Grayson picked Donika up late in the morning. The sun was shining bright and the weather had warmed, clearing all the frost from the ground. It was sixty degrees and the perfect day for a ride through the forest. Spring was on the horizon and leaf buds were sprouting from tree limbs. He went to the front door of the inn and knocked, waiting for someone to answer. Grandma Pearl arrived a moment later, opening the door with a huge grin.

“Where's that cake Donika promised me?” she said.

“I didn't know Donika promised you a cake.”

“That girl. I swear. You know what they say about lawyers.”

“What do they say?” he asked.

“They say they're liars.”

“Donika is not a liar,” he said.

“Sure she's not,” Pearl said. “Come on in.”

He followed Pearl into the house, down the hallway, and into the back of the house where the residents lived. She offered him a seat at the kitchen table and poured him a cup of coffee.

“Where is Donika?”

“She had chores to do this morning. I think she's getting ready now. Let me go check.”

The old lady left him with a cup of coffee at the big round kitchen table and scuttled down the hall. She knocked aggressively on a door.

“Donika,” she said. “Your date is here.”

“I'm coming,” he heard muffled behind the door. Her grandmother scuttled back into the kitchen and sat across from him.

“Now, about that cake.”

“I'm ready,” Donika said behind him.

Donika walked into the kitchen looking beautiful. Her long black hair was braided down her shoulders. She wore a flannel shirt and jeans under a pair of rugged knee-high boots.

“Let's get going,” he said, standing from the table.

“You never told me when you are bringing cake,” Pearl said.

“I'll bring you a cake the next time I come by. I promise.”

“Well, you aren't a liar like this one. I know you're a good boy.”

“Granny? How can you say that?”

“We all know you're keeping secrets, Donika.”

“Wow, look at the time. We’re going to be late, Grayson. We should probably get out of here.”

She took his hand and they hurried down the hallway and away from her grandmother.

Once they were outside in the warmth of the sunny day, she let out an exasperated sigh.

“Your grandmother's quite a character,” he said. “But I like her.”

“You better remember that cake,” she said as he opened the passenger door of his truck for her. “She’ll hold it against you forever if you don't.”

“I'll definitely remember,” he said, climbing behind the wheel. “What is her favorite kind?”

“German chocolate, devil's food cake, strawberry shortcake, whatever.”

“So basically anything.”

“Anything with sugar.”

“That shouldn't be a problem,” he said with a grin.

They made it to the stables a few moments later as the sun reached its zenith in the winter sky. They climbed out of his truck and crossed the gravel parking lot to the front entrance of the commercial barn.

“Grayson Baxter,” said Cowboy Bear.

Cowboy Bear was a decorated rodeo star who had retired to Fate Valley to open his own stable.

“It's so nice that you brought your mate out for a ride today.”

“It's a perfect day for it.”

“The weather really has turned around.”

“It sure has.”

“Let me introduce to you to your horses,” Cowboy Bear said, leading them into the barn. “This is Talley, my Appaloosa mare. This is Paco, an American Quarter Horse. I thought that Talley would be great for Donika and Paco would be good for Grayson. Talley is a bit of an older lady. But she's got a sweet disposition. Paco here likes to be in the lead. He's got an attitude sometimes, but he's a good companion for Talley.

“I haven't ridden a horse in ages,” Donika said. “Probably not since I was ten.”

“Don't worry. Horseback riding is like riding a bike. It all comes back to you,” Cowboy Bear said.

The horses were already saddled and bridled. Cowboy Bear brought them out into a covered arena. Fresh sawdust covered the floor. The fresh smell swept through the air, invigorating Grayson’s senses. Cowboy Bear helped Donika mount Talley, and Grayson climbed on the back of Paco. They rode around the arena a few times, getting the feel of their mounts.

Cowboy Bear kept asking Donika how she felt. After a while, she seemed confident and happy in the saddle.

“Are you two ready to hit the trail?” he asked.

“I sure am,” Donika said.

