This time, however, she wanted it to be for life.

"Rick?" she asked without saying anything else.

"Yes?"

"Are you going to kiss me or just sit there and pretend there's nothing going on between us?"

She still didn't look at him, but when her words fully registered with his brain, he moved closer, put his arm around her shoulder then gently pulled her to him. She then then turned his way, and when their lips met, she put her arm around him then pulled him down on top of her and kissed him like he hadn't been kissed in years.

"Erin. What are we doing?" he said after the long, deep, sexy kiss ended.

"I believe that's called...kissing," she teased. "And kissing is a prelude to...."

"No. I'm...."

He almost didn't say it but it came out anyway.

"I'm 42 years old."

"Uh-huh? And?"

"And? That's all you have to say is...uh-huh?"

"No. I could also say, 'So what'?, but I'd rather have you stop talking and kiss me again."

He stared into her beautiful eyes for several seconds then slowly moved closer and pressed his lips against hers. This kiss was softer and slower than the first one, but it was deeper and more satisfying and lasted a very long time.

"Wow," Erin whispered when it ended. "Now that was a kiss."

"You're amazing," Rick said as he brushed her hair back.

"Ditto," she replied with a smile before pulling him back to her then rolling over on top of him.

She felt him growing and pushed against him.

"Mmmm," she moaned as she felt him push back. When he did she ground even harder.

"We uh, we should probably slow down," Rick suggested even though that was the last thing he wanted.

"Why? There's no one around for miles," she told him, that sexy smile of hers telling him to go ahead.

"You're sure?" he asked not sure she could possibly mean what he thought she meant.

"This is the first thing I've been sure of in a long time," she told him.

He then rolled back on top and said, "Take my shirt off?"

"Just try and stop me," she cooed before she laughed and began unbuttoning it.

*****

18 months later in Montana

The last of the snow had melted on the land they were looking at in Montana, and he and Erin were standing on top of knoll that overlooked it. They held hands as they took in the breathtaking view, neither of one them saying a word lest the spoil the majesty of the moment. He squeezed her hand and she did the same as she looked up at him and smiled.

Rick couldn't remember ever being this happy since losing his wife, and to top it off, Kara had agreed to come with them. She was on his other side, her arm hooked through his. She'd never been a country girl, and while living somewhere this far from civilization didn't appeal to her, she knew her father was happy, and that was all that mattered.

She'd had her reservations about Erin, but after the semester ended she spent some time with the then 27-year old woman and realized why her father had fallen in love with her. She liked her enough that when her father proposed to her Kara agreed to be her maid of honor. Erin's grandmother had recently passed away, but she'd been able to see her granddaughter marry the love of her life at the Diamond D ranch.

Both Rick and Erin had been at a critical point in their lives when they met, a point at which they were ready to fall in love again. Even so, that wouldn't have happened had either one not been right for the other, but as it happened, both Rick and Erin felt like they were tailor made to be a couple.

They made love together that day at the pond for the first time and had done so many times since, all of them indoors. Both knew they loved the other from that very moment but neither used those words for the next four months. During a romantic dinner one evening, Erin could no longer wait and told the handsome, older man how she felt.

"You don't have to say this back to me, Rick, but I need you to know that I...."

He leaned over and kissed her before she could finish and said, "I love you, too."

For the first time since he met her, Rick watched the woman he loved cry. The tears of joy she shed reinforced what he already knew. Erin Denton was going to be the woman he would spend the rest of his life with, and six months later he proposed to her at the pond.

She'd once been a hopeless romantic, but her first marriage had stripped those feelings away; feelings she'd come to believe would never return, and perhaps were more of an impediment to a happy life than something to strive for. But when Rick Nelson entered her life, Erin slowly regained those feelings, and by the time they told each other 'I love you' she was once again a true believer. When he proposed she was hooked for life.

"Honey! Look!" Erin said as she grabbed his arm and pointed.

They were still nearly a half mile away, and even though they looked like ants, it was obvious this was a modest-sized herd of wild horses that were thundering across the open ground.

"Kara, you see them?" her father asked.

She did, and as they stood there admiring something as old as time itself, the sound of a couple of dozen sets of hoofs soon reached their ears. They passed within a hundred yards of where they stood and never slowed down, the noise and their raw power sources of joy they would never tire of.

Rick put his arm around the woman he loved and said, "This is the place."

Erin held his arm so tight it almost hurt, but it also felt wonderful.

"I agree. This is it."

They spent another hour just looking around and would have stayed longer, but Kara just wasn't feeling it. They drove the 30 miles to the nearest town where they spent the night in a quaint little motel. The following day Kara flew home, and Rick and his beautiful wife signed a contract and became the proud owners of nearly 200 acres out in the middle of nowhere, which is exactly where they wanted to be as long as it was together.

They hired a local company to build their log cabin home on that same knoll that overlooked a valley that was nearly a mile wide. They also had a huge barn built that held hundreds of bales of hay they would dispense using a 4 x 4 truck Rick bought, and it had enough space that when it got really cold the horses could stay in and get something to eat without any human being around.

The happy couple hunted and fished together always using and eating everything they possibly could. They especially loved sitting in front of a huge plate glass window and watching for a herd as they sipped their morning coffee.

On those rare occasions when the solitude became too much they would drive to town for supplies and occasionally would charter a plane to Helena or Boseman and spend a weekend in the city.

One night Kara called and she asked her dad a question.

"So do you still listen to the Rolling Stones?"

"Sometimes, why?"

"I was thinking about 'Wild Horses' and how you used to listen to it when you were sad."

"Oh, wow. That's true. I did do that, didn't I?" he said with a chuckle as Erin snuggled in close to him. "But I haven't listened to that particular song since I met Erin."

She smiled then rested her head on his chest.

"I haven't to," he told his daughter as he kissed the top of Erin's head.

"No, I don't suppose you would. After all, you have actual wild horses now, don't you?"

She knew she was on speaker phone, and Erin said, "You got that right!"

The three of them laughed before Kara told them 'goodnight.'

Erin ran her hand over her husband's chest then said, "Anyone else in the mood for love?"

Rick exaggerated the way he opened his eyes as though he'd just sprung to life.

"Love? Did you say...love?" he asked as he made 'crazy eyes' at her.

She laughed loudly and told him how much she loved him. She knew the song he used to listen to and why he did. When they stood up she hugged him and told him, "Wild horses couldn't drag me away."

He picked his wife up and said, "No, but I can!"

She shrieked with joy as he carried her to their bedroom where they made wild, passionate love as they so often did.