Carter
“You've got to be fucking kidding me,” Carter said.
After a fifteen minute walk, they were standing outside a paddock surrounded by a wooden split-rail fence. A cluster of horses stood inside it, neighing and stamping their hooves.
“Hey, you wanted a ride,” Billie said, “so here's your ride.”
“I'm a biker, for Christ's sake,” Carter grumbled. “If I'm going to ride something, it had better have a fucking engine in it.”
“Well, unless you're about to bend over and yank a motorcycle out of your ass, this is as good as it gets,” Billie retorted.
Carter noticed that she was starting to relax and crack wise again, and he was surprised to find that he didn't mind it. Part of him actually preferred her when she was joking and having fun, even if she irritated him. It gave her a kind of radiant, self-assured glow he'd rarely seen in women before.
That—plus the curves of her tits and the amazing way her ass swayed back and forth when she swaggered—reminded him of why he'd been so attracted to her in the bar the previous night.
But then, that already seemed like it was weeks ago, given everything that had happened since.
“What's the matter, anyway?” she asked. “Haven't you ever been on a horse before?”
“Sure I have,” Carter answered.
Billie put her hands on her hips and smiled at him. “Okay, let me try this again. Did you ever actually ride a horse, or did you sit on one at a farm when you were a kid and have them lead you around?”
Carter cleared his throat uncomfortably. That was exactly the context in which he'd been on a horse before, and it was also the same day he'd had his ugly encounter with the coyote, so he didn't think about it too often if he could help it.
Billie laughed. “All right, that's not a problem. I'll show you. You won't need to know much. We're just riding a few miles, not jumping fences or doing tricks or anything. Come on.”
She opened the gates of the fence and entered the paddock. Carter followed.
“How did you know about this place?” he asked.
“Almost everyone in Texas knows about Erasmus Tiller's horse farm,” she said. “He's been raising them and showing them at state fairs and 4-H events for over fifty years now. Shit, he's gotta be ninety years old if he's a day. That's how I know he won't see us—I went on a couple dates with his grandson a few years ago, and he once told me that the old buzzard spends half the day napping. So as long as we don't do anything too loud or stupid, we should be fine.”
“They used to hang people for this, you know,” Carter said.
“Huh?” She was already walking among the horses, trying to decide on one.
“Horse thievery,” Carter clarified. “Back in the days of the Old West, stealing a horse was a sure way to end up dangling from a rope.”
“I've seen that in the movies,” Billie said, “but didn't they also usually hang bank robbers and kidnappers too?”
Carter shook his head. “It was different. They took horse-thieving especially seriously since without their horses, people couldn't get around or do their farming, or even go get the doctor if their wives or kids got sick. Having their horses taken could ruin their lives, so horse thieves were considered the scum of the fucking earth.”
“Well, Old Man Tiller has about three dozen other horses, and the property he owns around here is worth tens of millions of dollars,” Billie replied, “so I think he'll survive. He's not going to do a head count of his stock for a few more hours, either, so we should be long gone by then.”
Carter snickered. “And even when he does report them stolen, it's not like the cops will automatically assume it was us. Most fugitives wouldn't use livestock to make their escape. They'll probably think it was just some kids or something.”
“Precisely,” Billie agreed. She sounded very proud of herself. “Here, this looks like a good one for you. He's older and he seems pretty calm.” She pointed to a sway-backed palomino.
“Cool,” Carter said, striding over to it. “Help me get on.”
“Whoa, hang on!” said Billie. “You can't just hop on. You have to introduce yourself to the horse first, so he'll be comfortable letting you ride him.”
Carter let out an exasperated sigh, then leaned over and spoke directly to the palomino. “Hello. It's nice to meet you. I'd shake hands, but you don't have any. Now how about helping me out of a jam by letting me ride you for a bit? Yeah?”
The palomino flicked its ears and turned its face away from him.
“You're gonna have to do better than that. Come on, be gentle with him. Talk to him and pet him a little, so he'll trust you.”
He took a deep breath and leaned in closer, stroking the horse's face. It whinnied quietly and bent its head, letting him caress its nose and ears. They felt like velvet, and Carter found that petting them was strangely relaxing. His nerves had been in overdrive since the bank robbery, and this was the first time he'd been able to soothe them.
