Chapter Text
Liz’s alarm went off at 7am and she slowly rolled out of bed. She felt so much better than she had the previous morning and allowed herself a rueful smile at the state she’d been in fewer than twenty-four hours earlier. Reaching for her phone, she saw that she had a text message.
‘Wear jeans today. And shoes or boots with a small heel. And a warm sweater or jacket. R x’.
Well, now her interest was piqued. What on earth was he planning this time? Heading quickly for the shower, she started to ponder what Red’s suggested footwear could mean.
At 8am sharp, there was a knock at her door and Liz eagerly went to let Red in. As she opened the door, she tried but couldn't help but laugh at his attire. Red frowned back at her, ‘Something funny, Elizabeth?’
‘Er…. Please don’t tell me you’re taking me line dancing?’, Liz managed before starting to giggle again.
Red looked down at his clothing and then back up at her, a mock hurt expression on his face. He too was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt. Both of which looked wonderful on him. But it was the cowboy boots that Liz couldn’t handle. She never thought she’d see the day when ‘Mr GQ’ would be seen in such things.
‘I have no intention whatsoever of taking you line dancing, Lizzy. In fact, the very thought does unmentionable things to my insides. Now, are you ready; we should really get going?’
Liz turned away and grabbed her bag and a jacket she’d looked out. Smiling apologetically at him, she walked past him and started down her steps, another giggle squeaking out just as she was past his line of sight.
‘I heard that, Elizabeth’.
Again, it was just the two of them today and Red drove them for just under an hour, out of the city and into the forest. Whatever it was that Red had planned, Liz found she really didn’t mind as getting out into the countryside every day made it all worthwhile. The peace she felt out here in such natural beauty was something she hadn’t realised she’d missed until this past week. Gazing out the window, she noticed that they were coming to a stop next to a large wooden building set back about half a mile from the road down yet another small, rutted track.
She turned to look at Red but he was already half out his door and heading around to open hers for her. Although she could be out by the time he got there, she allowed him to come open it for her as she knew these gestures meant a lot to him. And they always made her feel so special when he did them. She couldn’t remember a single time Tom had opened her car door for her. Immediately banishing the thought of that creep from her mind, she smiled widely up at Red as he pulled back her door and offered his hand to help her out.
‘Thank you, Red’
‘You’re welcome, my dear’
‘So, you gonna tell me what this is all about?’
‘It might be more fun if I show you instead’, Red said with a wink. He headed to the trunk and lifted out a couple of rucksacks and then joined her again at the front of the car.
‘This way, Lizzy’.
Leading the way, Red strode off towards the barn and walked straight up the side of it, like he owned the place. Liz briefly wondered if he did, it wouldn’t surprise her at all. She followed him closely, very eager to see what was awaiting them on the other side. As soon as Red got to the far corner he stopped, looked up and then smiled. She came up next to him and turned to see what he was looking at. Standing about ten metres away were two beautiful chestnut horses, both saddled up and standing docilely next to a water trough.
Red glanced at Liz subtly, hoping to gauge her unguarded reaction. He needn’t have worried as Liz was grinning from ear to ear. She turned to him and couldn’t help herself, stepping into his arms for a hug.
‘Oh, Red, this is amazing. I love horses so much! I’ve not ridden in years but oh my god…..’
And with that she was gone, walking slowly towards the horses, ensuring they could see her approach. Within seconds she was nuzzling with them both and stroking their necks and noses. They both seemed to be taken with her too as they let her touch them with no signs of distress or worry. Red hung back for a few minutes, just letting Liz meet her new friends. Whilst he had ridden a few times, he was by no means a horseman and was hoping that he wasn’t about to make a fool of himself. Deciding to just bury his slight trepidation about today’s activity, he headed on over to join them, also approaching from where the horses could see him as Liz had.
‘I see they’ve taken an immediate shine to you, Lizzy. They do say horses are great judges of character’.
Just as Red finished saying this, the horse nearest him reached over and gently nibbled on Red’s shoulder. Lizzy laughed at Red’s expression, unable to help herself, ‘You were saying, Red?’
