The Healing Ranch

Chapter 34

Megan woke up early the next morning to an empty bed. She knew Tate hadn't come to bed last night and she assumed he had stayed up talking with his family late. She was glad that he had been able to talk to Adele, and the thought of him being reunited with his niece and nephew warmed her heart and made a small smile cross her face. She had barely talked to Tate since they went to town, but she knew he had needed time with his family, not with her over the last couple days. Showering and dressing quickly, she headed out to the kitchen to find it empty. She was pouring a cup of coffee when the front door opened. She heard Tate's laughter before she saw him and her heart warmed again at the sound of his genuine laughter.

"Good morning Megan!" Megan was surprised to see the whole family coming through the front door. Caroline was beaming at her and Megan couldn't help but smile back even though she felt a little pang at being left out of whatever the family had been doing. Did that mean that Tate finally had realized that he could do a lot better and decided to move on from her?

"Good morning Caroline. And everyone else." She kept her smile in place as she nodded towards Brett and Lissa, the latter just barely nodding back in return. She also turned her smile on Gunner and Tate who had come in the door together. Gunner smiled back and nodded, but Tate's face slowly went serious making Megan's stomach dip. She offered to help Caroline get started on breakfast and watched as everyone except Tate took a seat at the table. He walked up behind her and lightly touched her shoulder, making her turn towards him.

"I think we need to talk after breakfast." He said softly, and she just looked down and nodded. She couldn't stand looking in his eyes when she was so sure that he had come to his senses and decided that she wasn't the girl for him.

"That's probably best." She agreed softly, pleased when her voice betrayed nothing of the way she was feeling. She turned to see Caroline smiling softly at her, and wondered if the woman knew what Tate wanted to talk about. Breakfast was a quick thing and then Tate was pushing her outside towards the barn.

"What do you say we go on a trail ride? There are still some spots of the ranch that I haven't shown you. They aren't accessible by trucks." He leaned down and murmured in her ear. She frowned.

"Tate, I don't have my saddle and either way I don't think I can do it." A small smile crossed his face as she turned to look at him.

"I believe you can do it darlin." Before she could protest, he moved towards the stalls and quickly led out two of the horses. As he saddled them up with quick efficiency, he kept a steady stream of chatter up about the horses and the memories he had associated with them. Megan tried to listen to him, but something felt off to her and her stomach was churning at the thought of going on a trail ride in her state.

"I don't know about this Tate." She whispered as he bent to scoop her out of the wheelchair. He carried her towards a gorgeous gray horse that stood calmly near by.

"Trust me darlin." He whispered and she didn't say another word. If he was so sure that she could do it, she supposed she would just have to prove him wrong. Besides there wasn't anything that could change his mind right now. She was trying to assess what the damage would be when she inevitably fell when he settled her into the saddle. The seat was deep with a high back and pommel and she settled comfortably into the saddle.

"Oh this is nice!" She said, surprise coloring her words. Tate laughed.

"I told you to trust me." She felt relatively safe in the deep seat, but Tate grabbed some flat rope and tied it around her waist and the pommel.

"Are you sure this is safe?" She asked, frowning a bit. The saddle that Tate had rigged up for her back home had a quick release feature. If something ever went wrong and she had to fall free from the horse, she just had to pull a strap.