Chapter 27 Second Thoughts
The low hum of a motor and the crunch of tires on the dirt road interrupted the quiet morning as Evan finished his breakfast. He listened intently as the vehicle slowed and turned sharply into the narrow lane leading toward the homestead. Confused by the unexpected visitor, he walked to the kitchen door and looked out. He saw a flash of red, a small, familiar car. His heartbeat quickened as he pulled the door open to go out to meet her. Sam and Lucy had beaten him there. Exiting the car, she knelt, giving her immediate attention to the pair, carrying on a conversation with the excited animals while scratching a belly and a pair of ears simultaneously.
“You’re up and about kind of early this morning,” Evan observed.
She rose, her features bright with a warm, inviting smile. “I knew I had to get here before you took off on one of your wild rides.”
“Ten more minutes and you might have missed me,” he replied, a genuine warmth coloring his voice. “You know, it really isn’t a great idea to go four-wheeling in that little red car.”
A nervous chuckle escaped her. “You would have thought I’d learned, right?” The shared tension of their last meeting lingered between them, momentarily unsettling the air.
“I can start a fresh pot of coffee if you’re in the mood for some,” he offered. “Won’t take but a minute.”
“Actually,” she said, biting her lower lip briefly. “I was hoping to go for another ride. Would you take me? I promise I’ll hold the reins exactly where you told me.”
“Maybe you’d better make up with Cherry first. You gave him a pretty good scare and then left him high and dry.” Evan tried to keep a straight face, but when he saw her genuinely confused expression, he couldn’t sustain the joke. “If you’re going to saddle your own horse, you probably need a proper lesson first.”
“Does that mean you’ll show me?” she asked, her eyes shining with hope.
“Sure, I’ll show you.” The idea of spending the day with her was deeply appealing. He enjoyed watching her discover new things; she was game to try anything, and her newfound freedom had opened her up to learning. She could have been critical, complaining about every hardship of his remote life, but instead, she had embraced it. He liked that quality intensely. However, for his own sanity, for her sake, and for the fragile chance of any future they might share, he had to keep things strictly platonic. “Just a friendly ride.”
“Just a friendly ride,” she repeated, acknowledging the boundary. She had seen him glance at her left hand, and in that momentary flash of his gaze, she knew exactly what he was thinking. She couldn't drive away without seeing him one last time. She wanted to feel a horse beneath her once more, to smell the sharp pine and sage, and feel the wind in her face. Above all, she wanted to hear his voice. She hoped for his embrace, but she wasn’t certain that was possible. She just couldn’t leave things on the harsh note of their previous parting.
As they walked toward the barn, Evan was quietly relieved she had returned. He felt like he had left too many things undone. Although he believed he had already spoken his mind and given her a clear indication of where he stood, turning away as abruptly as he had felt too harsh for someone he cared about. Did he really love her? Was that even possible after only a few days? He only knew that something inside him ached for her—the simple act of talking to her, the sight of her discovering new things, the sound of her breathing, eating meals together, and the chemical certainty that binds two people even when no words are spoken.
“Go catch your horse,” he said, handing her the leather bridle.
“Me?” she said, astonished.
“You actually did that part right last time,” he grinned. “Besides, if you’re going to learn how to do this, you need to start from the beginning. It’s not several different things; it is one thing with many parts, and each flows into the next.”
“You sound like a sensei,” she laughed.
“Nope. Just more of my horse/human psychology,” he countered, smiling. “Take it for what it’s worth.”
“I think it is worth a lot,” she whispered, looking up at him with admiring eyes. Their gazes met for a moment, and for a fleeting instant, she wondered if he was going to pull her into his arms. The opportunity came and went, leaving her still holding the bridle. “I’ll just go catch my ho… Cherry.”
She strode to Cherry’s pen and found him standing with his head hung low and his eyes closed. He had finished his breakfast and was content to bask in the sun, letting it warm his coat in the cool morning air. Not knowing horses very well, Alexandra believed he looked depressed and had been missing her. “I’m sorry, baby,” she murmured in the soothing tone one might use with a saddened two-year-old. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Can you forgive me?”
Cherry opened his large, gentle brown eyes and looked up at her. He raised his head and took two or three lazy steps toward the fence where she stood. He nudged his muzzle between the rails to give her a soft push. For Alexandra, this gesture was the acceptance of her apology, and she stroked his neck and smiled brightly. She was already relaxed and content. She had truly found her new love and her new calling. Whatever she did, wherever she was, and whomever she was with, there would always be horses nearby. She did not want a life without them.
After a long moment of reconciliation with Cherry, she heard Evan approaching. “Having trouble?” He grinned as he watched her. “You might have better luck if you go inside the pen to catch him.”
“Smart ass,” she laughed, shaking her head. “We were making up. You told me that I needed to apologize after the fright I had given him.”
“I did say that, didn’t I?” He hadn’t thought she would take him so literally, but she had. It warmed his heart to see her innocence regarding horses, overlaid with the deep, true love she had suddenly developed for them. He could see it in her eyes and the careful way she moved to step inside the pen and put the bridle on Cherry.
Just like before, Cherry all but put the bridle on for her, but this time, she was prepared. She kept the throat latch from getting tangled around the cheek piece. It only took her a moment, and she was leading Cherry from the pen toward the barn, ready for one more ride.