Red scowled at the horse, who bared his teeth at him in what looked very much like a mocking grin, ‘I’m going to assume that was a friendly introduction, rather than something more sinister. I rather think I’d be missing some shoulder flesh right now if it had been. Anyway, Lizzy, if you're au fait with horses, I’m going to leave you for a second to check your saddle’s tight enough, sort your stirrups and all that. I’ve left something in the car. Oh, by the way, this delightful horse with the silver blaze is the one meant for you. Apparently he prefers ladies’.
Red, somewhat reluctantly, indicated that the horse that hadn’t bitten him was the one Liz was to ride. He looked at it sadly and then back at his own mount, who still appeared to be eyeing up his shoulder hungrily, ‘Oh, dear, what have I done? Maybe I should have stuck with the idea of quad biking’.
Liz laughed and reached over to smooth down Red’s shirt, which was still puckered up from the horse’s mouth, ‘Don’t worry, Red. If he didn’t like you, you’d know it for sure by now. I’ll sort the saddles, you go back to the car’.
Throwing one last suspicious glance at his horse, Red turned on his heel and headed off around the side of the barn. Liz checked the horses’ girths and saddles were secure, also quickly shortening their reins. By the time she was done, Red was back and stalking across the short patch of field towards them. Liz looked up and this time there was no hiding her mirth.
‘Oh……my…….god…… Red, what…, why……?’
‘What? You know I like to wear hats?’
Liz just about managed to stop laughing long enough to reply, ‘But a cowboy hat, really?’ She wouldn’t admit it but it looked fantastic on him. The man really was born to wear hats. But the combination of that and the boots was just too much. They were only going for a short ride, she couldn’t believe he felt the need to wear a costume to do so.
‘Of course a cowboy hat, Lizzy. I could hardly wear a trilby or a fedora now, could I?’, Red harumphed and went to the side of his horse.
‘If you could stop laughing at me for a moment, I’ve just checked in the car what the names of these two beasts are. Yours is Freddy. Mine is, er, Rascal’.
Liz had to turn away from Red and hide behind Freddy as she just couldn’t hold in her glee any longer.
‘Yes, he does seem to have been appropriately named, doesn’t he?’, Red said with a sigh. ‘Ah, well, the fellow who left them here for us just half an hour ago assures me they’re both very well behaved and used to riders of little experience’.
Liz eventually emerged from behind Freddy and headed towards Red, ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine, Red. Now, I assume these saddle bags are for whatever’s in your rucksacks?’
‘Yes, just some food and drink for the day. We should be back by about 4pm but will obviously need some sustenance before that’. Red reached towards the rucksacks and quickly transferred the contents to the saddle bags.
‘Okay, I think we’re ready to go’
‘Wait, Red. Do you need me to adjust your stirrups?’
Red desperately wanted to say yes but his humiliation so far today had rendered him incapable of admitting the fact that he hadn’t a clue how to do it. Every other time he’d ridden he’d had nothing to do with the actual tacking up of the horse or anything like that.
‘I’m sure I’ll be just fine, sweetheart’, he said as he looked at her with a smugness he certainly didn’t feel. He turned towards Rascal and, gripping the reins in his hand, grabbed the front of the saddle. With his other hand, he took a hold of the stirrup and pulled it towards him. Then he reached his foot up. There was no way he was getting his foot up that high he quickly realised. However, Red decided that he wasn’t about to admit defeat. He reached his right hand up and took a hold of the back of the saddle, hoping to just boost himself up. He jumped up slightly, allowing his weight to rest on his arms as he started to swing his leg over the back of the horse. However, Rascal had other ideas and with a couple of nifty steps away, Red found himself lying flat on his back on the ground.
Rascal whinnied loudly and bent down to sniff at Red’s boots. Red just lay there, wishing desperately for the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Liz eventually appeared, having bitten hard into her lip to stop herself from laughing at Red yet again. She was starting to feel sorry for him. He was going to so much trouble for her and all she could do was laugh at him and belittle his outfit.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes’
‘Do you wanna get up or…..?’
‘No…..’ Red sighed and sat up, ‘Okay, yes. But, er, could you help with the stirrups?’ He looked up at her with the most adorably plaintive look she’d ever seen on a man and she reached down to offer him a hand to help him to his feet.
‘Of course. You only needed to ask’.
