After entering the stables, the staff who had been waiting for a long time took Deanna and her group to see the horses.
The two children were ecstatic to see their ponies again, waving excitedly at them.
"Hello, little horse, I'm back! Do you remember me?"
The two ponies neighed as if responding to the children.
This made the children even more excited.
"Mommy, look! The pony remembers me," Chloe shouted excitedly at Deanna.
Gregory was more restrained, but the smile on his face betrayed his happiness.
Logan, seeing how much the kids loved the ponies, waved his hand and said, "Come on, I will take you for a ride."
"Yes! Yes!"
The two children jumped up and down in joy and followed Logan away.
Samantha saw this and thought it would be awkward to stay with Deanna and Lance, so she followed them. More importantly, she wanted to play with the kids too.
Thus, only Lance, Deanna, and Julia were left at the scene.
Julia, being perceptive, waved at Lance and her friend. "You two go have fun. I'll stay here and learn to ride with the instructor."
"How about I stay with you?" Deanna felt it wasn't right to leave her friend alone. Besides, she didn't want to be alone with Lance just yet.
However, Julia pretended not to see Deanna's pleading look and refused directly. "No need. You go have fun with Mr. Mercer. Go on."
Deanna felt helpless seeing this.
Lance watched from the side and didn't miss Deanna's small actions, which made him want to laugh.
He raised his hand to his lips and coughed lightly to hide his smile. "Miss King, Dr. Deanna doesn't need to worry. I'll have Xavier accompany her while she learns to ride."
"Dr. Deanna, don't worry. With me here, your friend won't get hurt," Xavier assured promptly.
Deanna had no choice but to follow Lance away.
Outside the stables, she saw the two children riding ponies on the lawn with Samantha and Logan. Their cheerful laughter echoed from afar.
Deanna watched with mixed feelings.
Unbeknownst to her, Lance was also watching her at that moment.
Just then, a staff member brought over their horses.
Hearing the commotion, Deanna turned her head and saw Lance handing her one of the reins.
Lance's voice was unusually gentle as he asked, "Do you remember the riding skills I taught you before?"
"I do," Deanna nodded. She took the reins and walked around to the side of the horse. With a swift motion, she mounted the horse gracefully.
Once seated firmly, she straightened her back and looked down at Lance with a raised eyebrow. "How about this?"
Lance smiled at her proud expression. "Very impressive."
He didn't hesitate to praise her before mounting his own horse. "Let's take a lap first to get a feel for it. Once you're comfortable, we'll start learning to trot."
Deanna wanted to say it wasn't necessary; she could just walk around casually. But Lance seemed to read her mind and teased her deliberately. "You wouldn't want Gregory and Chloe to learn horse trot before you do, would you? They might end up teasing their mommy."
"They wouldn't dare!" Deanna pretended to be fierce.
Despite her words, she followed Lance for a lap before starting to learn how to trot.
As she mastered the technique, she rode alone across the lawn. The breeze lifted her dark hair as she rode in her smart riding outfit, looking valiant and spirited.
Lance followed a few steps behind her, his eyes filled with admiration and deep affection as he watched her.
After running two laps, Deanna began to enjoy the feeling of riding more and more. She couldn't help but speed up. Tilting her head back and spreading her arms wide, she felt an unprecedented sense of freedom in her chest.
Little did she know that her actions made Lance nervous behind her.
As a beginner without solid riding skills, it was best not to let go of the reins easily because no one knew when an accident might happen.
Fortunately, after running a lap without incident, Deanna started feeling tired and pulled on the reins to slow down.
Lance rode up beside her with a serious expression on his face. "Dr. Deanna."
"What is it?" Deanna turned her head and saw that he looked angry. She couldn't help but feel puzzled.
It seemed like she hadn't done anything wrong; why was he angry?
Lance's voice was deep as he continued, "Do you know that letting go of the reins while riding is very dangerous? If you fall off and get trampled by the horse, you could end up with broken bones or even lifelong disabilities!"