Chapter Eighteen

Harper

The day of riding was by far my best. I’d had one of the most amazing days, and I was starting to enjoy the horses more and more every day. I was glad that they had given me Thunder to ride. I already felt like I was going to miss him when I left. I didn’t know that you could have a connection with a horse so quickly, but when I looked at him, I felt like he belonged to me. It was a very strange feeling. I wondered if anyone else had that with their horses. It was hard to tell. I knew Jackson loved his horse, but he was so overly enthusiastic about everything that it was difficult to know when he was being serious or not. I still hadn’t figured the guy out. I thought he’d calm down after the first day or two, but he was just as boisterous as he had been the first time I met him. I was starting to wonder if he wasn’t perhaps a little bit crazy, but I kept the thoughts to myself.

After the ride, I went to say thank you to Barry for helping Jillian out. It had been so nice of him to stay behind to keep her calm, and it had definitely worked. I wasn’t sure if she enjoyed the ride, but she had definitely panicked a little less. Also, she didn’t fall, which had been my greatest worry. With Barry there, it also gave me a chance to talk to Travis. Had I imagined it or had the two of us locked eyes for a little longer than normal? I had felt a warm blush over my face, and I wasn’t sure if he had noticed. I knew I was starting to like the guy, but I still didn’t think I would act on it. I didn’t want a holiday romance with a guy who knew nothing about city living. We were too different, and I didn’t want to get hurt in the process.

Later, after a well-deserved shower, we all met at the communal lounge area for afternoon snacks. I was so hungry and pleased by the beautiful spread put out in front of us. The food was definitely something I was not going to forget easily about this place. I also liked that everything felt so well deserved. We spent so much time of our day outdoors, even if it was just going for a walk, that you never felt guilty whenever you ate. It was always so rewarding. I found Allison sitting on the sides, so I went to talk to her.

“Allison, thank you so much for all of this. You must’ve been cooking all day. This is quite the spread you put out for us.”

“Well, you were out riding all day, and I know how hungry those rides can make you. So it’s my pleasure.”

I smiled. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this hungry in my whole life. I really do appreciate this. You are by far the best cook I’ve ever met. I don’t know how you get food to taste so good when you’re cooking for this many people. It’s amazing. If I had to do something like this I would probably mess it all out. That’s why I always spend more time going out to eat. I just don’t know how to get it this way.”

She beamed. “You’re great for my ego. Thanks, Harper. Thankfully I really enjoy it.”

“Have you ever considered becoming a chef or maybe starting up your own restaurant?”

She smiled. “Oh yeah, all the time, but I have a feeling it would ruin it. I like that I now just get to cook for Mike and for whenever we have guests over. And I love it when we get a nice group like you all. I think if I had to do this every day it wouldn’t be the same. But I’m really glad to hear that you like the food. That is always good to hear. Are you having a good time so far?”

“Surprisingly, yes.” There was no point denying that I didn’t think I was going to enjoy myself. I think everyone already knew from the way I was acting on that first day. I hadn’t exactly done all that much to cover my disdain.

She laughed. “I take it you didn’t really want to come along to this thing.”

I looked around for Jillian, but she was busy talking to Barry and his wife. I chuckled. “Not really, but I’m glad that I did. It’s gorgeous out here. It’s been an interesting experience in all the best ways. I know I was a bit rude when I first got here, but you’ve all proven me so wrong. In fact, I think I needed to get away more than I thought I did. I have discovered more about myself than I thought possible.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. It’s amazing how much you can learn about yourself when you put yourself in a different situation. We see it all the time with people. It’s always such a joy to watch. It’s not for everyone, mind you, but every now and again we’ll get that one person that takes right to it—and it's usually someone you'd never guess to be the type.”

“Well, that would definitely be me. I’m glad I got a chance to talk to you too. I’ve been meaning to thank you.”

“Actually I was hoping to take you aside today. I had a question for you.”

