Heywood Equestrian Stables

Lucy Girl-Sidney POV

SIDNEY POV

A week had gone by since I asked Charlotte to marry me. We were both excited and happy with what the future held. She wanted to turn the next summer's family picnic into a wedding right on the ranch. She'd probably want her horses to be part of the ceremony also. I could definitely see her riding Onyx into the sunset after we were officially married. I didn't care what she wanted. All I knew was she was the only person who had ever made me truly happy. She was the light at the end of a very dark tunnel that I'd been trapped in for a long time. She was the reason for breathing new life into each day. Why I was so stupid to let her go all those years ago was beyond me. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. I was prepared to make the lifelong commitment to her and to us.

My day consisted of clearing a few trees in the pasture to make it safer for the horses to walk around in the woods without getting trapped or hurt. Crowe and Luke came with me to help stack the wood in the truck. I used the chainsaw to precisely slice through the wood. We stood back and watched the trees fall to the ground before I sliced them into smaller pieces.

Around lunchtime, Charlotte came riding up on Ginger. She hopped off the horse and came walking towards us with a large sack. "I brought all of you some lunch."

I grinned proudly as I walked towards her, meeting her halfway. She always put a smile on my face. For years, it took everything in me to pretend to be happy, but now, with Charlotte, I seemed to always be in a good mood. She brought out the best in me. She made me feel whole again.

I grabbed the sack from her all while pulling her close to give her a kiss. Most of the time, I found it hard not to devour her at every moment. She did something to me that I couldn't even explain if I tried. It was as if I couldn't get enough of her. I couldn't be close enough to her. As if I needed her close to even breathe normally. I'd never been that way with anyone, ever. Even after she left and I was forced to go on dates with random girls Tom or Mary would try to set me up with, nothing was ever right. Most of the time those other girls seemed to be more suffocating than anything. Charlotte was the life that had left me and now had been returned.

"Riding Ginger today?" I asked, noticing she wasn't on Onyx.

She made an irritated face. "Calvin seems to think he needs to train constantly. I've barely been able to spend a moment with Onyx all day."

I laughed and shook my head. "You are the boss, right?" I reminded.

She sighed. "I know. But if Onyx is going to race in the spring, he needs all the training he can get until then. I'm trying to be understanding. Thankfully Ginger has been gracious enough to let me ride her."

"I'll be back to the house in a little while and can try to work out some sort of arrangement with Onyx. I know how much he means to you, and you to him. He's probably having his own withdrawals from you. Maybe we can go on a late-night ride later tonight?" I offered.

"I'd like that," she said with a grin. I chuckled and gave her another kiss.

"Want to help me?" I asked. She was always telling me she wanted to know everything there was about the ranch. Clearing trees was just another element of what we did.

"With what?" she asked.

I took her hand and led her across the field where I had been working. I handed the bag of food off to Crowe and picked up the chainsaw. I placed her in front of me and brought the chainsaw to life again. Wrapping my arms around her, I held the chainsaw in front of her and motioned for her to take it. Always incredibly trusting, she placed her hands on the handles while I guided her towards the log in front of us. She held the chainsaw tightly as it sliced through the wood. Something about her doing work always made me hard and craving her body. I had to take a step back just to control my thoughts and get ahold of myself. If we were alone, I wouldn't be so controlled. But since Crowe and Luke were with us, I had to be good.