Chapter 22
Jackie
L unch with my father and Jagger’s Nana was fantastic. Listening to them tell stories of when they were younger made me smile. Apparently, Ms. Connie and my father worked together on a Native relations project that transformed into community centers and food pantries. Together, along with Jagger’s Pappy later, built a legacy on the reservations that was thriving to this day.
My father offered to drive Ms. Connie home on his way back to the reservation. She accepted, and as we walked them to his car, my father held me back slightly and whispered, “You have my blessing, Jackie. He’s a good man, like Trent and his father. He would be welcomed in the tribe.”
My eyes grew watery as I listened to my dad confirm something I already knew. Lincoln Philips was the man I was destined to spend my forever with. The ancestors had finally bestowed upon me the other half of my soul.
Jagger and I stood in the driveway and waved as my father and his Nana drove away. They were both smiling, and when I rested my head on his arm, he leaned over and kissed the top.
“Anything special you want to do tonight, darlin’?” he asked, and I looked up at him and smiled.
“Do you think we could visit Luna? I feel bad that I’ve been neglecting her,” I responded, and he smiled.
“Why not? She hasn’t bitten me in a few days,” he replied, and I gave him a curious look as we walked inside.
After putting the leftovers away and starting the dishwasher, we put on jeans, our boots, and with the nip in the air, a long-sleeve shirt and flannel overshirt. He locked the house behind us, and when I walked up to his car, he smiled as he shook his head. He walked to his bike, and I squealed and may have jumped up and down a few times in excitement.
He chuckled and cranked the bike as I approached him. Wrapping my arms over his shoulders, I kissed him, trying to keep it clean, but he wasn’t having it. He pulled me closer, and when our tongues began to tangle together, I groaned into the embrace. When I felt his hand creep down to my ass, I reluctantly began to slow the kiss until we were looking into each other’s eyes with silly smiles on our faces.
He helped me get onto the bike and pointed to the pipes I needed to avoid. Showing me a scar on his calf, he explained, “It takes just a bump, so be careful. I don’t want anything happening to that beautiful skin.”
Climbing in front of me, he reached back and pulled me closer until my inner thighs were wrapped around his hips. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and he began to walk the bike backward. When he stopped, he looked over his shoulder and said, “Hang on, beautiful.”
Gripping tightly, I felt myself pushed back on the bike as the motor revved higher and he pulled away from the house. Keeping it slow in his neighborhood, he got to the stop light on Mt. Rushmore Road, which led to the other side of town. When it turned green, I saw him smile in the side mirror before the bike shot away from the light and down the road.
My hair was flying behind us as he maneuvered the bike around the slower traffic, keeping us at a good speed. I loved the free feeling of riding with him, and the closer to the road leading to the ranch, the more I saw him smile. At the last turn before the long road, he yelled, “Hold tight.”
I gripped myself to him and squeezed with my thighs as he rocketed down the road. I didn’t know how fast he was going, but I’d never felt so alive in my life. It was like flying without wings, and I understood why the brothers—and the hundreds of thousands of riders who come up for the Sturgis Rally every summer—loved it.
As we got closer to the ranch, he slowed down and took the turn onto the dirt road slower than he did the other night when he skidded sideways. The sun still had a few hours before it set, and as we pulled up to the front of the house, I saw Cheyenne and Laura sitting on the porch. They stood as Jagger parked the bike and turned the loud engine off.
He climbed off then offered me a hand to get me down as the ladies walked down the stairs to join us. Trent came from around the side of the house, and I was a little surprised to see Phantom with him. Phantom didn’t spend too much time around here, preferring to handle club business while Trent was dealing with the ranch, since it was a huge moneymaker for the club.
I wasn’t supposed to know that, but the brothers gossip worse than women, so seeing him and knowing he wasn’t around much when I was led me to believe Laura may have been the reason. But I wasn’t going to say anything about it because she seemed reserved, and he was always mysterious to me.
“We didn’t think we’d see you today,” Cheyenne said.
I tried to wrangle my hair into a ponytail. “I wanted to see Luna, if that’s okay. I’ve been absent, and she’s not going to be happy with me.”
Trent walked up with Phantom and offered, “I’ll have one of the ranch hands set her out in the front paddock if you want to spend some time with her.”
“Thanks,” I replied and smiled at Laura before asking, “Do you want to join me? Luna is really gentle.”
I heard a pffst sound coming from my back, and as she waked away from the group with me, I lifted my middle finger into the air, telling them to leave my girl alone. She was wild her entire life, then she was caught in a land management retrieval, an attempt to reduce the number of wild horses, and now, she lived in a barn and a pen instead of the open range she was used to. She could be pissy if she wanted to. She had the right.
Laura and I walked up to the paddock, and I stepped onto the bottom board of the fence as one of the ranch hands led Luna out and released her into the enclosure. She ran around for a few minutes as I explained to Laura, “Luna was wild, but she was captured in a population reduction move. Now, she’s a little skittish but trusts those with the right calmness.”
“I’ve never been this close to a horse before,” she admitted. “I didn’t realize how big they were.”
“They’re massive but gentle.” I returned and added, “Let me see how she’s feeling today.”
