I Heart Geeks (27 page)

“I’m sure you will Luke…small town and all that,” I replied, then immediately wanted to smack myself again when he laughed on his way out the door.

After he left, I went back to shelving books. I replayed the whole conversation in my head. Relieved, I’d actually managed an entire conversation with him; and, apart from the beginning, I actually sounded normal.

Saturday morning I woke up early to bright sunshine and a cloudless sky. It was the perfect day to go riding. I’d been working as much as possible at the library, which didn’t always leave time to ride as much as I’d like.

I showered, secured my unruly mess of brown curls into a side braid, threw on jeans and a T-shirt, and pulled on my boots. I could smell coffee and Grandma’s waffles coming from the kitchen as I headed downstairs. It was comforting to know some things never changed. It’s probably why I was still content living at home in my twenties. Admittedly, the lack of social life made it easier too.

“Good morning Ains,” my grandma greeted me as I walked into the kitchen. “Waffles are done, eggs are coming, and fresh coffee is on the table.”

“Thanks Gram!” I said, kissing her soft cheek as I grabbed a plate and headed to the table. Grandpa and Dad were already digging into their breakfasts as I sat down.

“Morning baby girl,” Dad said, smiling at me. “Taking Buckbeak for some exercise?”

I nodded, setting my plate down carefully. “Yeah, I’ve wanted to take him along the creek trails. Figured today was as good a day as any.” I dropped a quick kiss on his cheek and slid into the worn wooden seat next to him. Buckbeak, my horse, was named after the hippogriff from
Harry Potter
. When I’d found Buckbeak, he had been badly treated and left to starve. Even as skittish as he was, he was still a sweet natured and loyal horse. I’d also had a minor obsession with all things
Potter
related.

“While you’re over there, mind checkin’ the fence line?” Grandpa asked, taking a sip of his coffee. He winked a twinkling blue eye at me, and I could tell he was desperately trying to hide a smile. He was up to something, but I couldn’t figure out what it could possibly be.

“Sure Gramps,” I answered, chalking it up to my imagination. It was an innocent enough request.

“I’ll send a lunch with you in case you decide to stay out,” Gram offered quickly—maybe a little too quickly. Either I was being overly paranoid this morning or my family truly was up to something.

“Ok, thanks.” I glanced at each innocent face, searching for clues. Then my stomach rumbled and I decided nothing mattered but Grandma’s delicious waffles.

After clearing the table and helping Gram with the dishes, I grabbed the lunch she packed for me and headed to the stable to get Buckbeak. My dad already had Buckbeak saddled and munching a thick carrot.

“Figured you’d be helping Gram, so I decided to get him ready to go for you.” My dad handed me the reins. “Have a good ride today, Ains. Make sure to keep your phone or the two-way radio on in case you need something.”

“Thanks Daddy!” I hugged him gratefully; he’d just saved me a good ten minutes. He hugged me back warmly, smelling like fresh-cut hay. I let go and pulled myself up into the saddle. “I’ve got my phone in my pocket, so call me if anything comes up
here
; I’ll be more than fine out there. See you at dinner.”

He stood in the stable door and waved as I guided Buckbeak. Once past the gate, we headed toward the tree line that ran from the house, all the way to the trail that led down to the creek. It felt good to be riding and, for a while, I was content just to take it all in. Buckbeak started to get antsy to run once we hit the open pasture, so I gave him a little rein and he eased into a canter. Deciding to get Gramps’s request out of the way first, I guided him south towards the fence line.

It was about a twenty minute ride to the fence. When I got there, I hopped off Buckbeak and walked closer to the line to check for damage while my horse grazed on the lush pasture grass. There were no obvious signs of wear or posts in need of repair. I kept walking a few more minutes just to make sure.

Just as I was getting ready to get back up on Buckbeak and continue towards the creek, I heard another rider approaching from the other side of the property line. When I glanced up to see who it was, it hit me which part of the property I was on. The fence line Gramps wanted me to check out was the part that bordered the Morgan’s ranch. Now I understood the mischief I’d seen in his expression. I made a mental note to have a talk with him when I got home. I may be twenty-three and living at home in a ridiculously small town, but I certainly didn’t need Gramps trying to play matchmaker.

