Chompin' at the Bit (Horse Play #2) (17 page)

“Lookin’ good, Madi,” Tom praised. “Why don’t you move her into a steady lope for a few laps, and then we’ll take her over a few low cross rails.”

“Sure.” All it took was a gentle nudge for Starla to transition into a canter. We circled the arena a couple of times before I moved her down the center and over the one foot cross rails that Tom had just set up. As expected, Starla took them with ease, and I was ecstatic.

“Good, Madi!”

Patting Starla’s neck, I circled around to take the short jumps again when I caught sight of Jensen, Dad, and Jeff taking a break to observe my session. Jensen’s eyes were trained on me, a smile spread wide across his face while Jeff and Dad spoke amongst themselves, casually glancing over once in a while. After two more times over the rails, Tom set the rainbow planks to the same height and instructed me to give them a try.

Confidence filled me knowing how well Starla was doing today, and I turned her in the jump’s direction. When we were a stride away, I started to shift forward in my saddle in preparation for her to leap forward. My conviction was short-lived, and my heart leapt into my throat when she refused, shooting me forward. Thankfully, I was able to tighten my legs and grip onto her mane before flying over her head … but just barely.

I heard Jensen curse, and I cringed. Here I had just gotten myself healed—barely over a week ago—and I was already close to being on my way back to the ER.

“Damn it,” I muttered, irritated with myself for not seeing it coming. With my panicked heart pounding, I righted myself in the saddle and backed Starla up a few strides to turn her around and try again. “You can do this.” I wasn’t
just
talking to Starla.

This time, I paid attention to Starla’s body language as we approached. Her ears perked forward and her neck tensed, pulling her head back a little; she was scared—which was to be expected of anything unfamiliar. She refused again, but this time I wasn’t nearly as close to falling off as before. Of course, that didn’t stop Jensen from hopping the fence and rushing toward me.

“I’m fine,” I said through clenched teeth, my frustration clear in my tone as I turned Starla sharply. I didn’t back her away like before, thinking that maybe by doing that the first time I confused her and made her think she was done with it. She needed to be exposed to it.

“Madison,” Tom interjected just as Jensen opened his mouth to speak. “Why don’t you take her over the cross rails again?”

I shook my head adamantly, steering Starla back onto the track so we could circle around and try the rainbow again. “No,” I stated firmly. “She’s going to do this.”

As we approached the jump again, Starla still seemed nervous, but not nearly as much. Her ears were still straight forward, but she didn’t throw her head up this time. Her final stride spread out, and I sucked in a breath while leaning forward, paying close attention to the cues she was giving me, and we sailed over the low multi-colored planks.

It wasn’t until she landed that I expelled the breath I had taken, allowing myself to relax. She did it, and I managed to stay on through it all. Starla maintained her lope as we circled around to do it again. When I looked toward the center of the ring, I saw Jensen had joined Tom. While Tom looked pleased that I had stuck with it and made her go over it, Jensen looked bot relieved and terrified. I couldn’t blame him, not after what happened his first few days here.

“I’m taking her again,” I announced. “She needs to do it more than once.” No one disagreed with me, but Jensen looked like he was about to pass out. He really shouldn’t have been so stressed about it; Starla took the jump without even second guessing it now that she knew it wasn’t going to bite her.

I had her take the rail twice more before Tom spoke up again. “Great job, Madi. You can cool her down now. She did really well.”

I slowed Starla to a walk and gave her a little more rein so she could relax her neck. I leaned forward and patted her neck, being sure to drag my hand up and scratch her shoulder as I sat upright again.

“You scared the shit out of me,” Jensen said, appearing beside me as I walked Starla around the arena.

I looked down at him as he reached out and rubbed Starla’s neck. “Sorry. I couldn’t make her
not
take it though. It would have sent the wrong message.”

“No, I get that. But you
just
got better. It’s likely all it would have taken was one fall to fracture your ribs again.” Jensen sighed, reaching back and gripping the back of his neck. He was way too tense.

“Right. But it’s a risk one takes when riding. You know that,” I countered, letting him know that his falling off was just as likely as mine. Okay, maybe not
just
as likely, given recent events. But he could fall off—if he wasn’t perfect.

“I suppose,” Jensen mumbled.

