15. Maggie
Chapter fifteen
Maggie
I woke up the following day still rattled by the mind-blowing kiss I shared with Jack the night before.
It most definitely shouldn’t have happened, and yet we both fell victim to our desires.
There was something about Jack that made me want to throw caution to the wind and say, to hell with it.
He had the power to make me give in at any moment, but as much as I wanted to indulge in those desires, I needed to put our baby first. Jack was so good to me.
Too good to me. I felt guilty for underestimating his kindness and how much he truly valued family.
There was no better quality I sought in the father of my child.
This new dynamic of friendship needed to work.
It didn’t feel too challenging, as we developed a good one while working together.
We fell into a routine, learning when to leave the other alone and when to work together.
Making jokes as we took horses out on sets, teasing each other when he returned from his practices…
yeah, I could do this. I was determined to make friendship and co-parenting work.
It had to. So much needed to be done before the baby came, anyway, starting with a new job.
During my conversation with Alvita Luna the night before, she told me that the Golden Meadow Polo Club was looking for an assistant riding and polo instructor for kids.
Because I was expecting, Alvita assured me she would connect me with the head instructor.
She said I would be perfect for the job, since I didn’t need to be on a horse to teach.
I took it upon myself to drive to the polo school barn and introduce myself to the current instructor.
Dust followed me as I parked Jack’s truck at the massive barn beside a sand arena.
A woman who looked around my age emerged from the barn's center aisle and waved.
Even from afar, her beauty nearly startled me. She could be a model, even in her bright pink, long-sleeved riding shirt and skinny jeans. That, paired with her bright smile, made her look like one of the least intimidating polo instructors I had ever met.
“Hi, I’m Lina! You must be Maggie.” I flinched at her volume and pep as I met her at the barn entrance and took in the scenery.
The big, wooden barn didn’t look more than ten years old.
It was well-kept with beautiful landscaping that climbed the wooden walls and perfectly painted black fencing.
Horse stalls lined the barn, each with nametags and feeding instructions written on a dry-erase board.
“That’s me. It’s so great to meet you.” I held out my hand to shake hers, but she pulled me into a hug.
“Alvita Luna told me all about you. I think you’re going to be a great instructor. Plus, I hear you have a baby on the way!” She waggled her eyebrows with a smile.
Keep it together, Maggie.
That wasn’t the first thing I expected to hear when I arrived. It startled me more than it should have, but I needed to get used to the whole “expecting mother” role.
“Yes, I am.” I tried my best to sound enthusiastic. “I won’t be able to ride, but I’m perfectly capable of teaching on the ground.”
“That’s perfect, because I’m going to need help with the beginner students, who need someone working from the ground, instead of on a horse,” she answered with a bright smile. “So, let me show you around!”
Lina turned, walking into the barn. As I entered, I realized how big the structure truly was. It didn’t look like your average polo club barn. The ceiling stretched upward, and a massive hay loft was above what I assumed were the tack and feed rooms.
“So, we have a nice, twenty-four-stall barn to work out of and twelve lesson horses. There are four or five that you will be using the most since they’re the calmest and easiest for beginners.
” She talked like she was giving a tour, displaying her professionalism and sunny personality.
We veered toward the center of the barn.
“The other twelve stalls, we lease out to various owners that play here, and we have staff to take care of those horses, so there’s no need to worry about them.
The kids can pet the lesson horses, but try to keep them away from the boarders. ”
“This is incredible,” was all I could muster.
“I know! We’re so lucky we have such a beautiful club and such nice facilities.” Her eyes glimmered with the same excitement I began to feel. “If you follow me out here, I’ll show you the arena. Sometimes used for lessons, but also arena polo, which we have every Tuesday and Thursday.”
The arena was about fifty yards from the barn, with wooden bleachers built onto the side. The door to enter it was wide open, displaying perfectly-dragged red sand and a few arena balls lined up in the center. If this wasn’t the perfect setup for polo and riding lessons, I didn’t know what was.
Lina turned to face me again. “Any questions so far?”
I began to open my mouth to speak, but a gray Range Rover pulled up next to the barn. Two little girls jumped out of the backseat after opening their doors. They giggled with enthusiasm and massive smiles on their faces.
“Hold that thought. Your first clients are here!” Lina exclaimed like a cheerleader.
“First clients? I’m giving a lesson today ?” My stomach jumped down about four levels. I planned to watch some tutorials or online lessons about teaching kids, and then ones about riding lessons. I had no idea I was teaching the day I first arrived.