And with Luke Morgan of all people! As if he’d ever see me as anything other than his sister’s shy bookworm friend.

I quickly pulled myself up into the saddle and gave myself a pep talk for the impending conversation with Luke.

“Hey Ainsley!” Luke called, flashing his megawatt smile and pulling his horse up to the fence across from me.

“Hi Luke.” I waved at him. “What are you doing all the way out here?”

“My mom said one of the ranch hands noticed this fence was starting to sag a bit, and she asked that I ride out to check it. Looks like you’re doing the same thing.”

“Yeah,” I said wryly. “Gramps asked me to check on it since I’d be out this way today.” I was really going to have words with my gramps, now that he’d apparently gotten Luke’s mom in on the whole fiasco.

“I didn’t notice any obvious gaps or problems; you see anything?”

“Nope. It looks like a fence is supposed to look to me,” I answered. “Sorry you had to make the trip out here.”

Luke winked with a lopsided grin. “I definitely wouldn’t say it was a wasted trip, Ains.” His familiar use of my name set loose a swarm of butterflies in my stomach.

“Well, I guess I should get going. Buckbeak is chomping at the bit to get some running in today,” I said, trying to make excuses to get out of there and escape further embarrassment.

Luke laughed. “Buckbeak, huh? Bit of a
Harry Potter
fan are you?”

I blushed furiously. So much for no further embarrassment.

“Yes, but in my defense I was only seventeen when I named him,” I mumbled sheepishly. “But most people don’t get the
Harry Potter
reference, so I guess the joke’s on you.”

Luke put his hands up in a guilty gesture. “I’ll own up to having read the entire series and watching all of the movies…multiple times,” he admitted. “Where are you headed off to now?”

“I was going to go to the creek. I wanted to let Buckbeak run on the trails down there, and it’s beautiful this early in the fall. Figured I’d stop and eat lunch by the water.” I was rambling now. Like he needed to know my itinerary.

“Sounds relaxing,” he said. “Mind some company?”

The inner me started freaking out at this, but I forced my outward self to remain calm. If someone had told me this morning that Luke would ask to
willingly
spend time with me, I’d have laughed and told them that they were majorly delusional. The closest I’d ever come to hanging out with Luke alone was checking his mother’s book out at the library. Even when I’d hung out at the Morgan ranch with Riley in high school, Luke had always steered clear.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax.

“I don’t mind at all,” I answered, suppressing a wild grin. “There is a gate in the fence, a little ways back if you want to come through.”

“You start towards the creek, I’ll catch up.” He turned his horse back the way he’d come from. Confused, but not wanting to just stand there looking like an idiot, I pulled on the reins to get Buckbeak headed back in the direction of the creek. We’d only gone a few feet when I heard pounding hooves rapidly approaching the fence line. I brought Buckbeak to a sharp stop and looked behind me, just in time to see Luke and his horse sailing over the fence. He slowed his horse and trotted up to meet me.

“Show off,” I grumbled. I nudged Buckbeak forward again, trying—and failing—to hide a smile.

“Come on, tell me you weren’t impressed?” Luke laughed behind me. “Besides, this way we’re not backtracking at all.”

The ride to the creek usually took thirty minutes, but it was a beautiful sunny day and neither of us felt the need to hurry. Once there, we dismounted and secured the horses close to the water line under a thick, shady stand of trees.

“Do you want to walk by the creek for a bit?” Luke offered after unsaddling the horses.

“Sure, that sounds good,” I replied, suddenly feeling nervous. We ambled slowly along the water line, heading away from the horses.

“I miss being able to just ride for the sake of riding. Since coming home, I haven’t had a lot of time for myself,” Luke confided after a few yards of silence.

“I figured. Gram said you’d been working a lot.”

“You talk to your Grandma about me?” He turned to me with a goofy grin.

“Uh… well, I mean… she mentioned it,” I stammered. “I didn’t ask or anything.”

I decided to quit while I was ahead and quickly looked down at the grass, cheeks burning.

