Once Sonny got all the extra energy out of his system, Easton swung up into the saddle and turned his far more laid-back mount toward a trailhead on the far side of the homestead. River squeezed her knees, encouraging Sonny to lengthen his stride and catch up with the pair. She expected the overcorrect as her mount happily broke into a faster gait.

“We’re going this way,” she told Easton as they trotted past, laughing at her gelding’s enthusiasm.

Leaning forward, Easton and Chance lunged ahead as if River and Sonny were standing still.

“Are you going to let them do that to you?” River asked as Sonny’s hindquarters skated to the right, his energy uncontainable.

The second she loosened the reins, her gelding was off like a shot. The pounding of hooves, real grass beneath her…how long had it been since the wind whistled through her ears until all she could hear was her horse’s snorts and her own racing heart? Sonny was a speedster, but Chance wasn’t a slowpoke by any means. By the time they caught up, the gray’s stride had lengthened out.

For several breathless seconds, the pair ran side by side until Easton signaled her to slow up. Rougher ground ahead would have been bad to race over, although River was surprised he’d indulged the run at all. Easton angled his gelding over, riding so close their stirrups bumped.

“You can ride.” He sounded impressed.

River patted Sonny’s neck. “Back home, they put you up on a horse before you can even walk.”

“How’d you end up…you know.”

“Acting?” She shrugged. “Same old story we’ve all heard a thousand times. Rancher’s daughter wants more than the country life and leaves home. Stuffs all her things in an old car, drives to Hollywood, and tries to make it big.”

“Did you?” he asked.

River winked at him. “You’ve never heard of me, so I must not have.”

Easton shot her an amused look.

“It took me a couple of years. I worked as an extra on set during the day, took acting classes and waited tables at night, and kept showing up for auditions. Then I got my break. Ten years, six movies, and one really bad miniseries later, I’ve finally improved in my craft enough to handle the parts I couldn’t handle eight years ago. Only no one wants to give them to an actress turning thirty. So here I am, about to climb Mount Veil to start all over again on the production side.”

His expression was one of disbelief and confusion. “I can’t image aging out of a career that young.”

“Trust me, I never imagined it either.”

They turned a corner, and River’s breath caught. Easton stopped, letting the reins lie loose on Chance’s neck.