"Ready to learn how to ride?" I asked, grinning at her. "I hear you've been eyeing the horses."
Jade shot Holly and accusatory look, but Holly just giggled and shrugged. Jade should've known better than to trust an eleven-year-old girl with any kind of secret. "You know how to ride?" she asked, turning her focus back to me.
"I do. I've been riding since I was a kid. I grew up out here on this ranch you know." Winking at her, I walked over and ran my hands over Blacklight's smooth coat. "You've been taking good care of her," I told Holly, who beamed at the praise. "You think she's up to helping Jade learn how to ride?"
Holly nodded enthusiastically, extolling all the virtues of her precious Blacklight. Jade and I shared a quick smile as we listened to Holly. Then, Holly helped Jade saddle her. The young girl was surprisingly patient with her newest student, and I found myself standing back and watching more than helping. It was interesting to see just how easily Jade accepted being taught by someone so much younger than her.
I'd met plenty of people in my line of work that resented younger people knowing more than they did. But Jade calmly let Holly show her everything, asking questions when she was confused and listening to Holly's answers. By the time Jade and Holly lead Blacklight back out of the barn, you'd have thought the two had known each other their entire lives.
I did get the chance to help Jade up into the saddle. Her body trembled slightly as she swung her leg over and got herself seated, but just as Holly had assured us, Blacklight stood there patiently waiting. Holly had been riding the horse since she was six, so I hadn't doubted just how docile the horse would be, knowing Nick wouldn't have gotten his young daughter a rambunctious partner, but I'd still be anxiously holding my breath until Jade had the reins in her hands and they were slowly trotting along.
The horse followed Holly around like a puppy dog. That gave Jade the chance to learn how to sit, how to hold the reins, and how not to fall off and break her neck without having to worry about controlling the large animal just yet. It was the same way we'd all learned as kids, though it'd been Dad teaching us, not a preteen girl. Jade was still doing amazing even with her young teacher.
Jade picked everything up quickly, never having to be shown more than twice how to do something. It brought a smile to my face to see the raw excitement she was exuding as she trotted around the pasture on Blacklight's back. For a moment, I wasn't quite sure who was the kid out there, Holly or Jade.
The sun was just starting to set when Holly and I guided Jade and Blacklight back into the barn, then I helped Jade out of the saddle. She leaned against me, and I had to fight back the urge to just lift her into my arms and never let go. Her legs and hips were sore from the riding, and I got to stand there holding her for a moment until she was able to walk again, giving me a shy, apologetic smile.
God, that woman was going to give me a heart attack. Just that little smile was enough to send my heart rate skyrocketing. How was I supposed to spend the entire weekend with her if I couldn't stop myself from turning into a lovesick teenager every time she smiled?
Jade's lesson didn't just stop with riding either. She insisted that Holly teach her how to properly groom the horse after a ride, even though Holly had volunteered to handle it herself. Jade wasn't going to take no for an answer though, and I got to lean against the barn wall, watching the two groom Blacklight.
Was that what Jade would be like as a mother? I wondered to myself, almost surprised at the unbidden thought.
Once that thought gained traction, it was all I could think about. Jade worked perfectly with Holly, talking to the younger girl as if they were equals. Jade was more than double Holly's age, but you'd have never known it from the way they talked.
If I ever did have kids, that was the kind of mother I wanted for them. A woman who saw them as people, not just children. A woman who would teach them to be mature, would be patient and willing to learn from them, just as much as she would teach them. No doubt Jade could've taught Holly quite a bit, but that didn't mean she wasn't willing to learn everything the girl was willing to teach her.
And by the time the three of us headed back into the barn, I wasn't sure who was grinning broader, me or Jade.
We hadn't talked much during the few hours we'd spent together, but it had still been nice to spend time with her, having fun. I'd heard her laugh more in those couple hours than I could remember hearing from her in the years we'd worked together.
The only downside was I seemed to be falling even deeper in love with her. It was going to be near impossible to keep things to myself for much longer, but I still couldn't bring myself to say anything.
For the first time in my life, I was afraid of rejection.
12
Jade
Holly chatted the entire way back up to our rooms. I couldn't have told you what the girl had been talking about. My entire body ached from riding on the horse, but I wouldn't have traded that experience for anything in the world. My clothes were dirty and smelled a little rank, and I felt a