Turning back to Rascal, Liz altered his left stirrup so that it was as long as it could be. She then indicated that Red should try again. This time there was no issue and he was up and seated in seconds. Liz then pulled the stirrup up so that it was at a height he could put his foot in it whilst riding, before repeating the action with his right one.
‘I can’t recall the last time I had such difficulty getting my leg over’, Red muttered.
Liz looked up at him, mouth slightly agape. He winked to her and tipped his hat. Now that he was safely seated on his horse, he felt the need to reestablish his alpha male status. So far today had been a disaster and he quickly needed to remedy the situation.
Liz scowled at him, the slight smirk playing about her mouth giving away her actual amusement at his return to form.
She then quickly got up onto Freddy, adjusted her stirrup and turned to Red, ‘So, where are we going?’
Red tugged on his left rein and squeezed his legs, urging Rascal forward, ‘Thankfully it’s an easy trek. We just follow the river as far as the waterfall and then back. Couple of hours either way with a nice rest once we get there’.
‘Sounds good. You feeling okay up there?’
‘Quite all right, thank you Lizzy. It’s all starting to come back to me now’.
Liz pulled Freddy up next to Red and Rascal and they walked out of the field together, heading for the river in the near distance. Once they got there, Red turned them to the right and they started out along the river path. Liz was completely relaxed and happy. This was such a good idea that Red had had. She looked over at him, silhouetted to her by the sun behind him. He looked so handsome in his cowboy attire. And so manly on the back of a horse. Boy, was she falling hard for this guy, she thought to herself and smiled softly.
The outward trek did indeed only take a couple of hours and they spent them chatting about all manner of topics, from art to books to Aram’s hilariously obvious crush on Samar. Eventually they reached the waterfall and they both dismounted, Red being very cautious as he did so, even after Liz had lengthened his stirrup for him once again. She then took the horses to a tree next to the water and tied their reins to a low lying branch so that they could have a drink and stand in the shade. Red removed the food and a blanket from the saddle bags and they settled down next to the water.
Having eaten and drank till they were fit to burst, they both laid back on the blanket, sighing contentedly.
‘Thank you Red, that lunch was delicious. And today has been another great choice. That’s three out of three so far’. She glanced at him lying next to her, his hat pulled forward over his forehead, shading his eyes. The smug smile she saw there when she complimented him was obvious but she didn’t mind at all. The thought he’d put into their activities was something she appreciated hugely.
‘You’re welcome, sweetheart. And before I forget….. I was hoping that you would stay away with me for the next couple of nights. The next three activities require us being somewhere other than the Washington area. Is that okay?’
Red didn’t look at Liz as he awaited her reply. He was a little nervous that she would think that too much. However, his concern was ill founded.
‘That sounds great. No clues as to what we’re doing though, I guess?’
‘Oh, heavens to Betsy, no. The surprise is half the fun of it, surely?’
Liz reluctantly agreed and glanced away, racking her brain for what kind of things might require them to be away for two nights. Other than some tropical beach location, she couldn’t think of much more.
‘Will I need specific clothing or anything?’
‘Actually, yes. However, as revealing what that clothing is would give away what we’re doing, I’ve taken the liberty of buying you some myself. I hope you don’t mind?’ Red opened one eye and looked at Liz. She looked back at him and smiled.
‘Can I keep whatever it is?’
‘Ha, yes, of course’
‘Then I don’t mind at all’, she replied, poking her tongue out at him.
Laughing, Red sat then stood up and put his hat back on straight. ‘Excellent. Now, shall we head back? We need to leave at 4am tomorrow morning so should be home as soon as possible.
Liz groaned, ‘Now that part I do mind…..’
He turned and looked at her, slightly worried.
‘Only kidding, Red. I’m sure whatever it is will be well worth it’
Accepting his outstretched hand, she pulled herself up. They packed their stuff and put it all back in the saddle bags.
‘You sure we couldn’t stay just a little longer, Red? I’d love to get a bit closer to that waterfall…..’. As she asked this, she looked up at Red, eyelashes batting away nineteen to the dozen.
He scowled at her, ‘Even if I did want to say no, how on earth am I meant to now, you rascal’
At the mention of his name, Red’s steed looked over at them and whinnied quietly, causing them both to laugh.
