Chapter Twenty-Seven
Summer
The barn was empty and I stood at the end of the alleyway for a minute and just breathed in the horses. I brushed Aria and saddled her, then took her out into the warm sunshine, eager to soak up the sun before the rain decided to come back again. When I took her into the arena and warmed her up, she was collected and behaving perfectly.
I petted her and stopped in the middle of the arena.
It was one of those perfect days. The air had that mountain crispness to it, even though the sun was high and the air was warm. I’d grown to like it here a lot, and not just the people. I really liked Colorado. There was a feel here; that laid-back-productive one. I liked it.
Aria must have too, because she was less and less like her usual high-strung self. I reached down and stroked her mane, letting it flow through my fingers. “These ranch horses rubbing off on you?”
She snorted and shook her head.
I leaned forward to tell her my secret. “Because the ranch boys are definitely rubbing off on me.” Even if my time with them was limited. The more I thought about the impending end to the summer, the more bummed out I became. So, I shelved my depressing thoughts and focused on Aria instead.
Her ears flicked back and forth and I squeezed my lower leg into her, pressing her up into a canter. We made a few more circles and on the last one, I noticed Marlene and her family standing at the fence at the far end of the arena, so I broke into a trot and worked my way over to them.
“Good afternoon.” Marlene seemed like she was in a good mood. The kids were looking a little frayed around the edges, like maybe the ranch was softening them a bit too.
“Hi everyone.” I halted Aria by Gracie and she asked if she could pet her.
“Of course.” I loosened the reins and Aria sniffed and snorted her way to some pets and even a carrot. The twins crawled up on the fence so they could rub her ears.
“Brady said we get to watch you jump today.”
I grinned. “If that’s okay with you?”
“Absolutely,” Marlene said. “We’re excited to watch you. This has been a great trip so far—and very relaxing—which we all needed.”
“I’m glad.” I reached down and petted Aria’s neck.
Marlene took a step back from the fence. “Don’t let us keep you. When Brady told us that you were out here riding and that we could come watch, we were too excited to wait.”
I gathered my reins. “Actually, we’re all warmed up and I was ready to head to the fences.” I looked at Max’s twin, Marcus. “Can you open the gate for us?”
He puffed up like I’d asked him to carry the royal crown and lifted up on his tiptoes to undo the latch on the gate, then swung it open wide enough to drive a tractor through it. We trotted through and Aria and I both flipped our switch into competitive mode. Her ears perked forward as we got closer to the jumps and I sat up straight, connecting every possible point between our bodies and wiggling my fingers so I could feel her mouth through the reins.
Marlene and the kids took a seat on the leftover bales of hay that Tom had put beside the arena and I forgot about everything beyond the jumps. I forced Aria to take a circle so I could mentally ride the course one last time, then I moved her toward the first jump.
We sailed over the makeshift jump like it was the Olympics and we had everything on the line. I loved that we rode like this every time. Aria didn’t phone it in, and neither did I. She clipped a pole on the last jump, but it stayed up. I sat back and grinned, then gave her a giant pet on her neck. “Good girl.”
Marlene and the kids were clapping and I glanced over, a little startled to see Tom and Brady standing behind them. A blush crept up my neck and I trotted a circle to gather myself before I headed over.
“That was fantastic!” Gracie said, standing and clapping heartily.
“Thanks.”
Tom winked at me and Brady gave me a nod. For him, that was high praise and I basked in it.
Gracie petted Aria’s nose and I slid off. “Do you want to ride?” Aria was being so good that I knew she’d behave, even with a less experienced rider.
She glanced at Marlene. “Can I, Mom?”
Marlene arched her eyebrows. “Will she be okay?”
I nodded and pointed toward the arena. “We should go back in there though.”
I handed the reins to Gracie and let her lead Aria in. Brady walked off and Tom stepped closer, resting his hand on the small of my back. “You’re freaking fantastic.”
I smiled as butterflies swarmed my stomach, but not the nervous ones that I got before jumping. But these butterflies were reserved for Tom alone. He made me lose the ability to think. As we stood there, looking at each other, I was suddenly afraid he was going to kiss me. I saw the thought cross his face too, then he dropped his hand and took a half-step away.
“I have to go back to work,” he said quickly. “You working tonight?”
I nodded, still mute and swirling from the emotions of the last few minutes.
“If you’ll save me a piece of Sharon’s chocolate mousse pie, I’ll give you a lift.”
I touched his arm. “I’d like that.”
He winked and walked away as I turned to Gracie, who was eager for her first lesson. “Make her walk a circle so you guys can get used to each other.”
She was beaming from ear to ear and the boys headed to the roping box to make dirt moats and castles. Marlene and I leaned against the fence. “Thanks for letting her ride. She’s a big reason we came here. She loves horses, but it wasn’t something I’d had any experience with.”
“She’s a natural.” It was true. Aria was doing a good job of taking care of her, but Gracie had quiet hands and a natural seat. If Marlene and her family were staying longer, it would have been fun to give her lessons.
Marlene crossed her feet at the ankles. “You are an amazing rider. Do you compete?”
“I used to.”
“And now?”
I shrugged and bit my lower lip. I wasn’t sure I should tell Marlene that I was barely scraping by now. “Who knows?” I said with a quick laugh. “I’d like to compete again someday though.” I smiled wistfully.
“You’re good enough that you should definitely keep that dream alive.”
I straightened, too embarrassed to keep talking. Competing was something from another life. I was lucky that I even still had Aria now. “I’ll go help Gracie.”
“Sorry if I pried.”
I shook my head. “You didn’t. I’m happy to talk about it... I just don’t know what’s next for me.”
“Aren’t horses pretty expensive?”
“Yes,” I answered with another sigh. “But I guess you can’t help loving what you love, right?”
Marlene nodded as I walked away, suddenly feeling sad all over again.