CHAPTER 11
A light dusting of snow covered the royal stables. Twinkling lights framed the arched windows, and garlands of evergreen were draped over the stable doors, while icicles clung to the eaves like nature’s own holiday decorations.
Ava inhaled the scent of fresh pine and hay that lingered in the crisp winter air as she entered the stables with Justin.
She had changed into her riding gear that included a red wool cape and polished black boots.
As she confidently headed for a beautiful black stallion, Justin hesitated in the doorway.
“I still think we should drive,” he said, looking uncomfortable.
“We can cover more ground and go off the roads this way,” Ava insisted as she expertly adjusted a saddle on the proud stallion. Her voice and demeanor softened as she lovingly stroked the horse’s silky neck. “Are you ready for a ride, Midnight?”
Midnight affectionately nuzzled Ava and whinnied.
Justin shuddered and took a quick step back.
Ava gave him a questioning look. “You’ve ridden horses before, right?”
Justin laughed. “Yes, of course.”
“Okay, then you can take Shadow,” Ava said as she pointed to a fiery stallion who snorted and pawed at the ground.
Justin gulped.
When Ava tossed him a bridle, he almost dropped it.
Shadow snorted again and tossed his mane.
Justin took a few steps back. “You know, Shadow doesn’t really look too into this…”
Shadow pawed at the ground again.
“What are you talking about?” Ava asked. “Shadow is great.”
Justin pointed to an older mare who was sleeping in her stall. The name on the stall was Daisy.
“I think we should take this one instead,” he said.
? ? ?
Ava and Justin rode side by side across the snow-covered castle grounds, the landscape looking like something from a winter postcard. While Ava happily took in the scenery, Justin shifted uneasily in the saddle, scanning for any sign of the missing dog.
“I love being out here when it’s like this, don’t you?” she asked. When Justin didn’t respond, she glanced at him and saw him holding onto Daisy’s reins for dear life. He was off balance in his saddle, fighting not to fall.
Ava frowned. “You’re sure you’ve ridden before?”
“Yes,” Justin said. “It has just…been awhile.”
Ava gave him a skeptical look. “How long?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine,” he insisted.
“Okay,” Ava said. “Then let’s get moving. We have a lot of ground to cover. Come on Daisy, let’s go, girl.”
When Daisy started trotting, Justin freaked out.
“Whoa! Hold on. Wait,” he said, bouncing around in his saddle.
“You’re the one who said we needed to find this dog fast,” Ava said as Midnight took off in a gallop.
Daisy started galloping, too, but in the wrong direction!
“Daisy, no! Heel! Stop! Heeeelp!” Justin cried out.
Ava’s eyes grew huge when she looked over her shoulder and saw Daisy galloping away with no signs of stopping, and Justin looking like he was about to fall off her at any moment.
“Oh no. Daisy, stop! Stop!” Ava shouted as she raced after them. “Justin, hold on. I’m coming!”
? ? ?
As Ava guided Midnight in a slow walk down the snowy path, Justin sat behind her, clinging to her waist.
Daisy followed them. Her reins were secured to Midnight.
“Why didn’t you just tell me you couldn’t ride?” Ava asked.
“Because I thought I could do it,” Justin said with a sigh. “Apparently not.”
“You look terrified.”
“Yup,” Justin said, sounding embarrassed. “That about sums it up.”
“Are you afraid of horses?” Ava asked.
Silence.
“You are,” Ava answered for him. “That explains a lot. They can sense when you’re afraid, and then they take advantage of you.”
“Sounds like some of my other relationships,” Justin mumbled.
“What?” Ava asked. Even though she’d understood him perfectly, she wanted him to elaborate.
“Nothing,” Justin said. “And I’m aware of how horses work. Remember, I am a vet—”
“A vet who’s afraid of horses?”
“Yes, okay, I’m afraid of horses,” Justin said. “Are you happy now?”
Ava frowned. “No, not at all. I think that would be terrible. Horseback riding is one of my favorite things in the world. Midnight is my best friend. You have no idea what you’re missing.”
“Well, thanks, but I’ll pass. I thought I was going to be thrown and break my neck.”
“That would have been unfortunate,” Ava said.
Justin laughed at her matter-of-fact tone. “Very.”
As they rode in silence for a few minutes, the only sound they could hear was the horses’ hooves crunching through the snow, each step landing with a soft thud.
When Midnight snorted, Ava felt Justin shudder. As much as she loved giving him a hard time, she couldn’t help but feel a little bad. His fear was real. She placed her hand over his where it rested on her waist and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“It’s okay,” she said softly. “You’re safe with me. Midnight would never do anything to hurt us.” Ava smiled a little as she felt Justin relax.