‘Well, he is a clever boy, isn’t he?’, Red said as he beamed proudly at the horse, their earlier ‘friction’ seemingly forgotten.
Liz grabbed Red’s hand and pulled him towards the waterfall, ‘Come on, I just wanna stand nearer so we can feel the power of the water’. She practically dragged him to the base of the waterfall and they both craned their necks to look up to the highest point they could see, the spray hitting them hard from where the water bounced off the rocks.
‘This is so cool’, Liz laughed as she stuck a hand out to let some of the water land on her, ‘It’s just beautiful’.
‘Yes, it is’, Red replied. But he wasn’t watching the waterfall at all. His eyes were fixed on Liz as she opened her mouth and closed her eyes, letting herself be slowly soaked by the spray. His eyes travelled down to her chest as he noticed just how see-through her white shirt was becoming. Staring at her for just a few seconds longer, he felt a twitch in his groin and swiftly turned away. As much as he wanted to watch that delightful vision for as long as possible, he really couldn’t imagine how painful having an erection would be whilst on a horse and so he shut his eyes and started thinking about baseball as he kept his back to her.
‘Okay, mister, let’s get this show back on the road’, Liz said as she once again grabbed Red’s hand and led him back to the horses. He went willingly with her, glad that she now had her back to him.
Reaching the horses, Liz went at once to hold Rascal as Red approached him, ready to mount. He was up in no time and settling himself back in the saddle. Untying Rascal from the tree, Liz had just started to pull the reins back up over Rascal’s head to hand to Red when there was an enormous boom from higher up the mountain. Before either of them had a chance to process what it might be, Rascal had reared up, whinnying loudly. Once his front hooves hit the grass again he was off at a full gallop, heading back the way they’d come. Not only did Red not have a hold of the reins but neither of his feet were in the stirrups either. He gripped his legs as hard as he could and held onto the front of the saddle for dear life.
Liz stared after them both for a couple of seconds before reacting to what had happened. She then turned to Freddy, who seemed barely conscious of either the boom or Rascal’s reaction to it. Liz untied the reins from the tree and was on her horse in seconds, turning him to gallop after Red. Thankfully, due to the tree line, there was only one path Rascal could follow and so Liz didn’t have to worry about the fact they were now out of sight around a bend. Spurring Freddy on, she had him going full pelt in no time.
Red, however, was faring less well. Whilst he was managing to stay on his mount quite admirably, he was being shaken about like a rag doll. He had tucked his head down a bit so that he wasn’t decapitated by some of the lower branches but he had to admit this was terrifying. Oh, how he would rather be facing ten angry, machine gun equipped drug lords than be at the mercy of this beast. A beast he was currently considering adding to the blacklist.
Eventually Liz and Freddy caught up to them. Liz didn’t really know how to slow Rascal down so she encouraged Freddy to go even faster and they pulled ahead of him. Once there, she was just starting to pull on the reins to slow her horse down, hoping to force Rascal to slow down too, when Freddy caught a hoof in a pothole and the next thing she knew, she and he were lying in a pile of limbs in the middle of the path.
Rascal saw all this and immediately came to a halt. It was almost as if he knew that Liz being hurt would guarantee his rider ensuring his next outing was to the glue factory. He stood still as Red practically threw himself off his back and ran towards Liz.
‘Sweetheart, are you okay?’, he managed to pant out, reaching for her and helping her sit up.
‘Yes, yes, I’m okay. Just a bit winded. Poor Freddy took the brunt of the fall’. She looked over at Freddy, who was struggling to get to his feet and was clearly lame.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Red, I’m fine, really’, Liz looked up into his eyes and saw the worry written all over his face. ‘Are you okay?’
Red huffed and stood up, helping Liz up with him. ‘I am, amazingly. Although I can’t say the same for my testicles. I may need an ice bath when I get home’, he finished with a wince.
Liz looked at him and burst out laughing.
‘Elizabeth!’
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s not that funny…… It’s just the adrenaline’
Red raised an eyebrow at her and then walked, in full John Wayne fashion, earning a muffled giggle from Liz yet again, over to Freddy.
