Chapter 15
UP ON THE creek bank, mounted on a chestnut-brown mare, I saw a very cute girl.
Very, as in extremely.
She was wearing jeans, knee-high boots, a snug T-shirt with a cool I RIDE graphic, riding gloves, and one of those velvety black helmets with a button on top. She looked to be my age, and she had fair skin, blond hair (tucked up under the helmet), and the most amazing laugh I had ever heard—even if she was laughing at me.
“Ride much?” she said.
“Um, not really.”
I sloshed a little closer to the shore, the creek water squishing in my sneakers. I wanted to see if the girl’s eyes were really as brilliantly blue as the summer sky. Behind me, Xanthos whinnied and neighed and pawed at the water. My spiritual advisor was putting on a big act, pretending to be a humble horse.
The girl dismounted, came to the shore, shot out her hand, and helped me haul myself out of the creek.
Her eyes? Even bluer than the sky. We’re talking sapphires.
“Did you hurt yourself?” she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
“Not really. Just dented my pride a little, I guess.”
“Hey, we all fall off now and then. The trick is being brave enough to climb back on.”
I could’ve given her a cocky grin and bounded back up into the saddle like I had a rocket pack on my back. I could’ve recited a Shakespearean sonnet, or a few verses from a cheesy Hallmark Valentine’s Day card. I could’ve said or done something super sappy to try to describe the fluttering feeling flipping around in my stomach.
But I didn’t.
I just stood there, soaking wet, gazing into the most amazingly awesome eyes I had ever gazed, gawked, or gaped into. Eyes more incredible than Dana’s, and Dana is, quite literally, the girl of my dreams.
Dana.
That’s exactly who this girl on the horse reminded me of. Only she wasn’t a product of my imagination! This girl, as far as I could tell, was real.
Oh, yes, Daniel—she is quite real, I heard Xanthos say in my head. Her name is Mel, short for Melody, a name that suits her personality quite well, yah? She is like the song you hear in the morning and cannot get out of your head all day. Heh, heh, heh.
This time, I chuckled along with my spiritual advisor.
She is also Agent Judge’s daughter.
I grinned.
You were right about Kentucky, I thought back to Xanthos. It is extremely heavenly, mon.