His voice trailed off as she crossed her arms, shaking her head. “My God, your ego. We’re going to have to do something to deflate that. I suppose I shouldn't let you catch me anymore when we play chase.”
Gabriel’s eyes flashed. “Let me,little vixen?”
“Of course.” She reached across the kitchen table, patting his shoulder. “I didn’t want you to push too hard running and hurt your knees.”
That was the turning point, and Gabriel jumped up from the table to grab her and throw her over his shoulder. She was giggling as he gave her a firm spanking, one that left her bucking against his body, and carried her to the room.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Eris
When they found Master Lucas later, and by extension, Georgie and Sadie, Eris couldn’t wait for Gabriel to share the idea. She kind of blurted it out as soon as they found the trio, and all eyes turned toward her.
“I think I can help you with the maze!”
She pressed a hand to her mouth immediately after, shooting Gabriel an embarrassed look. Master Lucas looked curious, but Sadie was the one who spoke up.
“Help with the maze?” she asked, popping up from her spot on the floor. Eris couldn’t quite see what the two Littles were up to, but she almost thought it looked like they were building a puzzle. Georgie still covered most of what they were in the middle of, her curious eyes turning to follow Sadie. “Oh, Master Derek would love that!”
Blinking, Eris looked between the group, heat flooding her cheeks. “Well, I, um, I thought I should check in first with you, Master Lucas, and see if you needed help. Not that you aren’t doing a great job. The maze is amazing. But you said it’s a lot of work with all the Virginia Creepers and maintaining the space, plus adding in additions would be a lot of work on top of workand you said flowers aren’t your thing necessarily. Or, uh, maybe Gabriel said that?—”
“Eris,” Gabriel interrupted, smoothing a hand down her spine. It calmed some of her nerves, and she couldn’t believe how jittery she was giving her hairbrained idea to the head landscaper.
“Deep breaths.”
She paused, composing herself as the trio watched, and Sadie gave her an encouraging smile and thumbs up before she continued. “I am… planning to make a move to Montana. Nearby. I’m going to be living nearby. And I love plants and I studied agriculture so I’m not a total novice but I have tons to learn. And if maintaining the maze is a burden for you, maybe I could help? Not exclusively of course, but somehow. Even with some maintenance and upkeep. I don’t think I would be needed all day or all the time but…”
Her voice trailed off, uncertainty returning, and she noticed Sadie turn and scramble off. They were in the main lodge again, down the hall from the check-in area and Master Derek’s office. Originally, they’d planned to look for Lucas first, per Eris’ request. She thought maybe if she spoke to the head landscaper first it wouldn’t sound so much like she was trying to encroach on his job.
There were other landscapers too around the property, but right now, Eris could only draw a blank on any of their names.
Master Lucas studied the two of them, stroking his jaw. “Well, the adult play areas are kind of new. It’s mostly a free-play area. Until now there hasn’t been a ton set up out there. The maze is mostly natural, following the growth patterns between the trees and leading to the hedges. Over time it will definitely be more work, and as more people use it, checking to ensure everything is safe would be a good idea.”
Eris didn’t turn when she heard footsteps, too excited that she had someone agreeing with her view of things. Sure, Gabriel agreed, but Gabriel also wanted her to stay in Montana. “That’s what I was thinking! And I’m sure the other landscapers around here are already assigned areas, so then it wouldn’t create extra work for anyone.”
Gabriel shifted as Master Lucas nodded, smiling before pointing over her shoulder. Finally, Eris turned too.
And there was Master Derek grinning at them, his arm wrapped around Sadie who looked like she might explode with joy. When he spoke, Eris almost thought she heard a note of pride in his voice. “So, Eris, you’re looking to become a permanent part of Rawhide Ranch?”
Epilogue
Eris
As of today, she had stayed a week past her designated trip to Rawhide Ranch. She now had all her luggage in Gabriel’s house, and next week, they planned to head home to Virginia to collect her things from the apartment she would be vacating.
And meet her parents. And Bluebell, who she was insanely excited to introduce to Gabriel. Her horse was more prominent in her plans than her best friend Tara was. And Tara couldn’t even be mad about it when they texted. After all, she was just excited that Eris had followed her heart for once. Vivian made plans to see the couple separately, and Eris knew her trip home would be full of fun.
She also had a tentative schedule with the Ranch to consider, where she would come and check in on the maze twice a week. Now that it was open to everyone and out of the testing phase, more and more people were trying out primal. It wasn’t as common during the day, but at night, it was becoming quite the thing. Master Derek was more than accommodating, working the planned trip into her schedule before turning matters over to Master Lucas.
A little part of her missed the maze being just hers and Gabriel’s, but he had a solution to that.
She had her first official maintenance job today, which really just meant she was going to walk through the maze to ensure that everything looked okay after a week of so many people running through. She doubted there would be much to do, but she really wanted to take a peek at the Virginia Creepers and make sure they were holding up if people were regularly crashing into the lattice fences. The vines could break off, and they deserved some love if they were helping create the maze.
“I’m going to draw a map,” Eris explained, holding out her hands as they wandered toward the outdoor play area.
“Of the maze here?” Gabriel asked, shooting her a look. In just a dark t-shirt and jeans, he looked extra yummy today. Eris didn’t even mind what he would be doing while she worked, but he was nice enough to walk over to the maze with her during daylight before taking care of whatever he planned on doing today.
“No, silly,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “The one at your house. The one you’re going to let me grow in the backyard. I need to map out what that’s going to look like. Mazes can create designs. I’msogoing to make a design.”