[outlander2]

The light of the moon reflected in the water and he sit on his horse listening to the night around him. He loved the night and the way the dark shadows stretched out across the water from the tall pines along the hillside. In the distance a coyote howled and several others answered, one only a couple hundred yards up the hill. The horse perked his ears and the rider rubbed the animal's neck.

His name was Craig Adams and he was 31 years old. The ranch had been in his family since the 1890's when his grandpa's dad bought it with money he had made in Canada on a gold run up there. It had taken every last cent the old man had to buy the land and put a decent herd of cattle on it, but the ranch had done well, even during the depression.

Craig rode at night to clear his head and he knew the ranch like the back of his own hand. The leather saddle had a rifle boot on it and the lever action carbine was close to hand in case he needed it. Wild hogs were often encountered and some of the big feral boars were mean and nasty if you got up close before either party knew it.

In the distance on the 30 acre lake in the hay meadow he saw a light momentarily and then it was gone. Curiously he watched for a minute and the echo of a door shutting reached his ears. Someone had circumvented the lock on the old gas well gate and they were at the swimming hole on the lake. He had rode up on skinny dipping teenagers a few times and watched them run like Olympic sprinters to their vehicle.

He set the gait at a trot as he headed his horse in the direction of the lake. He could follow the trees along the creek and no one would see him coming.

It took only a few minutes for him to see the truck parked on the old dry well pad and he could see only one person in the water. The moon was bright, but he could not tell who it was in the water. He was in the shadows of some trees and he tied the reins of the horse to a limb and walked toward the swimmer.

When he got close he knew the truck. Her name was Holly Treadwell and she was close to his age. She was around five four with auburn hair and a good figure. He was pretty sure she was swimming naked. As he neared the water, his feet on some gravel got her attention and she whirled, looking in his direction.

"Who's there?!" she said, her voice shrill from being startled.

"The owner," Craig said softly and he heard her laugh. "I take it you aren't worried about me being upset about you trespassing?"

"Do you really mind naked women swimming in your pond?"

Craig laughed and said, "No. Not one bit actually."

"I would invite you to join me, but I am about to have to leave," she said from the water, only her head and neck showing.

"Invite me next time," he suggested.

"I might just do that," she said. "Are you going to turn your back so I can get out?"

"Nope," Craig said honestly.

Holly laughed again. "Then get that towel off the seat of my truck. You might as well dry my back."

Craig got the towel and he stood at the front of her truck as Holly exited the water. Her long hair was wet down her back and her full D cup breasts were jutting proudly in front of her. Her stomach was flat and her hips were wide and womanly with a hint of extra weight there where it does a man the most good when things got more intimate.

He could see her smile as she walked to stand in front of him, turning and lifting her hair as he dried her back off and then her hair. She took the towel and dried off in front of him as he stood there watching her. She handed him her towel and slid on a pair of bikini panties and then jean shorts that were too long to be Daisy Dukes but still quite sexy. Her sleeveless blouse was western style and she did not put on a bra.

She took her towel from his hands and said, "Cell phone number?" She handed him her phone and he added it to her contacts. He was still standing there in the dark as she drove toward the gate. He put his hands in his pockets and walked to where he had put his horse and mounted it, heading back toward the ranch. He checked his cell phone and stuck it back in his pocket. He hoped her would get a text or a call one evening soon.

The image of her body as she walked out of the lake kept coming to mind and he couldn't stop grinning. Late night rides were hard to beat.