“Great. There's a picnic lunch in your packs and the trail is marked on our app. It’s connected to your phone's GPS. You have it downloaded to your phone, Grayson?”

“I sure do.”

Cowboy Bear opened the gate to the arena. They walked their horses out across the gravel yard and down the marked trail. The sun was high and bright overhead, warming his cheeks. He took the lead on the trail so that Donika could follow. It wasn't a difficult trail, and the horses were both mild-mannered as far as horses went. His mount Paco liked to show up Donika's mount, but that was okay because Grayson was leading them down the trail anyway.

“This is a lot more fun than I remembered,” she said.

He looked behind him and saw she was smiling, her eyes bright, holding her reins with one hand while she took pictures on her cell phone with the other.

“I thought you’d like it,” he said with a smile.

She rode her horse up next to him as the trail widened. Paco let her horse walk beside him without any attitude.

“There's a picnic table about a mile up the trail,” he said.

They continued to climb a gentle sloping elevation. The trail was paved with gravel and had small puddles of mud, but mostly it was well maintained and pleasant to ride. They moseyed along, gaining elevation slowly but surely until they came to the picnic table overlooking a view of the lake.

“Wow, what a beautiful spot,” Donika said as she looked down at the sweeping view of the lake far below.

Grayson dismounted Paco and tied him to a hitching post. He turned to Donika and helped her down. Donika tied Talley to the post while Grayson grabbed their picnics from the packs. He set everything on the picnic table for their lunch.

Donika went to look out at the view. Boats motored by, down below, and a gentle wind swept up from the water. The air was full of the promise of spring. He stood beside her, taking her hand in his.

“It's nice to get away from everything for a while,” she said. “My family and the guests at the inn are driving me crazy.”

“I can understand that,” he chuckled.

“I'm grateful to them for taking me in, but we’re just so different. I feel humiliated every day, having to wash toilets.”

“Things are going to turn around for you soon, babe. I'll be there for you every step of the way.”

“Grayson, you're so good to me.”

“That's what I'm here for. Being good to you is the easiest thing in the world.”

She smiled as he hugged her to him and kissed the top of her head. He meant every word. He had been waiting for her for so long, and now that he’d found her, all he wanted to do was make her happy. He wished he could take all her pain and suffering away, to heal her wounds, and to ease her mind. He hated every minute that she suffered. He swore that he would do everything in his power to help her. He wished he had a million dollars to throw at her lawsuit to make it go away. Or a team of lawyers to fight for her. But all he could offer her right now were his arms to hold her in and his chest to lean against. He hoped that it was enough.

They sat down at the picnic table. Sandwiches and soup were a perfect blend for the warming winter day. There was a thermos of coffee and a bottle of cool water to quench their thirst.

“I feel so at peace up here,” Donika said.

“This is one of my favorite spots in all of Fate Valley. The trail goes on a long way. I go horseback riding out here as often as I can. Cowboy Bear is an old friend.”

“It must be good to have so many friends you can depend on. I don't really have a lot of friends from when I was growing up. I wasn't exactly a popular kid in school.”

“Kids can be really mean.”

“What was it like for you in school?” she asked.

“I had some trouble with the human boys. But I was on the football team. So, once I proved myself as an athlete, I didn't have problems anymore. A lot of kids like to tease each other to prove themselves, and that's never been my thing.”

“I think in a lot of ways, the bullies made me try harder. I wish that my family understood that. My sister wasn't as dorky as I was in school. She fit into the small town much better than I did. And now she has a family and a simple life that she's happy with. I could never see myself that way.”

“You want a family now?” Grayson asked, hoping the answer would be yes.

“Maybe someday. I don't really know. There's just still too much going on. And with these fainting spells I’ve been having, I don't even know if I'm healthy enough to have children.”

“When’s the last time you had one?”

“Not since I’ve been home. I think I’ve been eating better. My grandmother's cooking and the fresh air is doing wonders for my health.”

“I think it is too,” he said, leaning in and kissing her gently on the lips.