‘Ah, poor boy. Are you all right?’
Freddy by now was on his feet but anything but fine. Whilst he was walking about okay, he was struggling to put much weight on his injured leg. Red flipped out his phone and made a quick call.
‘Right, I’ve let their owner know what happened. He should be there by the time we get back’.
‘Okay….. How are we getting back?’
‘I guess we’re both going to have to ride Rascal’, Red said with a defeated look and a sigh. ‘Might I suggest you have control of him? We’re really not understanding each other at all I don’t think’.
Liz took a hold of Red’s hand and pulled him in for a hug, ‘I’m just glad you’re okay. I felt sure I was going to round a bend and find you hanging from a tree or unconscious in the river’.
Red grabbed her tight and squeezed, ‘Not half as worried as I was when you and Freddy went flying. I thought he was going to crush you’.
They kept a hold of each other for a full minute, each allowing their heart rates and breathing to return to normal. Then Liz helped Red get back on top of Rascal and, keeping a hold of Freddy’s reins, she then got up herself, seating herself in front of Red. It was a cosy fit on the saddle but Red got as close as he dared and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.
‘I’m just glad this isn’t a saddle with a pommel’, Liz said with a chuckle as she gently urged Rascal forward, tugging Freddy behind them.
Once they got moving, Freddy’s limp seemed to improve a little and they were soon walking briskly back towards the barn. As they rode along, neither of them spoke much, each reliving their own private horror of seeing the other in mortal danger. Red’s grip tightened on Liz every time he flashed back to that moment when she and Freddy had fallen so violently. In turn, Liz would reach down and squeeze his hand reassuringly.
Despite the fact of what had just happened, Red couldn’t help but enjoy being this close to his girl. Holding her tight like this for so long was something he’d long dreamt of. He briefly worried about getting yet another erection whilst pressed so tightly to her back but thankfully the pain in his balls put paid to any danger of that.
Once back at the barn, Red’s associate was there to greet them. They dismounted and spoke briefly to him about what had happened. He checked out Freddy’s leg and assured them he looked worse than he was, fondly stroking his neck as Freddy nuzzled him.
Red paid the man handsomely and he and Liz returned to their vehicle, ‘Okay, well, that didn’t go quite as swimmingly as I’d planned. I apologise, Lizzy’.
‘It’s hardly your fault, Red. What do you think that bang was?’
‘I suspect there might be a quarry somewhere up the mountain. It sounded like dynamite. Impeccable timing I must say….’
Liz smiled at him and reached over to hold his hand, ‘Well, we’re all back in one piece, that’s what matters’.
Red held her hand tightly and smiled back at her, ‘Yes, indeed. Right, let’s get you home. The sooner I drop you off, the sooner I can see about that ice pack….’
Liz snorted and Red pulled the car away, pointing them back in the direction of the city. It took them little time to get back to Liz’s home and Red parked up right outside, before hopping from the car, a wince on his face, to go and open her door. As Liz got out, she realised she had stiffened up during the car journey and was now feeling the aches and pains she’d received during her fall.
‘Right, well I think I’ll be having a very hot bath now. I do hope you enjoy your super cold one’
‘Very funny, my dear’, Red scowled at her. ‘I’ll see you at 4am tomorrow morning. Rest up tonight, you’re going to be expending a lot of energy the next few days. I do hope we’re both going to be capable of doing what I’ve got planned’.
‘I’m sure we will, Red. We make a great team’.
Liz stepped into Red’s embrace and they held each other tightly again. ‘Thank you for today, Red. I always know a day out with you, no matter how low octane the prospect, will always involve some kind of drama’.
Red couldn’t help himself and he leant in to kiss her on her forehead, ‘Sadly that seems to be the case. Maybe I’ll locate a rabbit’s foot to take with us for the next few days’.
‘Good idea’
‘Right, well, good evening Lizzy. Sleep well. And enjoy your lovely warm bath’, Red finished with a jealous look on his face.
Liz laughed at his expression, ‘Good evening to you too. Don’t give yourself frostbite’.
Before Red had a chance to reply to her cheeky comment, she had turned and walked into her house, leaving him to walk gingerly back to his car.
‘That woman is gonna be the death of me, one way or another’.