“I told you I got you Ashley. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
It was a funny thing to say since he had a gun pointed at her only a couple minutes before. The ground beneath her was quickly moving and she closed her eyes, leaning back so that she didn’t have to see how fast they were going. Grahm could feel her body tensing and trembling slightly.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded, but kept her eyes closed tight. “Yeah I just really don’t want to fall.”
He chuckled behind her and pulled her closer. “We’re almost there Ashley.”
She took his word for it, not able to open her eyes. Ashley felt safe in his arms, knowing that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her, even though she didn’t really know him all that well. There was something about the way that he held her that made her sure that he wouldn’t do anything to harm her.
“Thank you, but can’t we go a little slower?”
He laughed a bit and then held her closer. The horse slowed down and the new gallop seemed to push him against her harder. Each move made his knot push against her rear and it made the situation that much more intimate. She opened her eyes and saw the commune from where she was dropped off.
The horse stopped and he slid off of it. “Like I promised, back home safe and sound.”
Ashley took his hand as he helped her off the back of it. “This isn’t my home, but thank you Grahm. I will make sure not to go on your property again.”
He wished that he hadn’t been so gruff with her. After riding behind her for ten minutes and the feel of her, Grahm was starting to think that he should have just let her go. “You are welcome if you ever want to come back. I could give you a few lessons on a horse. That is, if you are going to be here for a while.”
Ashley nodded, but she still wasn’t sure about him. Her body had reacted to the closeness, but he still made her nervous. “Can I ask you a question?”
He shook his head and lifted his chin up. She could finally see his face and he was more handsome than she had thought he would be. Grahm was older than her. Maybe early thirties and his dark eyes were brown. His face was chiseled and the way he was looking at her, made her shiver.
“Why are you so against the commune?”
“Because you have a couple of old men that started it and ever since then, nothing but young girls like yourself have shown up. I see it as a handful of men taking advantages of a lot of young girls.”
“They are all eighteen.” Her mind thought about Sebastian and how she had thought about the same thing. “It’s not all about sex and drugs Grahm. I am here to learn about sustainable farming. I know that Sebastian is a pervert by any stretch of the word, but it is not why we are all here.”
“You haven’t been here long Ashley. Just take care of yourself. You are too sweet to be mixed in with all of these people.”
Ashley didn’t disagree, but she didn’t feel that it was as bad as he made it out to be. She wondered why he was so against it, but she didn’t want to push it. “Well thank you for your concern Sir and for the ride. Maybe we will meet again on better terms.”
Grahm got on the back of his horse and tilted his hat towards her. He was hoping that they would meet again as well. Ashley watched him leaving and saw him look back once with his dark eyes. He was definitely not who she thought she was going to meet.
Ashley walked back the short walk to the commune and saw that most of the people were in bed or laid out together in the grass around the fire. It was becoming apparent to Ashley that Grahm may be right, her mother may be right. The commune was starting to look like an orgy more than anything else. Ashley saw the girl from earlier in the day Ana with Sebastian and another girl as she made her way to the cot. She could feel their eyes on her, but she just ignored them because she wanted to get some sleep. It had been a very strange day.
***
Grahm rode home slowly and thought about the newest addition to the commune next door. It had been the bane of his existence for a long time. Ever since Sebastian and the rest of them started to move in, it had been one big party. It disturbed the horses and the fence line near the property didn’t even get eaten on. Sometimes he caught them sneaking around his house and Grahm had gotten to where he would patrol at night when he couldn’t sleep. He hadn’t expected to meet someone like Ashley. Most of the girls he had seen in town were flaky and usually three sheets to the wind. But Ashley seemed different.
He went to bed thinking about the way she had felt against him and then how long it had been since he had been with a woman. It was hard to understand how a man like Sebastian could have so many pretty women, but the idea that he could have Ashley made him pause. He was actually upset about the very idea of it.
When he woke up the next morning he found himself looking towards the fence that separated the properties. He hoped to see Ashley push through the tree and then be there. He had offered her a horse lesson and hoped that she would take him up on it. She never did though. It was over a week of looking out for her, but she never came back. He figured it was because of the gun and he remembered the fear in her eyes when they had first met. He had been so adamant about the hippies that he had maybe gone too far. While a gun was needed out there for coyotes and whatever else was lurking in the night, he shouldn’t have pointed it at her. He knew that now, but he feared he had scared her away for good. He hated to think that, wanting a second chance.