THE CEO'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE

The Horse Ride

THE CEO'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE

SOPHIA'S POV

His hand was still holding mine.

We walked out of the big dining room. His mother and brother were staring at our backs. I could feel Patricia's eyes burning into my blue dress.

But Cole didn't look back. He walked fast, like he always does. Big steps. I had to take small quick steps to keep up with him. His hand was big, warm, and rough. My hand disappeared in his.

We walked through the long hallway of Barrett Ranch house. The house was so big it had paintings of oil fields and horses everywhere. Big windows. Texas sun was already hot at 9 AM.

He took me outside to the back. And I stopped.

Oh God.

I have seen ranches before. My father's ranch is 200 acres. Small.

This... this was not a ranch. This was an empire.

Barrett Ranch. 10,000 acres. I could see green fields that never ended. White fences going to the horizon. Hundreds of horses in the far fields. Black cows. Oil rigs far away, moving up and down. Big barns. Big stables. Workers in cowboy hats riding horses.

And the sky. Texas sky, big and blue.

I forgot to breathe for a second.

"This is your ranch?" I whispered.

"Our ranch," Cole corrected. He finally let go of my hand. "For 3 years, it's yours too. Contract says you live here as Mrs. Barrett. So you should know it."

He started walking towards the biggest stable. The horse stable. It was white and clean, bigger than my old house.

I followed him.

Inside the stable, it smelled like hay and horses. My favorite smell in the world. At my father's ranch, I spent all my time in stable with Daisy, my horse.

Here, there were 30 horses. Beautiful horses. Black, brown, white. Big, strong Texas horses.

A worker, old man with cowboy hat, came. "Morning, Mr. Cole."

"Joe, this is my wife, Sophia," Cole said. "She loves horses. Show her around."

Joe looked surprised. He looked at me, then at Cole. He smiled kindly. "Mrs. Barrett, welcome. You ride?"

I nodded, shy. "Yes. I have a horse at my father's ranch. Daisy. I ride every day."

Cole raised an eyebrow. He looked at me. "You ride?"

"Yes," I said. "Since I was 8."

He looked at the horses. "Which one do you want to ride? Choose."

I walked along the stalls. The horses looked at me. I stopped at one stall. A chestnut brown horse, female, medium size, but eyes were smart and a little wild.

"This one," I said.

Joe said, "Oh, careful, Mrs. Barrett. That's Cinnamon. She is... difficult. She doesn't let anyone ride her. Except Mr. Cole. She kicked two workers last month."

I looked at Cinnamon. She looked at me. I slowly put my hand out. Not fast. Slow.

"Hey, girl," I whispered softly. "Hey, pretty girl. You are beautiful, you know that?"

Cinnamon sniffed my hand. Then she nudged my hand with her nose.

Joe's mouth opened. "What? She... she never does that."

Cole was watching. His grey eyes watching my hand on Cinnamon's nose.

"She likes you," he said, voice low.

I smiled for the first time in two days. A real smile. "Can I ride her?"

Joe looked at Cole. Cole nodded. "Saddle her."

Joe saddled Cinnamon. I put on a riding helmet that was too big for me. Cole also took a black horse, big, strong, named Thunder.

We led the horses outside to the riding field.

Cole got on Thunder easily. Of course. He is tall, strong. He looked like a real Texas cowboy CEO. Grey shirt, black pants, cowboy boots, on a black horse.

I got on Cinnamon. She moved a little, but I held her. I whispered, "It's okay, girl. It's okay. We go slow."

Cinnamon calmed.

Cole said, "Follow me. We will go around the south field. Slow."

And we started riding.

At first, slow. Trotting. The wind in my hair. The Texas sun warm on my face. The smell of grass. For a second, I forgot I was replacement bride. I forgot contract. I forgot Patricia and Lucas. I was just Sophia who loves horses.

Cole was riding next to me. He looked at me riding.

"You ride well," he said.

"Thank you," I said, smiling.

Then Cinnamon started to go faster. She wanted to run. I could feel it. She is a wild one.

"She wants to gallop," I said.

"Don't," Cole said. "She is dangerous when she gallops. She throws people off."

But I looked at Cinnamon's eyes. She was not dangerous. She was just bored. Like me.

"She won't throw me," I said. "Trust me."

Cole frowned. "Sophia, I said don't. I am responsible for you. If you fall, my grandfather..."

"I won't fall," I said.

And before he could say more, I loosened the reins a little. "Go, girl! Let's go!"

Cinnamon ran. Fast. Very fast. Galloping like wind.

I heard Cole shout, "SOPHIA!"

But I was laughing. I was flying. My brown hair flying out of helmet. My blue dress - I was still in blue dress, not riding pants - flying. I held tight.

The field was big, endless. We galloped across it. Cinnamon was happy. I was happy.

Behind me, I heard Thunder galloping too. Cole was chasing me.

After 5 minutes, I slowed Cinnamon down. She stopped, breathing hard, happy.

I was breathing hard too, cheeks red, eyes bright.

Cole stopped next to me, breathing hard too. His face was... he looked scared and angry.

"What the hell was that?" he shouted. "I told you not to gallop! You could have died! That horse is dangerous!"

I was still smiling, but his shouting made my smile fade.

"I didn't die. I am fine. She is not dangerous. She just needed to run," I said.

He stared at me. His grey eyes were blazing. Then he looked at my face. My red cheeks, my bright eyes, my messy hair, my big smile. I was not the crying girl from church. I was not the quiet girl at breakfast. I was... alive.

His anger slowly went away.

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "You scared me."

"You? Scared?" I said, surprised.

"Yes," he said, looking away at the fields. "You are my responsibility for 3 years. If you fall and break your neck on my ranch, it's my fault."