“Ainsley, I was just teasing you,” Luke said gently, bumping me reassuringly with his shoulder. “I know my mom and your grandma are friends. I like teasing you is all.”

“I’ve never been very good at picking up on that kind of thing,” I said quietly.

Feelings from the past welled up, and for once I was unable to push them back. When I was younger, I’d always taken people at face value; I thought everyone was good and meant everything they said. Kids picked up on that quickly, and made a game of seeing how far they could push things before I finally caught on. The worst had been in high school, just before Luke and Riley arrived. In Texas, football is a way of life. Football players, and subsequently cheerleaders, are royalty in school. That year, a group of cheerleaders thought it would be hilarious to start acting really nice and make me think they wanted to be my friend. Hannah Stevens was the cheer captain and she was dating Jaxon McCreed, quarterback for the football team. Hannah managed to get her hands on one of my notebooks I used for writing poems and personal ramblings. She wrote “I love Jax”, “Ainsley McCreed”, and “Ainsley & Jax forever” all over the covers and pages inside before passing it around the whole school. It was bad enough that people thought I was in love with Jax (which couldn’t have been further from the truth), but they also read my poems and most personal thoughts. The memory haunted me for years. Even now at twenty-three it caused the same intense emotions.

“Hey.” He stopped walking and reached out to tip my chin up, forcing me to look at him. His crystal blue eyes shined with sincerity. “Ains, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

“No, it’s ok…really.” I smiled shyly. The gentle touch brought me back to the present, and caused my heart to race as if I was flying across the pasture on Buckbeak.

“So, anyway… do you work at the library full-time?” Luke dropped his hand and changed the subject.

“No. I only work fifteen to twenty hours a week. Mrs. Evans is still full-time and is nowhere near ready to give that up,” I answered. “I’m actually okay with that though. I love books and all, but this way I have more time to help my dad and grandpa with the horses.”

Luke seemed lost in thought for several minutes. We’d walked a-ways from the horses at this point, and were right where the creek widened, separating Luke’s family’s land from ours. Rocks littered the creek bed, forcing the water to rush over and around them. The current was never very strong, but constantly pushed onwards.

“If you could do anything, without worrying about family obligations or what you think people think you should do, what would
you
want to do?” he asked, coming to a sudden stop and turning to look at me intently.

I frowned in thought. Nobody had ever asked me anything like that before. I think everyone always expected me to get an English degree because I always had my nose in a book. If I were honest with myself, I guess I’d always assumed that’s the route I’d go too. I never really stopped to think about what dreams I had.

“Honestly, I’ve never thought about it before,” I finally answered. “I mean, teachers always told me how good I was at writing and understanding literature, and I do love to read, so I just went along with it.”

“So think about it now,” he pushed; his blue eyes seemingly staring straight into my soul, trying to find the answer he was looking for. “What would make you happiest?”

“It sounds stupid,” I started hesitantly, “But when I’m on Buckbeak or around the other horses on our ranch, I feel like I’m where I belong. I don’t feel awkward, or shy, or inadequate. I feel like I can be me and know who that is. So, if I could do anything I wanted without worrying about what others thought, or letting anyone down, I’d probably open some sort of riding facility. I’d train horses to be therapy animals for children with emotional or social disorders.”

I couldn’t bring myself to look Luke in the eyes. I guess I was wrong. Maybe subconsciously I’d already known what my dream was and it just took the right question to pull it out of me.

“Ains, that is not stupid,” he said. “I think that’s an amazing idea. There are lots of children and adults who’d benefit from something like that.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” I whispered. “I never even knew that’s what I wanted until you asked.”

“I’m glad I did then!” He grinned smugly. “I’m serious Ains; I think you need to look into what it would take to do something like that. I’m sure your dad and grandpa would let you use some of their land to get it up and running.”

“I’ll look into it Luke, but I won’t promise anything. My dad and grandpa have enough on their plates without me adding to it,” I replied. The money I pulled in from the library wasn’t enough to do anything with; and while the ranch was doing decently for itself, there wasn’t enough left over to take on a project so large. I knew my family would support me, and would go out their way to make it happen, but I hated to ask them for help like that.

“What about you? What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about anyone else?”