River Lane

Chapter 5

                                                                                 Chapter 5

            “It’s alright boy, it’s just a rabbit or something, nothing to get anxious ov...” The words were suddenly rendered mute as Nayvee looked over and watched him pull his self up out of the scrub oak, only a few yards from her and fully aware of her wearing nothing. Garrett knew he looked like the wolf off of the cartoons with his tongue lolling across the ground and his eyes boggling out of his head, but he was so surprised that he couldn’t seem to look away.

            “You can turn around now! “she yelled, her voice a little unstable. Hearing her speak shocked him back into reality and he blushed in embarrassment and turned his head.

            She darted behind the colt quickly, as if using him for additional cover. After glancing back over to make sure he turned away, she hurried around to the other side of the tree where she had laid her clothes. Still keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn’t turn around, she hurriedly dressed. As she walked back around to saddle tequila she spoke to him again.

            “It’s alright, I’m dressed now,” she said. She was still irritated but had calmed down enough that she didn’t look like she wanted to drown him in the nearby waterhole.

            Garrett  walked over to the little bay and was standing with his back to her. After Nayvee spoke to him, he turned around to face her. His face was red, and he just stood there silently for a minute.

            “I didn’t mean to interrupt you, I was just putting some miles on this filly,” he almost stuttered the words out, not sure what he should say.

            “I’m sorry I was doing something for you to interrupt. I’m so used to being completely alone I didn’t think about anyone else coming up here,” the silence for the next few seconds was awkward so she continued to ramble. “I notice you got bucked off once again. I thought you would have learned the first time, she’s not one you can really lose your focus on,” she said with satisfaction. Even with joking he could hear a little bit of criticism in her voice.  

            “Yeah somethin like that. She’s starting to learn my weaknesses,” he said the last part quietly and a little fast, as if he had let something slip that he hadn’t meant to. Nayvee was his newest weakness; One of the few that he had. “It keeps me on my toes and helps me so I work on them. Maybe you should take her for a ride and see if she can’t work on yours”. As he continued to talk, his voice changed into more of a smart aleck tone. She seemed to be able to tell by the tone of his voice that he was teasing, but she sounded half serious when she started talking to him.

            “Oh really? And what are my weaknesses?” she said it in a haughty way, as if daring him to answer.

            “Well skinny dipping alone in the middle of the day seems like a big step towards showing some more self confidence, although usually that involves more than one person”. He said it without really thinking and the look on her face told him that he should have kept his mouth shut.

            “For one I really don’t think it’s your business what I do, and for two even if I do decide to take someone with me, it won’t be you,” she said it with an heir of finality. “And by the way, you look like you’re the one that could use a dip. I think you’ve got a little something on your face.” With that she pulled herself onto the saddle, smacked the horse with the reins and took off down the trail, leaving him kicking himself for talking. Reaching up and feeling his face, he realized that his face was probably still a little filthy. He had stopped at a creek to wash off the worst of the blood and try to reset his nose (he’d had it broken multiple times), but he had a feeling that there was still a lot of mess left. Turning back to the filly he’d tied to the tree, he hopped up and followed Nayvee back towards the house.