Responsibility again. Always responsibility.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "But I love riding. At my father's ranch, Daisy and I gallop every day. It makes me feel free."

He looked at me again. Softly this time.

"You ride better than me," he admitted. "And I have been riding since I was 5."

"You ride well too," I said.

For a second, we just looked at each other, on horses, in the middle of 10,000 acres, Texas sun on us.

His grey eyes were not cold now. They were warm, like honey.

My heart did thump thump again.

Then his phone rang. Loud. Breaking the moment.

He picked up. "Cole Barrett."

He listened. His face became cold CEO again.

"Investors are here? Now? Okay. I will be there in 10 minutes." He cut the phone.

He looked at me. "Oil investors from Houston. They came to see the new oil field. I have to go. They are in the main house meeting room. My mother invited them."

"Okay, I will take Cinnamon back," I said.

"No," he said. "Come with me. You are Mrs. Barrett. Investors want to meet my wife. Contract says you attend all public events as wife. This is public event."

I looked down at my blue dress, dusty now from horse ride, my messy hair.

"I look... I look dirty. Not like a CEO's wife," I whispered.

Cole got off his horse, came to my horse, and looked up at me.

"You look like my wife," he said simply. "Come."

He helped me get down from Cinnamon. His hands on my waist, lifting me down. His hands were strong.

We walked back to stable, handing horses to Joe. Joe looked at us like we were something interesting.

We walked back to the big house. Investors were already in the meeting room. Five men in expensive suits. And Patricia and Lucas were there too, smiling.

Patricia saw me - dusty blue dress, messy hair, smelling of horses - and her smile became bigger, mean smile.

"Oh, Sophia dear," she said loudly, so investors could hear. "You went riding? In that dress? Oh, you poor thing, you don't even have proper riding clothes? Cole, you should buy your wife some proper clothes. She looks like... a stable girl."

The investors looked at me and tried not to laugh.

Lucas added, "Mother is right. Sophia, you should change. Investors might think Barrett Ranch can't afford clothes for the new Mrs. Barrett. The replacement Mrs. Barrett."

The word again. Replacement.

My face became red. Hot tears came. I wanted to run.

I looked at Cole. Would he protect me again? Or would he agree I look dirty?

Cole's face became stone. Cold. Dangerous.

He walked to me, and in front of all investors, he put his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. His arm was tight.

He looked at the investors, then at his mother.

"My wife was riding Cinnamon," he said, voice calm but everyone could hear power. "Cinnamon is the horse that no one in this ranch could ride for one year. No worker, no cowboy, not even Lucas. My wife rode her. And galloped her. And tamed her in 10 minutes."

The investors looked surprised.

Cole continued, looking at his mother. "She looks dusty because she was working. That's what Barretts do. We work. We don't just sit in meetings and drink champagne and insult people. My grandfather built this oil empire from horse ranch. He would be proud to see Mrs. Barrett in the stables, not in a salon. So don't ever call my wife a stable girl. Stable girls built this family."

The room became silent. Dead silent.

Patricia's face became white.

Lucas looked down.

One investor, old man, said, "Mr. Barrett is right. A woman who can tame Cinnamon... that's impressive. Mrs. Barrett, you must have grown up on a ranch?"

I nodded, wiping tears, but now proud tears. "Yes, sir. Lane Ranch. 200 acres. I worked there every day."

The investor smiled. "Good. Good. Oil business needs tough people. Not just pretty faces. Your wife is tough, Cole. You chose well."

Cole looked down at me. His grey eyes were proud now.

"Yes," he said, his arm still around my waist, tight, possessive. "I chose well."

I looked up at him, surprised. He said he chose me? But he didn't choose me. He was forced to marry me.

But the way he said it, in front of everyone, his arm around me, his voice proud... my heart thumped so loud I thought everyone could hear.

Patricia and Lucas left the room, angry.

The investors meeting started. Cole made me sit next to him. His chair close to mine. Under the table, his boot touched my foot again, like at breakfast. And stayed there.

He talked about oil, numbers, billions. I didn't understand much. But I sat there, dusty blue dress, messy hair, and I felt... for the first time since wedding, I felt like I belong somewhere.

Not as replacement.

As Sophia Barrett.

After meeting, investors left, shaking my hand, calling me "tough Mrs. Barrett."

Cole and I were alone in meeting room.

He finally let go of my waist. He looked at me.

"You okay?" he asked, voice soft, not CEO voice.

I nodded. "Thank you. Third time you protected me."

He frowned. "Third time?"

"Church, breakfast, now," I counted.

He was quiet. Then he said, "I told you. No one insults my wife. That's rule. Don't count."

"But why? You said it's just contract, just responsibility. Why do you care if they insult me?"

He looked at my dusty dress, my red cheeks, my brown eyes looking up at him.

He came closer. One step. Close enough I could smell his cologne and horse smell mixed.

"Because," he said slowly, grey eyes staring into mine, "for 3 years, you are mine, Sophia. Mine to protect. Mine to... responsibility. If they insult you, they insult me. If they laugh at you, they laugh at me. I don't allow that. No one laughs at what is mine."

Mine.

He said mine.

My heart stopped. Then beat very fast.

I am his? Not replacement, but his?

He realized what he said. His eyes became wide for a second, then cold again.

He stepped back.

"Go change your dress. You smell like horse," he said, but his voice was a little rough, not mean.

I smiled a little. "I like horse smell."

He almost smiled. Almost. The corner of his mouth moved.

"Of course you do, farm girl," he said.

Farm girl. But this time, he said it nicely. Not insult.

I walked to my bedroom to change. At the door, I turned back. He was still standing in meeting room, watching me go.

Our eyes met.

And for a second, slow burn became a little faster.