Love In The Wild West

“I am so glad that you feel that way,” said Lila. “I have never felt this important, you know? You make me feel like what I think, what I say, really matters. You make me feel as if I am some kind of genius who knows everything sometimes!”

Kurt laughed and said, “Well, so far you have not been wrong. You know, I think we are going to have to get a lot more horses. I am going to go to my supplier and get a dozen more.”

The car screeched to a halt. Lila looked at Kurt and said, “Yeah. I can not wait to ride with you again tomorrow.”

“Me neither,” said Kurt. He held her hand and squeezed it, and Lila exited the car. As she walked to her room, she felt the warmth of the night enveloping her in a comforting embrace.

*****

Lila woke up to the sound of Louise snoring. She looked at her friend and grimaced. Louise had been out late partying last night and she was sleeping like a log. Lila didn’t mind her friend sleeping. She just minded the fact that her friend sounded like a construction side or a bomb blast while she was sleeping.

Lila turned around and then looked at her phone. There was a text message there. It was from Kurt. She opened it and saw that he had texted her to tell her what a lovely time he had had with her the previous night. She smiled. She had been so tired when she got home that she had slept immediately. She was pleased that Kurt had taken the time out to text her, however. She texted him back and then got up and stretched. It was still nine in the morning but she could not sleep anymore. Lila had never really been a big sleeper. She preferred to be up and about as early as possible so that she could get started on the day.

She went into the bathroom and showered. After her shower she came out and dried herself. She was busy getting dressed when there was a knock on the door.

Lila opened the door to see that it was Kurt.

“Hi!” she said, hiding her towel covered form behind the door. “What a nice surprise!”

“Hi,” said Kurt. “I hope I am not interrupting anything. I tried to call but you didn’t answer, so I thought that I might knock in case you were up but not checking your phone.”

“Yeah,” said Lila, “that is completely fine. I’d invite you in but Louise is sleeping.”

“Oh of course,” said Kurt, “of course I understand completely. But I just wanted to ask you… do you want to go riding with me?”

“Oh, are we not going this evening?”

“Oh yes,” said Kurt, “yes we are but that is with a group of people. I was wondering if you would like to go riding with me… right now. Or later. Whenever is fine.”

“Just the two of us?” asked Lila.

“Yes,” said Kurt. “If you do not want to that is completely fine as well, of course, I do not want to put any pressure on you.”

“Oh no!” said Lila. “I really do want to go with you, I would love to! Just give me ten minutes. I will get dressed and meet you downstairs. Alright?”

Kurt’s mouth split into a wide grin as he said, “Yes, that sounds perfect.”

He left and Lila shut the door. She sighed and thought about how lovely it was going to be to go riding with Kurt all alone. It seemed like such a romantic thing to do. What she really loved about this idea was the fact that it was truly romantic. It was not something that was trying to emulate a movie scene or something like that. No, it was the kind of romance that was real, the kind of romance that stemmed from a genuine sense of caring about another person. Kurt was such a person. He did not have it in him to pretend about anything. All he knew how to do was to make people feel the way he felt about them, and Lila truly loved this about him.

She got dressed as quickly as she could, wearing good practical clothes that would help her ride with ease, and then headed downstairs to meet Kurt. She found him talking to the receptionist about something that seemed important, but when he saw her he smiled widely and said, “Hey!”

“Hey, sorry,” said Lila, “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Oh do not worry about it,” said Kurt. “It was just work. I can do it any time. Now, would you like to go riding with me?”

“Yes please,” said Lila. “I would love to go riding with you. Shall we leave now?”

“Yes,” said Kurt. “I had told the stable boys to get the horses prepped in case you said yes, so we can be on our way.”

They exited the annex of the hotel and then the hotel grounds to see the horses right in front of them, ready to be ridden. Lila approached her beautiful mare and cooed, saying “Hello, Jade. Did you miss me?”

Jade nuzzled Lila’s neck and Kurt laughed. “She really seems to love you. I have never seen anyone bond with an animal so quickly. It is truly incredible!”

“I do not really know how I did it,” said Lila. “I just… knew what to do.”

“It’s because you are a natural, Lila,” said Kurt as he mounted his horse. “Now come on. Let’s go riding.”

Lila mounted Jade and the two of them set off for the distant horizon. Lila chased Kurt for a time. He was a very good rider and she was absolutely unable to get close to him as he raced away ahead of her. He seemed to be teasing her, taunting her to come and get him but she was never able to do it. It was all in good fun of course. She had a great time chasing him.

As she rode her beast, she felt something she had never felt before. As the wind swept through her hair and she started to feel herself floating in the breeze that was being created by her galloping mare, Lila felt truly free. She felt as if she was flying. It was something that she had never felt before in her life, and she was amazed at how good it truly felt. She had a feeling that this was why so many people loved riding so much. How could they not love riding when it gave them so much to enjoy?

She laughed as Jade galloped along at full speed and she watched as Kurt swerved and turned ahead of her. Lila followed him, keeping her eyes fixed on his back.

Riding a horse was like nothing she had ever experienced before. She was amazed at how good at it she was. She had never ridden a horse before yesterday, and yet in this moment she felt as though she had been riding them all her life. She felt as if she had been wasting away in the city, away from animals and all that they offered her. Now she was in her true home, now she was where she truly belonged and she was glad that this was the case.