“I’m sorry, I really don’t mean to. It’s my job, you see. Whenever I’m out on the trail, I tend to turn into a robot and start jabbering away. Half the time, I don’t even know I’m doing it.”

“You’re not boring me, I promise.”

“You’ve been very quiet, though.”

“Only because I’m trying to take it all in,” she said, sealing her answer with a courteous smile. “And I’m trying to get used to the idea that this is all basically your own backyard. Where I’m from, that’s kinda crazy.”

“A little different from what you’re used to, huh?”

“You could say that. About the closest thing we’ve got to something like this would be Forest Park, but it’s not the same if you have to get in a car and drive there, is it?”

“I guess it’s not.” Ryan found himself watching her for a moment as she stared out into the woods. He wasn’t blind. He could see how pretty she was, something he had failed to register last night when her face had been contorted in fear.

“Forest Park, that’s up in Portland, right?”

“Yep.”

“So that’s home?”

She nodded.

They approached a narrow hairpin in the trail; Ryan drew on the reins and eased Bella off to let Amy maneuver her horse through the turn first, which she did confidently. As the trail widened again, he came back up alongside, remarking to himself, not for the first time, how comfortable she seemed in the saddle.

“What keeps you busy up in the big city? Are you in college?”

“Freshman year,” she said, before reminding herself that she had put a temporary hold on her studies. “At least I was,” she added a moment later. “Kind of taking a small break right now.”

“What were you studying?”

“Liberal arts, which in my case really means a little bit of everything.” She needed to pause to search through her memory for the complete list. “My subjects last semester were twentieth-century literature, art history, life science, and environmental studies.”

“And what’s your major?”

“Haven’t chosen one yet. If I’m being honest, I still don’t know what I want to do. Figured I’d take my time, try a few different things, see if anything sticks.”

“Makes sense. There’s no point rushing anything, is there?”

She smiled. “My thoughts exactly. And what about you?” she asked, moving the focus away from her. “Done the whole college thing?”

He shook his head. “Hasn’t ever crossed my mind, to be honest. The ranch, the horses, they’ve always kept me plenty busy.”

Amy freed one hand from the reins and stroked the back of Snowflake’s head, from his crest down to his withers. “How long have you lived here?”

“Seabrook’s been my home forever. Our ranch has been in the family for four generations.”