The Longest Ride

The morning of Sophia’s visit to the ranch, Luke wakes up to tend to his chores. He lives in a small cabin behind the main house where his mother Linda lives. The work is demanding, and he aches from his bull riding injuries. Since his father’s death six years earlier, Luke and his mother manage this 800-acre spread by themselves. Their relationship is often testy: Concerned about his concussion, Linda wants Luke to give up bull riding and focus on the ranch, although, she admits, “I don’t care about the ranch. I care about my son” (86). Luke tells his mother that he won the competition the previous night, and then hesitatingly, describes meeting Sophia and that she is coming out to the ranch for a tour.

When Sophia arrives, Luke is stunned again by her beauty. With her tight ripped jeans and her blonde hair reflecting the sun, she seems to him as “fresh as summer” (88). Sophia, who has never ridden a horse, gamely dons a pair of Luke’s mother’s boots and the two head out for what proves to be a wonderful ride along the ranch’s lake. The two lapse effortlessly into a comfortable quiet. When Luke asks if Sophia is ready to tour the barn as he promised, she coyly says, “You know I really didn’t come here to see the barn, right?” (93).