“No, I will give the instructions, but you can shadow me to see how everything works, the process, etcetera. Don’t worry, girl! I’m not throwing you in the deep end just yet.” She chuckled. I took a deep breath of relief as my heart rate returned to normal.
“Oh, okay. Thanks, Lina.” She smiled at me before greeting the family approaching us. I observed them for a moment before following her.
They looked unfairly traditional. A tall, blonde mother with her handsome husband in tow.
Each carried a pair of riding boots and helmets, chasing after their energetic daughters before they wreaked havoc in the barn.
The two looked so…I don’t know, put together.
Maybe it was because they had a few years of practice being parents, but how did they know when they had it figured out?
The two girls looked to be about seven or eight.
Twins, I wasn’t sure, but they looked exactly like their mom: long, platinum blonde hair pulled into pigtails below their ears, lanky legs they hadn’t yet gotten the hang of, and bright, blue eyes that sparkled when they caught a view of the horses.
“I call Hamlet!” one of the girls yelled, darting toward the barn.
“Fine, then I call Paloma!” the other called after her sister.
I couldn’t help but smile at how adorable the two looked. They were so happy to be here. My hand clutched over my stomach as I followed Lina into the barn to retrieve the horses. Here went the first day of my job for the next few months.
Don’t screw it up.
Upon entering the barn, the two girls immediately calmed and padded to the horses they previously claimed, gently scratching their noses, and I smiled.
I recognized that look. It was the serenity that entered your mind after reuniting with the gentle beasts.
I felt it every day. I hoped my baby would feel the same about horses as these little girls and I did.
“Okay, girls, listen up!” Lina waved the kids over to her, and they complied. “So, today will be a little different. My friend Maggie is joining us to watch how lessons work, because she’s going to be a new instructor here. Yay!”
The girls cheered and smiled at me. It was nice to be appreciated by such young kids. I had never felt that before.
“Maggie, this is Kellie and Josie Rogers. They have only taken four lessons with
me, but they ride like pros. Today, we’re working on posting at the trot.”
“I love trotting!” Kellie exclaimed. “It’s so bouncy, and I feel like I’m on a trampoline.”
Lina giggled.
“That’s why we’re learning how to post! We use that bounce and make it into a controlled up and down motion.”
The girls’ behavior was beyond impressive. They quietly watched and listened as Lina and I explained how we tacked up the horses. I tacked Josie’s horse, and Lina prepared Kellie’s. As I wrapped Hamlet’s left leg with a polo wrap, Josie asked, “Wait, why do we put that thingy on his leg?”
I grinned at her curiosity. “Have you ever played soccer before?”
Josie nodded. “I’m super good at it. I play every Wednesday.”
“That’s awesome!” My enthusiasm came more naturally than I expected. “So, polo wraps are kind of like shin guards. They keep a special muscle, called the tendon, protected and supported. It also provides padding if a ball or mallet hits them.”
“Woah. I didn’t know a tiny little wrap could do all that.” She let out a giggle.
“It’s pretty cool, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
She was adorable, tugging at my heartstrings and lending hope that I might be carrying a little girl inside of me.
A flash of a starry-eyed toddler with little boots running through the barn appeared in my mind.
She looked a little more like Jack, with her blonde hair and signature smirk. My chest warmed at the thought.
Twenty minutes later, we helped the girls mount their horses.
They began walking to the arena, following Lina, while I trailed behind, watching how she interacted with the adorable little riders.
It made me wonder if she had any kids of her own.
She was so sure of herself, so confident.
I looked like a dancer with two left feet compared to her—completely unaccustomed to the new environment.
It was yet another reality check that I had no idea how to be a mother. How to tell kids what to do without sounding like a dictator. How to discipline them if they didn’t do what was asked. How to know when they were hungry or tired. God , there was so much.
The girls were posting like little professionals by the end of the hour, giggling and confident about their riding skills.
I had no idea what I was doing at first. I watched as Lina reminded them to keep their heels down and squeeze the horses like it was a bottle of toothpaste.
I had them make circles around me while they trotted and demonstrated how to perform the up-and-down posting motion.
I loved watching people fall in love with horses in the same way I did. If I couldn’t ride for the next eight months, this was the next best thing. Maybe running away from my life in Pennsylvania wasn’t the worst idea in the world.