Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
“ W here are you going with that?”
He wasn’t sure why he was even asking the question. A saddle in the hands of his nana could only mean one thing.
“I’m going for a trail ride. Isn’t it obvious?” she answered, like it wasn’t completely crazy to get back on a horse after her last spill. Had she even been cleared to ride by her doctor, yet? Spencer didn’t think so.
“By yourself?”
When the saddle started to slip from her arms, he rushed over to help her with it. If he had his way, he’d be putting that saddle back up on the rack in the tack room and not onto the back of a horse.
“Yes, by myself.” Her tone was no nonsense. “Do you know how many rides I’ve been on by myself over the years?”
“More than I can count, I’m sure.”
“Exactly. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
But he did have something to worry about, starting with Nana Jo’s insistence that she was fit, healthy, and strong enough to get back in the saddle. Obstinance was always expected when it came to his grandma, but he didn’t like her stubbornness when it came to her safety.
“Give me ten and I’ll join you,” he said. If he couldn’t convince her to stay grounded, he could at least join her on the trail to keep an eye on her in case anything happened.
“I don’t need you babysitting me, Spence.”
“Not babysitting, just accompanying.”
“One and the same.”
“Not entirely.” He shifted his weight on his boots and readjusted her heavy saddle to support the bulk of it on his hip. “Who were you planning to ride today?”
“Alpine.” She spoke the horse’s name confidently like he hadn’t been the one to bruise and break her earlier that year.
“Has he even been ridden since your fall?” Spencer prodded. “Exercised?”
“It was a freak thing.” Her arms, now free of the saddle, folded defiantly over her chest. “He knows better than to do that again.”
“Would you be open to a suggestion?”
“I’m opening to hearing it, not guaranteeing I’ll take it, though.”
“How about I ride Alpine, and you take Bluebell?”
Nana Jo gave him a stern look. “You’re more comfortable having me ride a new horse than one that’s been with me for over seventeen years?”
“Yes, I am. I’ve been able to put a few more rides on her in the last week, and she’s as close to bombproof as possible. Plus, she’s had a rider on her back more recently than Alpine has,” he reasoned. “If you can honestly tell me you’d feel safer riding a horse that’s been out of work for as long as Alpine, over a well-trained, recently ridden one, then I’ll back off. But I need you to be honest with me.”
Nana Jo’s stance relaxed, and then her hands flew into the air. “Fine, fine. I’ll ride the new gal. But only because I’m curious to see if she really is as well-trained as you say.”
“Oh, she is, and then some.”
“But you better not give Alpine a hard time.”
Spencer scoffed. “You’re worried about me giving that gelding a hard time? He’s the one that spooked, did a three-sixty, and dumped you off his back.”
“You’re making it sound like he did it on purpose.” It was as if Spencer was badmouthing one of her beloved grandchildren, the way Nana Jo defended the animal.
“I don’t mean to imply that he did. I know that horse has taken care of you well over the years. But something’s made him spookier lately, and I don’t think you should risk it. Let me ride him and see if I can figure out what’s going on,” he suggested. “Plus, if he dumps me off, I’ve got a lot more padding than you do. I’ll just bounce.”
“Someday you won’t,” she pointed out. “Someday you’ll wake up and realize the bones in the body you used to put all your faith in are fully capable of betraying you.”
He paused and gave his grandmother a long, thoughtful look. “Is that how you feel?”
“Spence, I look in the mirror most days and don’t even recognize the woman staring back. When did I get so old ?”
He’d never thought of her that way. Sure, maybe she was starting to show some signs of aging on the outside, but her tenacity, her spirit, and her fire were still alive and well. She was so much more than her wrinkles, more than gray hair.
“I know I shouldn’t complain,” she said. “Growing old beats the alternative. But sometimes, that alternative doesn’t look so bad when it means I get to be with my beloved Harris again.”
It had been so long since Nana Jo had lost her husband, so long since their family lost its patriarch. Spencer wished for just one more moment with his grandfather. He’d ask him about the summers he used to spend as a teen in Wyoming. He’d learn the trails he used to take and the mountains he used to cover, if only to be able to live out his legacy and carry on with the grand adventure.
When Spencer moved away to try his hand at cattle ranching, he gave up that closeness he’d once shared with Grandpa Harris. They’d call (Grandpa never really got the hang of texting), but hearing his voice through the phone wasn’t the same as sitting across from him sharing a cup of coffee and a story about the good old days. There were times when Spencer wished he would have known life would lead him back to Snowdrift. Maybe he never should have left in the first place. But then again, the only reason he was able to come back and save the place was because he’d done well in ranching. Life had a way of working itself out.
“Well,” he said to his nana. “I understand the longing to be with Grandpa again. But I, for one, am glad you’re still here, with us. Not ready to give you up just yet, Nana.”
“I fear you’ll have a hard time getting rid of me. Doctor says I’m healthy as a horse.”
“Really?” That’s not exactly what he’d heard from Clara. “That so?”
“More or less.” She shrugged. “Even though this ticker’s still ticking,”—she hooked a thumb to her chest—“we shouldn’t dawdle. Not too much time before sundown and I’d like to eat dinner with my houseguests tonight. They’re a fun bunch, this group.”
With that, they tacked up their horses, mounted them, and set out on the trail.
Alpine was ornery, no way around it. Maybe it was the unfamiliar rider on his back that brought out his temper, but Spencer didn’t like it. He tugged on the reins to bring Alpine’s nose around to his boot each time the horse got jiggy or too amped up. He’d stop and make the gelding do a circle when he would crow hop. Spencer was not going to put up with that nonsense today, no sir.
