A half-dozen palomino mares stood in their stalls, munching on hay. They whickered when they heard Emily’s voice and walked toward their gates, clearly familiar with her and happy to see her.
Emily introduced them to the horses. “This is Baby Doe. She’s my favorite mare. She’s going to foal in March. I hope it’s a filly because we might get to keep it.”
They met Molly Brown, Chipeta, Isabella Bird, Julia Greeley, and Clara Brown—all beautiful palominos named after famous women from Colorado’s history. All were in foal, which meant they were pregnant, Emily explained.
Ellie found herself laughing and in need of an extra pair of hands as the twins, curious and excited, stuck their hands in the stalls trying to touch the horses and ran every which way, chattering to one another. She finally picked Daisy up and did her best to hold onto the back of Daniel’s coat.
Jack walked up to her. “You look like you’ve got your hands full.”
He scooped up Daniel and helped him pet one of the mares. “Be gentle. There you go. See how soft her muzzle is? Can you say horsie?”
“Howsie.”
“Good enough.”
“Miss Emily, let’s tack up Baby Doe.” Jack took a lead rope from a nail on the wall and handed it to Emily, who entered Baby Doe’s stall, clipped it to the mare’s halter, and led the big animal out and down a walkway. “How old are your twins, Ellie?”
“They’ll be three in April.”
“Then it’s high time they learned to ride.” While Emily saddled the mare, Jack took a small riding helmet from a nearby shelf and put it on Daniel’s head, fixing the strap under his chin. “Are you ready to ride this horsie, young man?”
Ellie shook her head. “Oh, I don’t think—”
“This is what he does,” Megan said. “The twins will be safe. He’s ridden with kids with severe disabilities, kids who can’t even talk. When he was two, he was riding by himself. So was Nate. Crazy, isn’t it?”
It certainly seemed crazy to Ellie, who could imagine a dozen ways it could all go terribly wrong. Being a nurse meant having a vivid imagination where injury and catastrophe were concerned.
Emily rode the mare first under Jack’s watchful eye, the child looking like she’d been born on a horse.
“My daughter loves to ride.”
Ellie laughed. “I couldn’t tell.”
When Emily dismounted, Jack adjusted the stirrups, took her place in the saddle, and then reached for Daniel. “Are you ready, buddy?”
The moment Jack settled Daniel into the saddle in front of him, Ellie’s fear melted away. Jack had absolute mastery of the animal. More than that, Daniel was in heaven. He smiled and laughed, petting the horse and squealing with delight when Jack brought the mare to a lope.
Then it was Daisy’s turn. The sound of her laughter was precious to Ellie as Jack rode Baby Doe in circles through the soft sand. But when her turn was over, Daisy didn’t want to come down. She started crying when Jack handed her to Ellie.
“You’ll just have to come back and do it again sometime.” Jack looked straight into Ellie’s eyes. “You and the twins are welcome any time, Ellie. I mean that. After Dan’s death, we didn’t want to intrude. We knew Dan, but we didn’t have a relationship with you. Now we do.”
Ellie’s throat grew tight, warmth blossoming in her chest. “Thank you, Jack. And thanks for this.”
“You’re welcome.” He led the mare back the way they’d come. “Let me get Baby Doe back in her stall, and then we’ll take a sleigh ride out to see what the idiot menfolk are doing. I had one of my hands hook a pair of geldings to the sleigh. Do you want to help me with the reins, Miss Emily?”
*
Jesse took the slack out of the rope, his body tensed and ready. “Go!”
His body was snapped forward as Nate brought the horse to a gallop, snow flying beneath his skis, wind in his face. He couldn’t help but smile.
He turned to the right, made it through the first gate, then veered to the left, the horse pulling him up the six-foot jump and into the air. “Woohoo!”
He stuck the landing and swung to the right to catch the second gate, Nate urging the gelding to go faster.
The next jump was dead center.
He sailed up and over, catching air again.
Fuck, yeah.
He swung to the left and sailed through the last gate then veered hard to the right, rode up and over the third jump, another six-footer. He felt like he was flying.
He made the landing, then straightened himself up and let go of the rope with his right hand, aiming his arm like a spear to catch the three rings.
One. Two.
Damn it.
His fist punched the last ring off its hook, knocking it to the ground.
He skied to a stop and caught his breath, Nate riding back toward him.
“Hell.” Nate shook his head, smiling ear to ear. “You almost had it.”
“You know, even when you fuck it up, this is fun. It’s a lot like wakeboarding.”
“Yeah—except that you’re not landing in water when you fall.”
They took a break, drinking hot coffee from a thermos Nate had brought in the saddle bags. “So you and Ellie Meeks, huh?”