My heart rate immediately quickened. Why did she want to talk to me? Did she want to ask me about Travis? Was my flirting that obvious? Why did it even matter? “Oh, uh, sure, go ahead,” I said casually.

“Well, uh… I was wondering if you could come to town with me to look for some outfits? I wanted to get something new, but I haven’t gotten new clothes in ages. You have a great sense of style. I know you have some free hours in the morning so I thought we could go shopping. But don’t feel pressured into doing it. Only if you want to. I don’t want to take away from your time here, so please say no if you don’t want to and I promise I won’t feel offended.”

“Oh, Allison. I’d be delighted to. I definitely want to help you out. I’m glad you asked me. That’s just up my alley.”

She grinned. “I thought it would be. But, the shops here are not going to be what you expect. We have some nice places, but they’re probably not what you are used to back in NYC. So I just want to warn you before we go. You might have a harder time finding something than you think.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” I said with confidence. “I will find you something. If there’s one thing I know that I’m good at, it’s this. I’m good at finding things for myself, but I’m even better at finding it for other people. I’ll definitely get you something.”

She beamed. “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I’ll come around at about eight to pick you up. We can go get some coffee, do some shopping and be back in time for the rest of your day.”

I smiled. “Now we’re talking!”

 

The following morning Allison picked me up at eight as promised. I invited Jillian to come with, but she wanted to sleep in.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with?” I asked her. I felt bad going out without her and wanted to cheer her up. “Shopping could be just the thing you need. Just like we do back home.”

“I’m feeling so tired. You go without me.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

I didn’t argue. I didn’t want to drag her into doing anything she didn’t want to do. Jillian hadn’t been herself since Thomas had broken up with her and I didn’t want to force her into anything. We’d been friends for a long time and we’d both been through a lot of heartache together, but this was the first time I’d really seen her in love with someone. I had a feeling this was not going to go away quickly. I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and let her get some rest.

Allison was excited when she picked me up. She drove this big truck, and I was amazed at how comfortable she looked in it. I couldn’t imagine ever driving anything like that. At home, I had a small sports car that fit two people up front and two people at a squeeze at the back. We first went to get a cup of coffee at the cutest little café I’d ever been to that served what was possibly the best coffee I’d ever tasted. It was a very chic café that was as warm and inviting as it was trendy. It did not look like the sort of café that I was expecting us to go to. I was expecting a diner style café, with piping hot filter coffee that needed plenty milk and sugar to make it taste good. This coffee was so good it barely needed anything added to it. It put me in high spirits for the day.

“This is so nice,” I said. “This coffee is amazing.”

She grinned. “I bet you didn’t think we’d have such good cafes all the way out here, did you?”

“Uh, no, I didn’t, but I’m always happy to be proven wrong. Especially if that means getting a really good cup of coffee.”

“I know. This place is great. I think it’s a good sign of what’s to come. We’re a little bit out of touch with things here, but every now and again we get a taste of what city life is like. It wouldn’t be right if this area was filled with places like this, but having a few cafes and shops that are different from the norm is pretty nice. Sometimes the locals don’t take too kindly when things change, but the coffee here is so good that nobody can complain.”

After that, she took me to a few different shops and told me to choose one that I thought would be right for her. She was right about the shops being different to what I was used to, but I didn’t mind. I was confident that I could go inside any shop and come out with something stylish. I often wished that I had gone into fashion but in a way, it was nice that I only had to worry about my own fashion on a daily basis. I wasn’t sure if it would be the same doing it for someone else on a daily basis. Thankfully, it was easy with Allison because she was such a similar size to me. I knew exactly what shape and style would suit her. I helped her pick out a beautiful dress and a top that brought out the color in her eyes, and she was delighted.

“I would never have chosen this dress,” she said as she walked up to the counter to pay. “I would’ve walked right past it. It looked so flashy on the hanger and not at all suited to me, but I love it so much.”

