“Eyes up, spine straight, legs relaxed,” Raylene called out to her class. “You’ve got it, Harper. Wrap your legs around your horse’s barrel, Josie. There you go.”
She stood in the middle of the ring, watching. “Looking good, cowboys and cowgirls.”
Three days a week she taught riding classes at the Sierra Heights stable, where she worked full-time running the barn. As part of the deal, Griffin said she could use the stable to house two new broodmares she’d purchased, who’d once been champion cutters. She planned to build her operation little by little by breeding good stock.
“Harper’s getting good.” Gabe stood at the fence, watching.
“She is, isn’t she?” The girl was a natural, but Raylene liked to take part of the credit.
“You decide to take that coaching spot at the high school?”
Nugget High had a phenomenal rodeo team. The head coach had asked Raylene to work with the barrel racers. The extra money would go to her horse farm kitty. “Yep. I’ll have to juggle, but I can make it work.”
“You have time to juggle lunch?”
“For you, I can cram it in.” She beamed at him. Even after five months of living together, he still made her stomach do the jitterbug every time he was near.
“You want to look at that house I told you about?”
“Nope. The rent’s too expensive.” His small, duplex apartment was no Rosser Rock and River Ranch, or a Santa Monica beach house, but it served them just fine. “I want to save so we can build our own dream house.”
“You sure? There’s almost enough closet space in this place for all your jeans.” He grinned.
“Positive.” She walked over to the fence and pecked him on the lips. “But thank you anyway.” Gabe wasn’t particular about where he lived; he’d found the rental to please her. “I’m doing really great with Gia’s budget. If I stick to it, I can start building a stable on my property next year. After that, a house.”
“We may be able to speed that up if L&G continues to bring in the kind of contracts we’ve been getting.”
Together, they were making a decent living, especially with their costs being so low. A lot of their food came from Annie’s farm. It wasn’t the life of riches she’d had growing up or being married to Butch, but it was a life so good she had to pinch herself every day to make sure it was real and not a fantasy. Who needed money when they had Gabe Moretti?
Raylene checked her watch.
“Okay, kids, time to bring it in. You know the drill.”
She waited for them to dismount in the barn, then made sure they groomed their horses before turning them out to pasture. Gabe made a few phone calls while he waited for her to finish with the group.
Parents had started to pull up, and within twenty minutes the stable cleared out.
“I finally get you to myself.” Gabe helped put away the rest of the tack. In the last few months, he’d learned a lot about horses. Raylene was in the process of hunting for a good gelding for him, one he could grow into as his riding improved. Then again, Gabe was a quick study—and fearless. She’d have to find him a fairly spirited horse.
“Tonight I have to participate in a conference call for Lucy’s House.” Gia had taken the women’s shelter under the wing of the Iris Foundation and Raylene had been appointed to the board. “After that, I’m all yours, though.” She waggled her brows.
“Good.” He winked. “Because I’ve got plans for us. You mind if we take a detour before lunch?”
“Okay, I don’t have to be back until the evening feeding, so we’re good. No work today?”
“Nothing that can’t wait.” He steered her to his SUV and she scooted in the passenger seat.
“Where we going?”
“You’ll see.”
But it only took her a few minutes to realize they were heading to Rancho Raylene—that’s what they’d taken to calling her property. Over winter they’d filled in the big trench that Rufus and his pals had dug, and today the property was blanketed with wild poppies for as far as the eye could see.
The sight made her suck in a breath. “It just gets prettier and prettier, doesn’t it?”
“Yep, and so do you.” He hauled her out of his truck and they walked to the edge of the river.
“This is the detour?” It was a good one. She never tired of looking at this land and planning how she would spend the rest of her days here.
“Sort of. Follow me.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to the grove of trees where they’d first started digging for Levi’s Gold. A picnic table had been set up with a spread of fine china.
“Whoa, fancy lunch.” She hadn’t been expecting this, but Gabe was always full of good surprises, one of the many things she loved about him.
He waved his hand over the bench for her to take a seat, then dropped to one knee.
She gasped. “You’re not…oh my gosh, you are.”
His lips quirked. “Damned right I am.” He took her hand. “Will you marry me, Raylene Rosser, and grow old with me right here on this land?”
“Yes, yes, absolutely yes! I love you so much, Gabe.” And even though he’d said he never wanted to be responsible for another person’s happiness, he’d done that for her. These days, she was bursting with joy because of him.
“I love you right back, Ray.” He leaned in and kissed her long and hard.
When they finally came up for air, he tugged a velvet box from his pocket, flipped open the lid, and a diamond winked up at her. “The band’s made from one of Levi’s nuggets. Read the inscription.”
She studied the inside of the band where it said, “U were right.”
“Of course I was right.” She laughed and launched herself at him. “Sometimes it’s good to tempt fate. Look what I got.”
“An awesome ring?” A smile stretched across his face.
“Nope, I got you!”