On the Outskirts

Ten

~Sadie~

It was like slow motion. One second I was watching Hallie laughing so hard she was croaking, Ryder right beside her doing the same. It's like someone had plucked my teenage dreams right out of the 2010s and started playing the live action for me. It actually made my heart ache. I want more than anything for Hallie to know this kind of happiness forever. To watch her laughing like that over whatever it is and watching Ryder laughing with her just makes it that bit sweeter. 

I've spent most of the week trying to avoid him. Not wanting to give him a reason to be around me and it'd been easier than I'd been expecting an part of me was starting to think he'd had the same idea and was also avoiding me. Either way, seeing him laughing with her like that gave me some kind of break from the hurt. It just stopped. Ceased to exist. Right up until I had to tighten my reigns on River to hold her still when that bag flew past. By the time my eyes had bolted back to the high pitched scream coming from my daughter, Ryder had her in his arm putting her in the tree behind him right as Storm rose up on his back legs before bolting. Ryder said something to Hallie and took off after the horse. 

I screamed for my dad, moving River quickly over to Hallie who was up the tree, looking a little pale. I grab the rope I might be able to make a make shift lasso from, looping it through my arm whilst checking on Hallie. 

"Are you okay?" She nods. "Don't move until Pops comes okay. I need to go make sure Ryder doesn't get hurt. You're okay there." Hallie nods quickly again and I spur River on, quickly closing the distance between us and where Ryder was running at full speed. "Oi!" I slow down a little ahead of him, holding a hand out to help him onto the back of my saddle, shifting forward to make just enough room for us both, quickly kicking River off again. 

Ryder has to wrap his arm around me to keep himself sat in what would otherwise be a dangerous place for him to be sat. There's so much adrenaline flooding my veins right now that I can't even thinks straight but Ryder smells exactly like he used to. It's deeper, he's stronger and if I wasn't eyeing a horse that was about to jump into the cow pen and kick our profit in the head, I might just let it drive me dizzy. 

"Think you can grab him before he hits the pen?" Ryder pulls at the rope over my shoulder and lets go of me to do his thing. I've had to do this before. It happens a few times a year. Something spooks one of the horses and they bolt. They always head straight, looking for the first get away they can. 9 times out of ten they calm down half way down the straight but Storm is a piece of work when he's pent up like this. Usually the most passive horse on the farm. So chill I taught Hallie to ride on him because I knew he wouldn't give a damn if she tugged to hard or pushed her feet in too hard. 

I kick my feet out the stirrups, letting Ryder push his feet down into them for some added height and stability, keeping my head out the way as he tosses it, grabbing Storm a few feet away from causing chaos. It still takes him a few seconds to calm down enough for us to reel him in and it's only then that we both breathe a sigh of relief. 

He settles back down into the saddle, grabbing my reins and tugging me back against him. 

"So I head out on a ride and come back to see you trying to kill my daughter?" Ryder chuckled against my ear, vibrations rippling against my skin. 

"Did you see her laughing before though?" 

"You're not getting off the hook that easy." 

"Oh come on-" Ryder lifts his hips until his ass is firmly planted in my saddle and I'm sat on him instead. "It wasn't my fault a bag flew across the yard. You know how Storm can get and I got her off the second I knew something was wrong."