“That's right,” he said quietly. “You're a nice horse, aren't you? Sure you are. You're just going to come with us for a little while, but there's no need to be scared. We're gonna take good care of you. Everything's going to be fine.”
Carter turned and saw that Billie was watching him with a small smile on her lips.
“What?” he asked defensively.
“You know, when you aren't doing the whole big bad tough guy act, you're actually kind of a sweetie,” she said.
“For fuck's sake, if you're going to make fun of me...” he snarled, backing away from the horse.
“No, I'm not making fun of you,” she insisted. “I really mean it. Your sensitive side is pretty sexy. Besides, it looks like you're starting to get on his good side. Do you want to try sitting on him now?”
“Sure, I guess,” Carter said dubiously.
“Okay, put your saddlebag up there first, just to test the waters a little,” she said. “Remember to be slow and gentle with it, and try not to make any sudden moves or you'll spook him.”
Carter removed the saddlebag from his shoulder and approached the horse again, carefully placing it on the animal's back. The palomino whickered softly and its tail twitched, but it remained in place.
“Very good,” Billie said encouragingly. “Now I'm going to give you a boost so you can get a leg over him. Ready?”
Billie crouched down and laced her fingers together next to the palomino. Carter put one hand on the horse's back and stepped up onto her hands with one boot, throwing his other leg over the horse. It whinnied and reared up briefly, and for a moment, Carter thought he might fall.
“Don't panic,” Billie said, “and don't pull on his mane. Just try to stay calm and keep your balance. If he knows you're spooked, it'll spook him too.”
“I ain't spooked,” Carter said, wobbling unsteadily and trying to stay on.
Billie laughed. “Prove it, then, big man.”
Carter willed himself to be calm and started to balance himself out. The palomino's movements slowed until it stood still again.
“Not bad for a first-timer,” Billie said. “Okay, now it's my turn.”
She strolled over to a brown and white pinto and lovingly cradled its face in her hands for a few minutes, cooing softly and whispering to it. Then she kept her hand on its neck as she walked around to its side. At first, Carter thought she wouldn't be able to hop up on her own—but she pulled herself onto the horse's back like an expert, and the pinto barely flinched.
Now that she was sitting astride the creature with her shoulders squared and the afternoon sunlight filtered through her auburn hair, Carter couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful and graceful she looked. The first time he'd seen her, he'd wanted to fuck her, no question about it.
But now there was something deeper in his longing for her, a peculiar ache that he wasn't used to feeling. He'd been with plenty of women before, but he'd never found himself as awestruck by one as he did now.
“You're staring,” Billie remarked with a grin.
“I'm just impressed, that's all,” Carter said, trying to sound casual. “You climbed up on that thing like it was nothing. Do you ride a lot?”
“Sure, all the time. There's a horse farm outside of Cactus Hollow, and they let me ride in exchange for helping out around the stables. Sometimes it's a nice change of pace from pouring beers and shots, and anyway, it's nothing compared to that mechanical bull. Speaking of which, are you ready to ride? We've got some serious ground to cover if we're going to make it to the shack before nightfall.”
“Okay,” Carter said. “So how do I do this?”
“Use your heels to gently prod the horse into moving forward,” she instructed. “Don't dig in too hard, just give him a little nudge to let him know what you want. Careful not to go too fast, though. It's hard to stay on top without reins or a saddle.”
Carter braced himself and carefully nudged the horse's sides with the heels of his boots. The palomino grunted and started to trot toward the open gate. Carter felt himself lurch backward, but he managed to stay on.
“Nicely done,” Billie laughed. “Time to hit the dusty trail, cowboy. Let's go!”
Carter tried to hold back a smile, but it came anyway. Damn, but she was ballsy. Her sense of adventure was infectious, and he discovered that he was actually starting to enjoy her company.
He wondered how things might have unfolded between them if they'd met under different circumstances—if he'd just been riding through town instead of on a robbery spree, if he'd taken his chances with the mechanical bull and gone home with her last night after all.
He tried to remind himself that once it was time to cross the border into Mexico, he'd have to cut her loose—she probably had family who'd be worried about her and a life she'd want to get back to.
That was hard to think about, so instead he watched the curves of her body and the jiggle of her tantalizing ass as she rode ahead of him.