Chapter 14
Archer
Juliet falls silent, her legs remaining still.
“You do?” she says in a breathless voice, then she takes to uselessly kicking at the air again like a frog.
Help her, you idiot.
Rushing forward, I move to Rapunzel’s side, then stare. Those embroidered flowers on her back pockets now stare at me eye-level, and I hesitate. How the heck am I supposed to help her out of this without...touching her?
I think through it a moment longer, then move into action. “Hold onto the saddle horn.”
She shifts, and I secure my arm against her thighs to ensure she doesn’t fall. With my free hand, I grasp her lower thigh and give it a gentle shove, providing the correct amount of leverage until she swings her right leg over the horse.
I keep a steady hand on her other leg now as she leans forward over the saddle horn with heavy breaths, finally seated properly.
Her cheeks are rosy, though from exertion or embarrassment, I can’t be sure.
“So...you remember me.”
Embarrassment, it is.
“I do,” I say, fighting off a grin.
I can see the image as clear as day now. Instead of Juliet with long dark hair, I see little Juliet with a blonde bob, still the same height, still the same hopping as she tried to mount, still the same launching into the air and legs flailing about.
“What gave me a way?” she asks, straightening with a grimace.
“The helpless kicking.”
She covers her face with both hands, then her shoulders start to shake. Is she...crying? I hesitate, placing my hand on her knee. “Juliet? It’s okay...”
After a moment, she lowers her hand and reveals, to my relief, a brilliant smile across her lips.
Finally, I let loose my own laughter.
After a few minutes, she sits back in the saddle with a shake of her head and a heavy sigh. “I knew this was going to happen. I knew I wouldn’t be able to mount still. I was just so desperate to prove myself.”
Her attention rests on my hand still on her lower leg, and I instantly drop it.
“You don’t need to prove yourself, Juliet. You’re impressive enough, even without a knowledge of horses.”
I’m not sure if my words are what she needs to hear, but her expression softens. “Well, can we start this trail ride before my dad’s fifty-one?”
“You bet.”
She smooths out her hair and looks to the ground at her right. “Would you mind grabbing my hat for me? I’d hate to have you see what I look like when I get off the horse.”
I really wouldn’t mind seeing those embroidered flowers again, actually. But I walk around Rapunzel to retrieve the hat anyway, extending it to Juliet.
She places it on her head. “Thanks. Although, maybe I’m better off with a hard hat.”
“Nah. I like this one better on you.”
She looks down at me in surprise, and I wink.
What can I say? I’m a glutton for punishment.
I hand Juliet the reins and rehearse the basics of riding, which she humbly listens to. Then I mount Irving, Juliet’s eyes fixed on me as I lean forward to adjust my seat.
“Ready?”
She smiles, nodding in silence as we take the horses out onto the trail.
It’s impossible not to stare at Juliet atop the palomino. I’ve had girls come out here before, wanting to ride my horses with me. They were graceful, pretty, and secure—a fine enough distraction from the loneliness of my life.
More often than not, though, I couldn’t wait for them to leave. It was like they were encroaching on something personal—almost spiritual—and I didn’t want to share it with them. Sadie is different in that there’s no obligation between us, but even then, sometimes I’m hankering to be alone.
Juliet is something else, though. She’s the first woman I’ve ever asked to come out here.
“What’s all that?”
Her words break through my thoughts as she points to a pile of black-painted boards, dark sheets, and wood stacked high at the side of the stables we walk beyond.
“Oh, just stuff for a little event I put on here around Halloween.”
“Event? I didn’t know you did events here.”
“This will only be my second time.”
“What is it?”
“A Sleepy Hollow, Headless Horseman type thing. Sleepy Holler, is what I’ve called it.”
But her eyes brighten. “I love that story. You’re holding it again this year?”
“I hope so.” Will she come? I might work harder knowing that. “It’ll be held a couple days after the wedding.”
“Awesome. Although you might be sick of seeing me here so often after that,” she jokes.
I don’t know if I could ever be sick of Juliet.
“So why is it just a hope that you’ll be holding it—instead of a sure thing?” she asks next.
“I had a rough time getting it off the ground last year.”
“What’s difficult about it? Just the work?”
“Um. Getting people’s approval and stuff.”
She looks at me, and I can almost feel her reading my thoughts. “Don’t tell me. My dad?”
I don’t say anything.
She looks around, then back at me. “I think we’re remote enough to start talking about this now, don’t you?”
“You’re sure you want to use your questions for this?”
“Yes.”
“Because you could ask me anything, you know.”
“I know.”
“And I don’t want to put you in the middle of things.”
“Archer?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to give me back the maple bars you ate on the way here?”
“Fine. A promise is a promise. Shoot.”
“Does my dad not like you for a reason greater than his being overprotective?”
Right out of the gate. She’s faster than some of the bulls I rode. “He doesn’t like me for a lot of reasons.”
“What reasons?”
“Because he caught me doing something stupid when I first moved to Autumn Ridge. And then found out I...have a police record.”