Chapter 15
JAKE
‘See! You’re a natural!’ I said as Halle cautiously swung her right leg over the top of a pretty chestnut-coloured horse called Champ and slid her foot into the stirrup before gently and slowly sinking into the saddle like I’d told her.
‘That’s it!’ Aidan, the guide, said encouragingly. ‘You comfortable?’
‘Yeah,’ Halle nodded, her eyes wide like she was surprised that she’d mounted the horse without falling.
When she told me what happened the last time she tried to ride a horse, my heart squeezed.
I really felt for her. That must’ve been terrifying, especially because she was surrounded by people who didn’t give a shit about her.
I knew exactly how that felt. But I’d meant what I said: I’d make damn sure that she was safe.
‘Ready to go?’ Aidan asked. I climbed up on my horse, Firecracker, which had a gorgeous reddish-brown coat.
‘I think so…’ Halle looked at me for reassurance.
‘I got you, girl.’ I nodded and she smiled.
Goddammit.
Seeing Halle smile like that… like she trusted me to take care of her hit me right in the feels.
Just like it had when I’d stupidly put my hand on top of hers.
I knew better than to make physical contact with a woman without her permission, but seeing her so upset was like a punch in the gut and I just wanted to make her feel better.
But I wasn’t prepared for how good it was gonna feel. Her skin was so soft and inviting. It sounded dumb but it was like when my hand connected to hers, it cast some kind of spell over me. I wasn’t even the one who was scared or worried, but somehow it made me feel calm.
For those few moments I forgot about everything. The shit show that my life was right now, all the missed calls from Wilma hassling me about taking more photos, worrying about where I was gonna live after I left the hotel… all that shit sailed clean out of my head.
But then when I heard a horse neigh in the stables, I snapped out of my thoughts and realised what I was doing.
Upset or not, Halle wouldn’t want me putting my hand on hers. Hell, most of the time she acted like existing on the same planet as me was too much for her, so I pulled it away.
I couldn’t lie, I was kind of disappointed because I liked how it felt, but it was for the best. I wasn’t here to start touching hands with Halle. She was scared about getting on the horse, I helped her out and now she was on it, job done.
For the first ten minutes or so, we pretty much rode in silence, but this time I didn’t take offence. I knew Halle wasn’t staying quiet because she was deliberately ignoring me. She was just focused on trying to stay calm.
‘You good?’ I asked.
‘Mmm-hmm,’ she replied, her eyes firmly fixed on the trail ahead.
‘Great views, huh?’ I said, taking in the mountains and canyons in front of us.
‘Yeah.’
‘Anytime you wanna stop to take photos, y’all just let me know,’ Aidan called out. He was slightly ahead of us whilst I rode beside Halle.
‘Thanks. We’re good,’ I said, knowing that Halle wouldn’t want to take photos.
‘I know you like taking pictures, so go ahead and take some of the views,’ she said. ‘I’m just worried about stopping the horse.’
I could easily remind her how to do it, but she was doing so well I didn’t want to disrupt her progress just to take a few photos.
Maybe we could stop later or I’d just take some selfies.
‘It’s okay, let’s carry on,’ I said.
As we continued riding, Halle’s shoulders loosened. I was glad to see that she was more relaxed.
‘I can’t believe I’m actually riding a horse!’ She cautiously turned her head towards me before swiftly moving it back to look straight ahead.
‘You better believe it!’ I said, trying to ignore the way my chest had expanded when I saw her smile again. ‘And you’re doing great.’
‘Thanks. For listening. And for encouraging me to try again.’
‘My pleasure,’ I said. Knowing that I’d helped her in some small way to conquer her fear made me feel ten feet tall.
When Halle spotted a great view of the Hollywood sign her face lit up again.
‘Now you’ve gotta let me take a photo of y’all here.’ Aidan turned back and headed towards us. ‘This view’s too good to miss. Give me your cell.’ He held his hand out.
He was right. It was a great view. But I didn’t want to make Halle uncomfortable.
‘Aidan’s right,’ Halle said before I even had a chance to ask her if it was okay.
‘I can just take a selfie, so you don’t have to be in it,’ I said and her face fell. Shit. I’d upset her. ‘Unless you want to be,’ I added quickly. ‘It’d be cool if you were, but I know you don’t like to take photos – that’s the only reason I said you don’t have to be in it.’
‘Oh. Okay. I thought that… well, okay. But I don’t remember how to stop.’
‘Let me help you,’ I said. Once I’d guided her through the steps to bring Champ to a gentle halt, I handed my cell to Aidan.
‘Come on, you guys! You can do better than that!’ Aidan shook his head. ‘Jake, bring Firecracker closer to Champ. You two are a beautiful couple, no need to look like strangers.’
‘We’re not…’ Halle and I chorused our denial, turning to face each other before laughing.
‘He’s right,’ I whispered. ‘The photo would look less awkward, but if you’re not comfortable…’
‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘You can move.’
‘Off the cliff?’ I smirked.
‘That sounds like a very tempting offer, but if you go over the edge, then who’ll save me if my horse goes feral?’ The corner of her mouth twitched and I was glad that she was relaxed enough about the situation to crack a joke. Especially considering her past experience.
‘I reckon Aidan will step in to help.’
‘He’d do his best, but with your beefy arms, you’d probably do a better job.’
‘So you think my arms are beefy?’ I cocked my head. ‘How beefy we talkin’? Like a regular hamburger or prime ribeye or T-bone?’
‘Well, I was thinking more about the minced beef you find in cheap hamburgers or the stuff they put in dog food…’ She grinned.
‘Unbelievable,’ I snorted, fighting the urge to laugh.
‘What? I’m sure the dogs love their tinned food just fine.’
‘Gee, thanks for the compliment.’
‘You two lovebirds finished whispering sweet nothings yet?’ Aidan raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
‘Sorry, we, er, got distracted,’ she said.
‘Yep. Halle was just admiring my beefy arms.’ I flashed a mischievous grin.
‘I was not…!’
‘Say cheese!’ Aidan called out, ignoring her protest.
‘Cheese!’ I said loudly, turning to face her. I expected to be met with a glare but instead her mouth tilted up into a half smile.
Well, won’t you look at that.
Not only was Halle taking a photo with me, willingly, she was almost cracking a smile.
Turned out miracles were possible.
* * *
‘I did it!’ Halle said, a giant grin splitting her face. I got off my horse and watched her excitedly wriggle around on the saddle. ‘Not only did I do the whole ride without falling off, this time I also made the horse stop all by myself too.’
‘You sure did!’ I said. ‘I’m proud of you.’
Her eyes widened.
‘You are?’
‘Yeah. That can’t have been easy. You could’ve just sat it out and hidden inside the bus, but you didn’t. You faced your fears. That took guts.’
Halle blinked a few times before swallowing hard.
Seemed like she wasn’t used to compliments.
‘Thanks,’ she said sheepishly, before swinging her leg back over the horse to dismount. Halle paused midway. ‘I forgot to say thank you to you too, Champ.’ She patted her horse on its side.
My chest immediately tightened. Depending on how the horse had been trained, patting it like that could be seen as a signal for it to move or follow a specific command.
Less than a second later, just as I feared, Champ did a quick turn, causing Halle to lose her footing.
‘No!’ I called out as the movement sent Halle crashing towards the ground…