CHAPTER FOUR #3
“Okay, here’s goes nothin’.” Boone held the horse steady while she followed his instructions, lifted herself up, and plopped her perfect butt onto the saddle. “I did it!” She shifted her backside a bit and kept hold of the saddle horn.
“You sure did.” He’d never seen this side of her, the relaxed, fun-loving side.
Patience cranked her neck around to side-eye Luna. She gave her head a good shake, causing her tack to clink and rattle.
Sassy started fidgeting with excitement at the prospect of a ride.
“Hold on to the saddle horn while I lead the horses out.” He didn’t really need to tell her that, since she’d had an iron grip on it from the moment she dropped onto the saddle.
Boone strolled over to open the gate, returned and grabbed the reins for both horses, then led them out of the paddock.
“These are the reins.” He handed them up to her. “Think of them as the steering wheel. You pull the right one, she’ll turn right. Left one, she’ll go to the left. Pull toward you, and she’ll stop.”
She wrapped her fingers tightly around them.
“Relax your hold a bit.” Her hold was so tight, her knuckles were white. “All it takes is the slightest tug to make her turn. Other than that, Patience will do all the work for you.”
One at a time, she released the leather straps, wiped her hands down the front of her thighs, then picked up the reins and held them loosely.
The horse picked that moment to shift her weight.
Luna’s eyes widened, her entire body visibly stiffened, and she grabbed the saddle horn with both hands.
“It’s okay.” He laid his hand on her knee and looked up at her. “She’s just shifting her weight and getting used to you being up there.”
“Oh, of course.” She rolled her eyes. “Duh, that makes sense.”
He held Sassy’s reins, stepped into the stirrup and threw his leg over her back. He wedged his right boot into the other stirrup, and his saddle creaked when he settled onto the soft leather. It was well broken-in and as comfortable as a saddle could get.
“Now, to get her to move, give her a light tap in the side with your heels. Like this.” He demonstrated with Sassy, who starting walking. He stopped and twisted at the waist to look back at her. “Give it a try. And remember, just a light tap is all it’ll take.”
Her chest rose and fell as she let loose a deep breath before doing as instructed. Patience slowly started moving toward Boone, and Luna’s reaction was priceless.
“Oh, my gosh!” Her eyes lit up, and her smile beamed like sunshine cutting through clouds. “I’m doing it! I’m riding a horse!”
“Yes, you are.” Boone chuckled at her childlike glee.
Patience automatically moved up alongside Sassy, and they started loping across the barnyard toward the large field. Once there, he spent a few minutes giving Luna some more basic instructions and reassured her that she could trust that Patience wouldn’t do anything crazy.
“We’ll head to that big pasture over there.” Boone would show her a few more things, and he was confident she’d have a great time. “You ready?”
“Ready.” She nodded.
He gave a light tap of his heel to Sassy’s side, and Patience automatically followed her to the large pasture.
He kept their pace nice and steady, not too fast, and made sure to keep an eye on Luna, just in case she got nervous or scared.
Though, from the joyful look of wonder on her face and the way she was comfortable enough to lean forward and brush her hand down Patience’s neck, she appeared to be doing just fine.
They practiced stopping, starting, and turning in both directions. She even rode around in a big circle a few times. She was a fast learner, figuring out her center of gravity early on, and was a natural when it came time to transitioning from a trot to a canter.
“You sure you’ve only ridden that one time?” he asked.
“Trust me, I’m sure.” Her grip on the reins was relaxed, and her shoulders had visibly softened. “Patience makes it easy.”
“Okay, let’s ride.” He moved across the large pasture to where their actual ride would begin.
There was a dirt trail worn in the grass, and they took it all the way up to the highest point of his property. It was nothing like back home, but it still afforded him a nice view of the low valley adjacent to his land.
“Whoa, girl.” Boone gave a gentle pull of the reins, and Sassy came to a stop near the edge of the hill.
Luna and Patience stopped next to them.
“Good job, Sassy.” His leather saddle creaked when he leaned forward and patted the side of his big mare’s dark, reddish-brown neck.
“Oh, my gosh, Boone.” Luna straightened her legs enough to rise out of the saddle and look down into the valley. “It’s beautiful from up here.” She sat back down.
“I want to show you something.” He threw his leg over Sassy’s back, dismounted, and looped the reins around a dead branch.
The horse instantly lowered her head and started yanking huge tufts of dark green grass from the ground and munching on them.
Luna started to dismount, and he hurried around to help her. He needn’t have worried, because she climbed down like she’d been riding for years.
“You’re a natural.” He showed her where to secure Patience’s reins.
“Not quite, but I appreciate the confidence-booster.” She brushed off the seat of her jeans.
As usual, Patience followed Sassy’s lead and started eating grass.
Boone reached up and grabbed the blanket roll strapped to the back of the saddle and tucked it beneath his arm so he could remove a couple of bottles of water from one of his saddle bags.
He held his free hand out, hoping with everything he had that Luna would take it.
She looked down at it, hesitated, then finally set her hand in his palm.
Boone felt like he’d won the damn lottery.
“Watch your step in here.” He led her into a copse of trees where large roots littered their path.
After a few minutes of navigating their way around trees and large ferns, they stopped at a clearing. In the center was a massive weeping willow tree. Its leaf-laden branches drooped all the way to the ground.
“After you.” He released her hand, speared his arm between the branches, and held them back like a curtain so she could pass through. He followed her and let the branches fall back into place.
Concealed in the space created by the canopy of branches, it was as if the rest of the world simply fell away.
“It’s … it’s like something out of a fairy tale.” Luna slid her sunglasses up to perch on the top of her head and turned to take in the unique beauty.
The shade from the tree kept it cool beneath the canopy.
Decades-old branches arched downward like gnarled fingers reaching toward the earth, and they were surrounded by the soft sound of leaves rustling against each other from the light breeze.
Butterflies hovered over the yellow catkins—small, fuzzy blooms—that dotted the branches and created an interesting-looking ground cover.
She walked over to one and leaned in for a closer look.
“It’s looks like a caterpillar, but it’s a bloom.” She reached out and gently brushed her fingertip along the fuzz, then turned to him. “I’ve never seen anything like this place before in my life.”
Boone set the water down, unrolled the blanket, and spread it out on the ground.
“I come up here when I need to decompress after an op or if I just need to think.” He tilted his head back and surveyed the old tree, then turned to her. “I’ve never brought anyone here before.”
“You haven’t?” There was a skeptical lift of her left eyebrow. “Not even a girl you wanted to impress?”
Her voice was teasing, but there was a hint of something else. Jealousy maybe?
“Nope.” He shook his head. “The only girl I’ve wanted to impress lately is you.”
“Me? Really?” She stepped closer. “Boone, why did you really bring me up here?”
“I wanted you to see it, and in case you haven’t noticed, Luna, I’d like to get to know you better.” He moved up to her and dipped his chin down to look at her. “And, well, I thought maybe if I shared this special place with you, you might begin to trust me a little.”