The sun rose with my mood, and I got dressed to the twinkling rays glowing across my floor.

Even though I lived among the horses, it was still exciting to go hiking in the lands overlooking the bay. Donning a white long sleeve shirt, blue jeans, boots and a gray fleece parka, I grabbed a small backpack of supplies. When Carson had mentioned hiking together, I'd pulled my old pack from the closet. Water bottles, sunglasses, some granola bars, and other odds and ends littered around the bottom of the pack.

It had been a good week, one with no flukes or deep talks. I’d appreciated that, as a lot of our interactions had been heavy. It was bound to happen, after ten years and a sea of grief separated us. But now, if we were going to do this, I wanted to be able to function like a normal person again. Like a normal person who dates her high school sweetheart after ten years of blaming him for her brother’s death.

Yeah, so maybe we weren’t normal, per se. But who was?

Walking into the early morning light, I saw a pickup chugging down the road. Once he slowed and got closer, I could hear Brad Paisley’s “Alcohol” coming out of the speakers.

“Isn’t it kind of early for this song? And what is this, tenth grade?” I made the comment as I helped myself to the passenger seat of the car.

“It’s never too early for Brad Paisley or alcohol, and I’m trying to bring us back to the good times. Remember the first time you got drunk off of Twisted Teas at Mike Gernigan’s house?”

Did I remember? I’d gotten on the coffee table and done a horrible rendition of “Pour Some Sugar On Me” while trying to jig or something. I wound up in Carson’s bathroom while he pleaded with me to keep my puking noises down or his parents would hear.

“Don’t remind me. Or I’ll bring up some of the things you said when you were drunk.”

Like the first time he told me he loved me, and I got so pissed at him that it wasn’t sober I made us act like he never said it. In reality, he was nervous as all hell and probably needed the liquid courage to pony up and tell me.

“Did you sleep well? Dream about me?” He winked, laying his hand on my leg as he maneuvered us up and over the hills of sand.

“You wish. How was work this week?” While we’d texted and emailed here and there, I still needed some space.

Being a hermit for ten years will do that to you. I’d found, over time, that I liked my independence, wore it like a badge. Even though I now wanted to spend time with Carson, I still liked my solitude too. My big house in the middle of the beach, where I could be myself and keep living the way I had for the past four years.

“It was good, just more of the same. We’re launching some marketing campaigns for the upcoming season, targeting those who have already rented houses here. We have this deal going with some of the rental websites to throw in a package deal for a tour. I think it’s going to work well.”

I nod, because it’s smart. “That sounds fantastic. To be honest, I kind of like the buzz of summer season around here.”

“And the queen in her castle admits she likes tourists. Wow, I never thought I’d live to see the day.” He tickled my side gently.

“Oh shush, you jerk. I just know how beautiful this place is, and it likes to show off for visitors. And the horses seem to come alive when the tours start.”

“Yeah well, tell your neighbors that.” Carson rolled his eyes.

It didn’t escape my notice that some of the houses on the streets further away from mine didn’t want the horse tours to continue. They thought they were too disruptive and that they spoiled the peace of Carova.

“I think the tours allow our tiny island to shine, and I’ll keep campaigning for them. And I’ll try to let people know that in any way I can.”

His dark eyes lock onto mine as he slowly pulls the car to a stop. “I appreciate that.”

I lace my fingers in his. “Are you stressed?”

I asked because I could sense it.

Carson sighs, and I see the tenseness in his shoulders. “I just want to live up to all of the expectations. I want the business to do well, to grow. It helps to come out here, to really see the good work we’re doing. Come on.”

While he’s listened to me vent and tried to pry information out of me, I haven’t really tried to be there for Carson at all. I don’t know what he’s been doing the last ten years, or how he’s changed. Maybe I needed to stop being selfish and wallowing in my own problems, and look around to see that he had his own set of things that kept him on edge.

The morning is crisp and sunny, the perfect day for a walk through the trees.

“Do you think we’ll see a lot of the horses?” I ask because he is the expert, and because I want to hear more of that deep, rough voice.

Carson’s voice is addicting, like sweet whiskey poured into hot apple cider. It’s rich, with texture, and something I want to sip on all day.

“It’s a nice morning, hasn’t rained recently so the ground is good terrain. They can probably sense it will be one of the better days before we head into the colder days of winter. So I think so. But you never know with these ones. They’re wild after all.”

He looked at me when he said wild, and I could feel the blush creep into my cheeks. We walked along, observing the trees that stood like skyscrapers over our heads. The brush crunched beneath our feet, and every once in a while, Carson would write something down in a small journal.

About fifteen minutes into our walk, we spotted the first cluster of horses. One large black one, the male, stood in the middle as four mature female horses and three smaller foals surrounded him. Whichever way he turned, they followed. If he took a step, they were right behind him.

“He’s the leader of their group, he provides for them,” Carson explains to me in a low voice.

“I know that. I’ve lived with them a lot longer than you have. And I also know that if he doesn’t provide for them, or if another male can show power over him, they’ll leave him for another harem.”

I raised an eyebrow and Carson looked at me, getting the meaning behind my words.

“I get it, you’re wild and I can’t tame you. But I was never trying to tame you, Blake. I simply wanted to be the one you chose to have run by your side.”

His words melt one of the ice chips still surrounding my heart, and I reach for his hand to show him that.

“I’d like to try that.”

Carson lifts our joined hands up to his mouth and slowly kisses my knuckles before lowering it. “Let’s keep going.”

With our footsteps falling in rhythm, we hiked through the forest and out onto the edge of the bay. The water glistened under the sun’s rays, the place that I called home looking completely different as I walked it with Carson.

“Do you still like to go down to the beach at night and …” Carson trails off, and I know from the twinkle in his eye what is he thinking.

Clearing my throat, I smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

A grunt sounds from next to me. “You have no idea how much I want to know. I’ve thought about that great butt, bouncing as you ran across the sand into the water.”

My core flushed and the center of my sex clenched. When we were teenagers, we used to love to sneak out and skinny dip in the ocean. There were so many endless summer nights I remember being wrapped in his arms as a wave crashed over us, not even coming close to breaking up our kiss.

After we sit down and eat some snacks and take a break, we carry on for a few more hours. Carson catalogues information in his notebook, and I take some photos of the horses for graphic ideas.

By about four thirty, we’re both tired and ready to collapse into the car seats.

“Will you come somewhere with me?” He turns his head, his eyes tired.

It could be nothing, or it could be what I’m thinking. Either way, I want to go. He’s accused me of losing my wild streak, of not being spontaneous anymore. I may have grown up, but I still want to be that girl with the wind in her hair.

“Anywhere.”