“And I thought Daisy was a great choice, but clearly, she’s the wild one,” Justin said.
Ava laughed.
“What’s so funny? What are you laughing about?”
“The thought of Daisy being wild. She mostly sleeps all day. She’s as gentle as they come,” Ava said.
“Humph, well, not with me,” Justin muttered.
“She was just having a little fun with you. Right, Daisy?”
When Daisy whinnied, Ava felt Justin tense up.
“Yeah, well, I’m going to stick with dogs,” Justin said. “And right now, all I care about is finding Stormy.”
“Once we do find him, how long will it take you to train him?” Ava asked.
Justin shrugged. “It depends. He’s obviously crazy smart—”
“Or just crazy,” Ava added.
“The smart ones can either learn really fast or be a handful,” Justin continued.
“Let me guess which category you think this dog is in,” Ava replied.
“Honestly, I don’t know yet. I won’t know until I can spend more time with him.”
“And that’s one thing we don’t have—time,” Ava said. “My mother wants to introduce him at the Christmas party.”
“I know,” Justin said. “She told me. She’s very excited about it.”
“So, once we find him you’ll need to train him fast. We can’t have a royal dog running around causing chaos,” Ava said.
“No guarantees,” Justin said. “But I’ll do my best. Besides, things that really matter are worth the wait, right?”
Ava shook her head vehemently. “No. Things that really matter should happen right now. No one has any time to waste. Come on, Midnight, let’s go.” As they picked up their pace, Justin gripped her waist even tighter.
? ? ?
Outside the royal stables, Ava and Justin watched the stablehand take the horses inside.
Ava shook her head, frustrated. “I can’t believe none of the stablehands or anyone else has seen that dog.”
“And we didn’t see anything, either. No footprints, nothing,” Justin said. “I’m starting to get worried…”
“What do you mean?” Ava asked sharply.
“I really thought he got outside, and we’d find him playing around the castle,” Justin said. “I hope he’s okay.” Justin raked his fingers through his hair, stressed. “I can’t believe I’ve lost the queen’s first pet.”
Ava’s eyebrows shot up with surprise. “So, now you’re blaming yourself? I thought this was all my fault.”
“Oh, you yelling at him definitely had something to do with him taking off,” Justin said.
“But this isn’t just on you. We were both arguing, raising our voices.
I should have known better. I know how sensitive border collies are.
They’re people pleasers. The last thing they want to do is upset people.
I should have taken him away from you as soon as I saw how much you didn’t like him. ”
Ava blinked several times, taken aback. “It’s not that I don’t like him—”
Justin stopped her with a look.
“Okay, so, maybe I was a little harsh,” Ava conceded.
“I’ve never had a dog before, and when my mother brought him home, it was such a shock.
She didn’t talk to me or warn me beforehand.
” Ava took a deep breath. “But if she finds out I lost her dog, she’ll never forgive me.
The media can’t find out either. I can’t be known as the princess who lost her mother’s beloved pet. ”
“And I can’t be known as the dog trainer who lost the queen’s dog,” Justin said. “I’d never work again. We both have a lot to lose here.”
Ava nodded. “We do. I should’ve had more patience with him, but right now, I’m under so much pressure—”
“Clearly,” Justin agreed.
Ava frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“Just that it’s obvious you have a lot going on, because you’re wound up so tight.”
Ava gave him a blank stare.
“You know, tense, stressed—that’s what I meant,” Justin clarified.
“You make me sound so lovely,” Ava said sarcastically.
“I’m sure you can be, but maybe just not right now,” Justin offered.
Ava wasn’t sure if she should take that as compliment or not.
“With dogs, it’s more the tone of your voice and your body language they pick up on,” Justin explained.
“Really? A dog can sense all that?”
“Yup,” Justin said. “Just like people can.”
“Really?” Ava asked, unconvinced. “Then tell me what my body language and tone is saying right now to you.”
When Justin studied her closely, she felt herself blush.
“It’s saying…desperate…”
“What?!” Ava sputtered, shocked. She had never been called desperate in her life.
“To find Stormy,” Justin added.
When Ava gave him a searching look, his expression was impossible to read. He was staring at the stables. “Maybe Stormy didn’t come here because he doesn’t like horses, either.”
“Seriously, what happened to you?” Ava asked. “There has to be a reason you’re afraid of horses. Usually everybody loves horses.”
Justin laughed. “Yeah, well, not me, not since a county fair when I was eight and tried to get a ride on a pony, and it bit me!”
“What?” Ava asked surprised. “What did you do to it?”
Justin frowned. “Why do you assume this was my fault and that I did something wrong?”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Really? So, you’re blaming a poor little pony?”
“How do you know it was little ?” Justin shot back at her.