I smiled. “Always try things on. Sometimes that is the only way to find out what suits you and what doesn’t. Eventually, you’ll know your style. What I do is I always take what I know what will look good to the changing room but then I add on a few outfits that I’m unsure of. I’m often surprised to find that those are the outfits that end up looking good on me. And trust me, Allison, that dress looks incredible on you.”

She grinned. “Thank you. I love it so much.”

She couldn’t stop talking about it the whole way home. All she wanted to do was put it on. Where she was going to wear such a nice dress, I had no idea, but she told me that she was planning a date night with Mike once the group was gone and she wanted to look nice. I thought it was incredibly sweet that the two of them still made such an effort with one another. I couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of jealousy too. They were lucky to have found each other. I wondered if I would ever find someone that I felt that way about.

“I can’t believe how quick that was. I thought we were still going to be gone another hour. I swear if I had gone in there without you I would still be looking for something. I’m so hopeless. I have gone into that shop so many times and always come out empty handed. It’s put such a fear in me that I end up never buying new things. I have so many clothes at home, but they all pretty much look the same. I get nervous when I’m looking for something new.”

I smiled. “Well, I spend a great deal of my time shopping. Perhaps it’s not the greatest achievement in the world, but I’m glad I could be of help to you today. The funny thing is that while you were looking for these fancy outfits to wear I was wondering why I hadn’t bought some more sensible clothes to wear while I was here. You have really nice clothes.”

“You look great though, Harper. You always look amazing.”

“Thank you. But a lot of the clothes don’t feel right for here, especially not during the day. I feel like I stick out so much here, and not in a good way. I was thinking of buying some today, but I’m not sure if I’ll end up wearing them when I’m back home.”

“Well, I’m glad you said something. Now I can repay you for helping me today.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have some time to kill. I’m going to let you borrow some of my clothes. We’re so similar in size, and I have so many clothes like this at home. I mean, if you don’t mind wearing my clothes of course. No offense if you’d rather go buy something new.”

“Allison, I’d love to try on your clothes. Thank you. That would be amazing. Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.”

Allison took me to her house and straight to her bedroom. She pulled out a few different outfits and told me to scour through them until I found something that I liked. I found a few clothes that I really liked. I found some different appropriate jeans-centric cowgirl outfits that fit the feel of the ranch a lot more than my designer jeans and t-shirts ever did.

“Try them on. See if they fit,” Allison urged.

And so began the most entertaining fashion show I had ever been a part of. I never thought I’d ever be in the middle of Texas, modeling some cowgirl girl’s clothes in front of a rancher’s wife. I exaggerated my walk and pretended like I was walking down a catwalk, and Allison laughed the entire way.

“You look incredible!” she said.

“Really?”

“Seriously. Take a look.” She pulled out a full-length mirror and held it in front of me. I was taken aback by the woman looking back at me. This was not the kind of outfit I was used to wearing. But I liked it.

“Hey, not bad,” I said. “And definitely a lot more comfortable.”

“You look gorgeous. Not everyone can pull off clothes like that, but you make it look amazing. You know… this outfit might be useful in catching someone’s eye,” she said and winked at me.

I blushed and turned my attention away from her and back at the mirror. Was she referring to Travis? Did she know that I was attracted to him? I could feel the heat coloring my face, so I quickly rushed off to put my old clothes back on. I threw everything into a bag and headed back to the car with her.

“I can walk,” I said.

She shook her head. “No way. You have a big bag of clothes. I’ll drop you off, and you can change into them when you get back to your room. Thanks again for all your help today. It was a lot of fun too.”

I smiled. “And thanks to you. It’s pretty cool that I got to spend a morning shopping. It was like getting a little taste of home.”

When I got out the car and made my way back to my room, I couldn’t stop thinking about what she said. Was Travis going to like me in this outfit? Or did he only like me in my fancy city wear?