Thankfully, Bluebell was acting every bit the lady with Nana Jo on her back. He knew his grandmother wouldn’t admit it right off the bat, but an hour into their ride, she finally acknowledged the horse’s good behavior.
“She’s a gem,” she said when they came to the highest point on their acreage and took a break. “Not a mean bone in her body.”
“See? What did I tell you?”
“Glad I took a chance on her.” Nana Jo leaned forward to pat the blue roan on her neck. She combed her fingers through the mare’s dark mane. “She was worth it. A real sweetheart.”
“Alpine, on the other hand.” It was still a battle of wills between Spencer and Alpine. The gelding tried to tug free from his reins to reach down and grab a bite from a nearby bush. Spencer tightened his grip on the leather and pulled the horse’s head back up. “Have you been letting him get away with all of this?” Spencer did another full circle, forcing the horse to pay attention to his cues.
“He’s being exceptionally ill-mannered with you today.”
“I don’t like it.” Spencer had little patience for horses whose antics put their riders in danger.
“I can see why you came off of him.”
Spencer considered himself a skilled rider with a sticky seat in the saddle, but even he felt himself lift when Alpine would test him with a crow hop every now and again.
“Have you had someone come out to the ranch to look at him?” he asked. “I’ve never seen him this unhappy to be put to work.”
“I haven’t, but I probably should. I agree, it’s not like him to be so fussy.”
“Makes me think there might be an underlying issue. He’s almost acting like he’s in pain.”
Yes, horses were sometimes naughty just for the sake of being stubborn, but this was more than that. Alpine clearly wanted to avoid being ridden at all costs.
And Spencer had the good sense not to test a horse that might be acting out due to pain.
He swung his leg back over the gelding and dismounted.
“You’re walking him?” Nana Jo asked, stunned.
“I’m certainly not going to ride him.”
“Let me, then.” She was about to get down from Bluebell. “I can handle him.”
“I assure you, it’s not that I can’t handle him. But I’m not about to ride a horse that’s this uncomfortable. I know Alpine. He’s a good boy. But this? This isn’t him. He’s clearly not wanting to be ridden for some other reason. I’d rather not find out by being dumped to the ground.”
“You’re going to teach him that if he acts up enough, he gets his way.” Nana Jo was looking down at her grandson, and for a moment Spencer couldn’t help but feel like he was the one being disciplined.
“I’m unwilling to put myself in danger—or put you and Bluebell in harm’s way—if it is actually pain causing this sort of response from him. I know you’re of the mindset that if you get bucked off, you get back in the saddle. And most of the time I would agree with you. But I’d rather not get bucked off to begin with, and my gut is telling me this horse isn’t just being a pill to be a pill. There’s more going on than we can see. I’m not getting back on him today. You good with that?””
At the end of the day, Alpine was his grandmother’s horse, so Spencer figured she had final say. He almost didn’t want to give her the option to disagree.
She thought on it for a moment, then something softened in her gaze when she looked at her old horse.
“I’m good with that.” She nodded. “I agree, he’s not acting like himself. And you’re a lot of weight to carry around if he really is in pain.”
“Hey,” Spencer said, chuckling. “I resent that.”
“I think you mean you represent that.”
“I’m not that big of a guy.”
Bluebell was starting to nod off, her long face dipping closer to the ground with every head bob. Alpine was trying the same, slowly lowering his head to grab another bit of grass, but Spencer wouldn’t allow it. The only reward the horse would receive was a riderless walk back. No treats, no snacks.
“You’ve turned into quite the strapping young man, Spencer. All the young ladies say so.”
His chin tugged back. “Who is saying this?”
“For starters, the bachelorettes back at the ranch house. One of them even asked if you had a girlfriend. They’re a cute bunch.”
He couldn’t explain why this information made something sink inside him. Was he really expecting to hear his grandmother say Trinity’s name? No, of course not. But there had been a small portion of himself that had hoped to hear it, he supposed. Because hearing that the women at the house thought he was handsome did nothing to him. Didn’t faze him one bit. He wasn’t interested.
“They’re just in bachelorette mode.” He shrugged off the information and started off toward the barn, Alpine trailing a foot behind.
Bluebell perked up and walked alongside them on a loose rein with Nana Jo sitting relaxed on her back.
“Not your type?” his grandma asked. “There are a few cute blondes in the group.”
Spencer never would have really said he had a type, but now, thinking about the kind of woman he would like to date, all he could conjure up was an image of Trinity.
He shook his head. “Not my type.”
“What is your type then? You know, some say I’m pretty good at matchmaking.”
He aimed a look over at his grandma. “Some say that, huh?”
“Lance and Sarah might say that. Along with others.”
“I don’t need any matchmaking. I’m good.”
“You’re happy being alone, then?”
He didn’t feel alone. He had friends, animals. Plenty to keep him busy at the ranch. But when he stepped into his unfinished house, his footsteps echoing in the large, empty spaces, he had to admit that he did feel a little alone.
“Of course, I’d like to share my life with someone. But I haven’t found her yet.”
“You sure about that?” was all Nana Jo said before squeezing her heels and clucking her tongue, spurring Bluebell into a trot that took the two far away from Alpine and Spencer, leaving them in a cloud of confusion, contemplation, and maybe even a little glimmer of hope.