Chapter Thirty

Travis

Harper seemed to be having a good time, and there was no denying that this was the best part of my trip so far. I’d had my reservations, but I was now so glad that Mike and Allison had forced me to do this with her. It was great to get away from the rest of the group and good to relax. It was obviously good for a lot of other things too. Harper had no idea that I had never had sex outside either. I didn’t want to tell her though. I wanted her to think of me as someone more experienced than her. It had been an amazing afternoon, just riding, talking, and having sex under the cool shade of a tree. We’d been riding for quite some time now but it was getting dark, and I decided it was time to take another break. I was already impressed that she had not complained once. She seemed to take everything in her stride.

“Okay, I think we need to stop,” I said. I pointed out a place in the distance. “See that spot over there? That’s where we’re going to camp. I’ll race you.” I galloped off as heard Harper laughing as she tried to catch me.

We climbed off the horses, and I pulled out the tent that I had brought with. It wasn’t the biggest tent in the world, but there was only so much that I could carry on horseback. I still had to make space for the food and the drinks, but that was thankfully getting less the longer we were out. I saw Harper standing nervously by Thunder, and I wondered what was on her mind.

“You okay?”

She nodded. “Don’t laugh. I’ve… uh… I’ve never put up a tent before.”

I laughed and then put a hand over my mouth. “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. Ah, that’s okay. It’s easy. Anyway, this is the simplest tent in the world. I hope you don’t mind but I only brought the one with. I figured it would be better to lessen the load for you to carry.”

She grinned. “You mean I have to share a tent with you?”

“It’s the price you have to pay.”

“I’ll pay it! Of course I don’t mind.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Otherwise, I would’ve had to sleep outside.”

“You might still have to,” she said. “We’ll see how the night progresses.”

I chuckled. “Oh yeah? Well, how about I put up the tent and you just watch? You see, I’m earning my stay.”

She shook her head. “I’m just kidding. You’re staying with me for sure. And as far as putting up the tent goes, I want to learn.”

I had to hand it to her; she wasn’t one to shy away from a problem. I wished I could be more like her. She seemed to take everything on as a challenge that she was determined to beat. We spent some time setting up the tent, and I chuckled at how delighted she was once it was up. She seemed very pleased with her new outdoor skills and no longer spoke about dust or her broken nails. When I told her that we were going to take a shower under the stream the next day, she actually whooped with delight. It was a far cry from the girl with the snarky bad attitude I had first seen come off the shuttle bus. One we were all set up, I put a blanket down and set up a few snacks for us. Again, it was simple food, but she seemed to take absolute pleasure in all of it.

“I sort of feel bad that Jackson isn’t here to experience this,” she said with a sigh.

“Are you sure? He might have wanted to sleep in that tent with you.”

“Well, he’s a big guy. So if it’s cold, he might’ve offered me a bit of warmth.”

I laughed. “You cut me deep, Harper. You cut me deep.”

We lay there looking up at the stars and talking about life. Every now and again I wondered if I should tell Harper the truth about what I did for a living, but every time I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I wasn’t sure why. Harper believed that I lived out here and that this way my everyday life. I was surprised at how quickly she had jumped to conclusions, but I supposed I couldn’t blame her. I could’ve come clean so many times. The longer I left it, the more I wasn’t sure how to tell her, and the more I didn’t want to. Part of me was still sure that she was only with me because of this role I had taken on. Maybe she wouldn’t like the other me, the one that was so much more like her than she realized. It made me think that I was being a bit like Jackson: simply playing the role of a cowboy. I seemed to be doing it so well that I no longer wanted to let it go. So every time the topic turned to me, I would ever so gently turn it around to her. It was so much easier when we were talking about her. Thankfully I had a lot of questions. I wanted to know everything there was to know about this beautiful and very contradictory woman.

“So, tell me about your life back home. How did you get into PR? Was that always the dream?”

“It was always fashion. Always. I used to dress up in the craziest outfits when I was younger and I would tell my parents that I was going to become a famous fashion designer. I was so sure of it too. But life doesn’t always turn out the way you plan. A friend of mine asked if I could help her with some PR job that she was doing. She was feeling a little overwhelmed and needed someone to lessen the load. I had just finished school, and I wanted to earn a little bit of money, so I helped her out and found out that I was pretty good at the job. More than good. I had a knack for it that I would never have known about if it wasn’t for that opportunity. Her boss hired me instantly, and I never looked back. I’m still at that same company. I love it there and don’t ever see myself leaving. At least not for a while.”

“And you don’t wish you were in fashion still?”

“Not at all. It seems crazy now to think it’s all I wanted to do, but I really am happy with the way things turned out. I can still be involved with fashion but I do it for me now and not for work. In a way that’s so much better. My job is a lot of fun. I get to meet so many interesting people and watch their companies grow from strength to strength. I love being sociable and I have always been fascinated by the connections that people have with one another. Sometimes I feel like my job is all about finding that connection. Connecting with people on a real level rather than a superficial one is what makes one company stand out from the rest. Because, trust me, there are a lot of fake people out there. It’s always a pleasure to find those that are real. So, what about you? Have you ever wanted to leave the ranch?”

I felt a little sick at the question. She’d just told me how she hated fake people and here I was being fake with her. But I held back the truth regardless. I was sure I could skirt around the question. Answer it without really giving all that much away.

“For sure,” I said. “Like I said, I believe that everyone should experience all facets of life, not just the one that was given to them to them at the start. Of course, not everyone has that luxury. But if you do, I think it’s important to take it.”

“I agree with that. How about Mike? Have the two of you always gotten along so well?”

I laughed. “You think we get along well?”

“Yeah. You seem to have a great relationship. Am I wrong?”

“Well, I guess not. I mean, we don’t always see eye to eye, and we’ve had a lot of problems in the past. But I’m glad to hear you say that. Maybe we’re finally growing up. I mean, he’s the only family I have left. I think I need to appreciate him a bit more, and vice versa. It’s hard to admit to that sometimes. We’re both so stubborn. How about you? Any brothers or sisters?” I tried once again to ease the conversation back to her. I always felt a lot more comfortable when she was talking about her own life.

She shook her head. “No. I’m an only child. I used to wish that I had a brother or a sister though. I used to look at all my friends and feel jealous that they had someone to share their life with. But I’m not sure anymore. I mean, sometimes it’s still something I wish I had, while other times I’m grateful that I don’t have one. I’ve had to figure things out on my own, and that’s not always a bad thing. I guess there’s always two ways of looking at things and it’s not like it’s something I could exactly change about my life.”

“Yeah, well, if it makes you feel any better, sometimes I wish I didn’t have a brother and other times I’m so happy that I do. You just deal with the cards that life throws at you.”

She smiled. “Sort of like being out here. This is amazing, Travis. I’m so glad we did this now.”

“You mean you’re glad you forced me into it,” I teased.

“Oh please, you wanted to come.”

“I did,” I admitted. “And you’re right. This is nice. There’s something about being outside and watching the stars. I’m not even sure if we’ll sleep in the tent at this rate.”

She sighed happily. “I’m actually all right with that.”

She moved closer to me, and I kissed her. This time the kiss was not so much passionate as it was loving. With the cool air embracing us, and the stars above us, I realized that this experience with Harper had turned into something more. I tried to push the thoughts away, but I knew without a doubt that I was starting to fall for her. And I was falling for her hard.