Upon hearing the man's words, Deanna realized she had been too engrossed in the thrill of the chase and had indeed loosened her grip on the reins. She looked a bit embarrassed.
"I'll be more careful next time."
"There won't be a next time!" Lance corrected her sternly.
Before Deanna could react, he suddenly changed his tone and said, "But if you want to ride fast, I can take you."
"Take me?" Deanna looked at him curiously.
Lance nodded. "We can ride the same horse. I'll ensure your safety, and it will feel even better than when you were riding alone."
He said this last part deliberately. He could tell that Deanna had already fallen in love with the feeling of riding.
Indeed, Deanna enjoyed the thrill of galloping and even wished for more speed. However, riding the same horse with Lance felt strange and too intimate, especially with Logan and Samantha nearby.
Lance noticed her hesitation. With a sly smile, he dismounted and swiftly climbed onto Deanna's horse, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
Deanna let out a startled cry and froze. She felt the warmth from his body and, both embarrassed and annoyed, scolded him, "What are you doing? Get off! What if the horse can't handle our combined weight?"
"Don't worry. This mare is in her prime; she can burden both of us," Lance's deep voice, tinged with amusement, sounded behind her.
Deanna could even feel his breath on her cheek. Her face turned crimson, the blush spreading down to her neck. She squirmed uncomfortably and demanded, "I don't care! Get off!"
Lance ignored her, grabbed the reins, and said, "Hold on tight. I'm going to make the horse run."
As soon as he finished speaking, he squeezed the horse with his legs and snapped the whip. The horse shot forward like an arrow.
Just as Lance had said, the horse was strong and carried them both without losing speed. Deanna had never experienced such speed before. She clung tightly to the reins, feeling both nervous and exhilarated.
Sensing her tension, Lance leaned closer and whispered, "Relax. You'll enjoy it more if you loosen up."
Deanna instinctively followed his advice and tried to relax her body. As she did, she felt as if she were flying, even more so than when she had been riding alone.
Finally, she let go of herself completely, spread her arms wide, and laughed joyfully. "Can we go even faster? I want to go faster!"
"Of course!" Lance urged the horse to speed up again.
Feeling the increased speed, Deanna was overjoyed. Her laughter rang out.
At the edge of the field, Logan and Samantha heard her laughter and looked up to see them riding together at full speed, looking very dashing.
"Wow, Uncle and Mommy are riding so fast!" The children exclaimed in amazement.
Chloe looked enviously at Logan. "Gramp, can you take me that fast too?"
"Of course! I taught your uncle how to ride. Let's go catch up with them," Logan said as he lifted Chloe onto his horse and mounted behind her. He then spurred the horse to chase after them.
Gregory watched them longingly. Samantha noticed and felt a surge of boldness. She picked him up and said, "Don't envy them. I can take you to catch up too."
With that, she mounted her horse and urged it to follow.
Soon, they were all galloping across the field. Chloe and Gregory were ecstatic.
Especially Chloe, who shouted excitedly as they neared Deanna. "Mommy, we're catching up to you!"
"Gramp, let's go faster!"
Logan laughed heartily at her urging and increased their speed. In a few seconds, they caught up with Lance and rode alongside him.
Chloe was overjoyed and praised Logan endlessly. "Gramp is amazing! We caught up with Mommy!"
"Of course! I'm the best rider in the family!" Logan laughed proudly.
He couldn't resist teasing Lance. "You've lost your touch, son. Your riding skills have declined."
Lance chuckled helplessly but didn't argue with his father. He glanced at Chloe in Logan's arms and reminded him, "Don't speed up anymore. Keep Chloe safe."