Guess Again

five.

Up to the left was a ledge on which Morgan was driving the four-wheeler, and she pushed down on the throttle a little more. She'd never get tired of this, as a grin spread on her face underneath her helmet. She saw the back of the horses and slowed down just a tad as the track sloped and crossed over the Shady Bend road.

Morgan turned the handle and drifted over the road, then dipped down into the pasture.

"That was unbelievably smooth," Carlos said, after a moment.

"She's been doing it for a long time, it ought to be," Mason said with a shrug.

Daniel Ricciardo leaned back in the saddle, his mare taking an easy walking pace. Lando Norris, next to him, was a little tenser in the saddle, but he was holding his own.

"Lando," Daniel said, looking over at the McLaren driver, "how long do you think until Morgan and Max are dating?"

"What?" Lando asked, "They hate each other, why would they date?"

"I think it's plausible, you know," Daniel replied, "because she saved him from a rattlesnake, and I'm thinking that gravity will do it's thing. He's restless, she's restless, they could work out."

"Her saving him from a rattlesnake is nothing, she's doing what anyone else would do," Lando replied.

"But," Daniel said, a finger in the air, "you can't deny, they would be a cute couple."

"Yeah, if she doesn't end up killing him first," Lando replied with a snort.

"I don't care, I'm shipping them," Daniel said.

A few horses back, Alexandra was riding next to Charles, her big brown eyes in awe of the huge trees that covered the lane. She had been mostly quiet today because Morgan Earling owned a huge stake in the modeling agency she worked for. Knowing Morgan, she probably knew that already.

"You've been quiet today," Charles said, looking over at his girlfriend with a small smile. Alexandra only nodded.

"Miss Earling has a lot of money in my work," Alexandra replied quietly. Charles' eyes were filled with realization.

"She was much nicer today than usual, from what I've heard from Max anyway," Charles replied, trying to ease his girlfriend.

Alex shrugged.

"She knows a lot," Alex said after a while.

"She's still just a human, like me and you," Charles countered, "besides, she knows better. She wouldn't get you fired for no reason."

"I'm not scared of getting fired, C, she just... intimidates me," Alexandra said with a sigh.

"She's like... a whole head shorter than you," Charles said with a laugh.

"Short people are scary C," Alexandra replied seriously. Charles gave Alex a confident smile.

Further ahead, Savannah and Camilla were riding next to each other, for the sole reason to complain about Morgan Earling.

"I don't get it," Savannah was saying as she brushed some hair out of her face, "she absolutely hates Max for no reason. She shouldn't have invested in his team if she hates him."

"Ugh, I know right, Her fight with him in Saudi Arabia was so childish," Camilla added with an eye roll.

"I think she needs to step away from Formula 1 after this year," Savannah added, "she doesn't get the sport and she doesn't appreciate it either."

"She probably will," Camilla said, "she doesn't strike me as the world traveller type. She's very American that way."

They both were silent for a moment, then Camilla spoke.

"You know what's odd? We did hear that she shot a rattlesnake to protect Max," Camilla suggested. Savannah gave her a skeptical look.

"She saved her asset, her investment, Camilla. Don't think for one second that Morgan actually cares about Max, she cares about making money and keeping it."

Camilla sighed, but didn't speak. Morgan was a mystery, and she didn't quite think she was ready to unravel it.

The group reached the end of the trail on a bluff that overlooked the massive pasturelands of the L hanging J ranch. Mason, at the head of the group, looked out over the grassy landscape, his face still and stoic. His dark brown eyes roved slowly across the horizon.

Mason remembered last January, when he had showed up at Morgan's door unannounced. She had let him stay in his apartment while she worked, and she had a total breakdown. But now was not the time for reminiscing.

"Alright, we better head back," Mason shouted to the group, "there's hella good Texas barbeque waiting at the end!"

A chorus of laughter came from the group as they turned their horses and headed back to the ranch.