Laura stayed outside the corral as I opened the gate and let myself in. Jagger walked up to the fence as I was relocking it and handed me a bucket with carrots, hay, fresh oats, and a few sugar cubes.
“I gave her a variety,” he told me.
I blew him a kiss as he handed it over the gate to me. Turning away from him, I let my focus center on Luna, allowing our energies to mesh. The closer I got, the more she whinnied and neighed, but she never stomped her hoof nor did she pin her ears back, so that was a good sign. When I was about ten feet from her, she lowered her head as I placed the bucket onto the ground.
“Hey. I’ve missed you,” I said softly to her as I began to stroke her nose and face. “I’ve got some treats for you.”
Picking up a few carrots from the bucket, I stood and offered them to her. She picked them up and began to chomp away as I continued petting her. Glancing to the fence, I saw Laura, Jagger, Cheyenne, Trent, the ranch hand, and Phantom all sitting on the top of the fence, watching me interact with Luna.
“Don’t pay attention to them,” I whispered to Luna when she huffed in their direction.
I grabbed some hay and oats and fed her while I scratched behind her ear. Her leg began to have a tremor, so I scratched harder until she neighed at me. Smiling, I gave her a sugar cube, and she plucked it from my hand and chewed it down, almost smiling as she did.
“Do you feel like riding today?” I asked her as I walked us closer to the fence.
She didn’t seem to resist as I climbed the fence and sat down. Like the first time I met her, she walked in front of me, presenting me with her flank. Carefully, I stood and lifted one leg over her back before taking a seat on her. Without a saddle, I could feel her muscles contract and flex as I took two small tufts of her mane into each hand.
Carefully, she began to walk around the corral, purposely avoiding the fence with everyone sitting on it. The more we moved, the faster she seemed to want to trot, so I let her lead. Luna was beautiful and graceful in her trot, and as she pivoted across the corral away from everyone, she increased her speed.
I held on with my thighs as she began to run. The smile on my face must have looked ridiculous as she started running the perimeter of the fence, zooming past everyone without a care in the world.
Closing my eyes, I trusted the animal under me, and as she made her turns, I could feel her muscles contract. One more turn of the corral and I did something that would be a trust fall for Luna and me, but I knew she wasn’t going to hurt me. Releasing my hold on her mane, I held my arms out as she continued to run.
For a moment, I felt what my ancestors must have felt—freedom with your animal on the open range, feeling the connection between you, it, and the earth. I could practically see the prairie covered in wild buffalo as our trusted horses carried us into the hunt. My heart was racing, and I knew I was receiving a blessing that few got to experience.
Opening my eyes, I looked and saw Jagger with his phone out, pointed at me. I retook Luna’s mane, and with gentle pulls, I got her to slow down to a trot before she meandered to the fence so I could get off. Lifting one leg onto the fence and the other over her back, I stood on the fence while she moved away from me.
I rubbed her nose and touched my head to hers. “Thank you, Luna.”
She lifted her head before she trotted over to the discarded bucket of snacks. Leaning over, she began to chow down as I rejoined the group at the gate. Cheyenne unlocked the clasp so I could get out, and it was Laura who spoke first.
“That was amazing. I didn’t know you could ride a horse without a saddle.”
“Usually, you can’t, but Jackie and Luna have a unique bond,” Trent explained. “That’s why we kept her. She and Jackie can’t be separated.”
“We could go trail riding tomorrow if you want,” Cheyenne said to Laura, whose eyes grew wide.
She took one step back and shook her head, “I don’t want to hurt the animals.”
I was going to say something, but it was Phantom who addressed her. “You wouldn’t hurt them. And I think it would be good to get out and get some fresh air.”
“Are . . . are you coming, Gage?” Laura asked.
He offered her a smile and replied, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Gage? Huh, I guess that’s Phantoms real name. Mentally shrugging, I felt Jagger take my hand into his as the group of us turned away from the corral. I heard a noise behind us, and we all turned back to see Luna at the fence. Jagger and I turned back to see what was going on, and when we got next to the fence, I was shocked to see Luna offer him her face.
Carefully, he reached up and scratched her nose as he spoke softly to her. “I’ve got you, girl,” he said to her before pulling one sugar cube from his pocket. “Don’t bite me this time, okay?”
Slowly, he lifted his flat hand up with the cube in the middle of his palm, and I could tell he was terrified. I watched with rapt attention as Luna gently plucked the sugar cube from his hand and chomped down on it as he rubbed the side of her neck. When she had enough, she turned and trotted away.
Jagger smiled as I gave him a curious look. “I tried to feed her every day you were gone, but she kept biting me. I guess she blamed me for making you leave.”
I hugged myself to him and smiled as I said, “Then she’s got nothing to worry about. I’m home, and I’m never leaving again.”
He exhaled and whispered, “Thank fuck,” before he placed his hands on my cheeks and pulled me into a kiss.
I never thought the quiet guy at my cousin’s bar, the one who was always secretive and reserved, would be the one to sweep me off my feet. He wasn’t what I was expecting, but it’s often the unexpected in life that made for the best endings.
And with Jagger, I knew our ending was going to be happy.
It was written in the stars.