I put the reins in my left hand and reached out with my right to run my fingers through his hair as he kept pace with Starla and me. “Look, she took the jump, and more importantly, I
didn’t
fall off. I’d say that’s a pretty successful day, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah,” he conceded, an impish grin quirking the left side of his lips up. We moved to the center of the arena where I dismounted and stood before him. “I have to go out to the far paddock to check on the horses out there. Your dad said there’ve been a few coyote sightings and he wants to make sure the horses out there are okay and that they aren’t coming near the grounds.”

I nodded. “Okay. Be careful.”

He pressed his lips to mine. “You too. See you in a bit.”

The rest of the afternoon was pretty humdrum. I taught the afternoon lessons as agreed upon by Jill and me while she worked on her invoicing for the last week. Time seemed to fly, and before I knew it, it was five and we were beginning to bring the horses in for the night.

By seven, the stalls were full of happily feeding horses and Jensen was just tightening Halley’s girth for me. I stopped by my dad’s office before we headed out and knocked softly on the open door.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said, raising his eyes from the computer screen. “What’s up?”

“Just wanted to let you know that the horses are in and feeding. Jill is in with her seven o’clock lesson, and Jensen and I are going to take Halley and Ransom out on the trails,” I informed him. “You okay with that?”

Dad smiled. “Yes. Thanks for letting me know. You two be careful.”

“We will.” With one last wave, I walked briskly to the end of the barn where Jensen was waiting for me.

He handed me Halley’s reins, and we stepped out into the cool evening air, mounting our horses before hitting the trails. The breeze was nice on my bare arms, and it wisped through my loose hair as we found the farm’s first marked trail.

“So, you really don’t want anything for your birthday? We could invite Willow and Brandon over and—”

I shook my head before cutting him off. “Nope. I’m quite content to just have a quiet dinner with you and Dad, and go on my father-daughter trail ride.”

He didn’t protest, merely looked at me like I was crazy and nudged Ransom into a trot. We walked the trails as the sun began to set, talking about the possible coyote problem.

“Did you see any signs that they were close to our land?”

Beside me, Jensen shrugged, seeming a little unsure. “Well, I
think
the prints I saw could have been from a coyote or a large dog. I can’t be too sure. I got all the horses moved to the paddocks within the grounds in hopes we can keep them safe through the winter. Have you ever had a problem with coyotes or even wolves before?”

I shook my head. “Not that I can recall, but we had a dog up until a couple years ago. I think it’s an Alpha-male thing, and it kept the wild dogs at bay.”

“What happened to the dog?”

“Oh, he was ancient. He was my grandfather’s. Best dog ever,” I said, fondly remembering Shadow. “He was this gorgeous Doberman/German Shepherd cross.”

“Have you ever thought of getting another dog?”

I hummed contemplatively. “Um, sure. I would love another dog; I guess we’ve just been so busy around here that I never really thought about it. I always wanted a German Shepherd. They’re so loyal and are by far one of the best guard dogs out there, based on my experience.”

Jensen grinned. “I had a shepherd as a kid. She was the best.”

“So yeah, maybe when things settle down, I’ll start looking for a dog,” I said with a shrug. “Hopefully it’ll help with the wild dogs loitering about.”

A smile slowly crept across Jensen’s face, but before I could ask him what he was plotting, he nudged Ransom into a gallop. With a laugh, I urged Halley forward with a squeeze and chased him through the trails until we came to the river and slowed to a walk, laughing.

The sound of the river flowing was soothing. We allowed Ransom and Halley to lower their heads for a drink before we walked along the bank, talking and taking in the scenery. It was all so peaceful and serene. It was the perfect end to a pretty great day.

Chapter 15. The Perfect Gift

M
adison groaned, pulling the blanket up over her face to block out the sun that was starting to brighten the room. 

I raised my arm and turned over slightly to slap the snooze button before resuming my previous position, enveloping her warm body. “Good morning, love,” I whispered, placing a soft kiss just behind her ear. “Did you sleep well?” 

“Mmm hmm.” Her voice was muffled beneath the thick comforter. 

Kissing her again, I hugged her a little tighter, her ass coming into contact with my groin. There was a brief moment where I contemplated ravaging her, remembering once the fog of sleep in my brain cleared that we couldn’t. “How are you feeling?” 

With another groan, Madison pulled the blanket from her face, causing her hair to stand on end due to the static electricity of the down duvet. I chuckled, raising my hand to tame her flyaway hairs. “My lower back is killing me, actually.” 

Slowly, I lowered my right arm down her body, stopping just above the curve of her backside. Then I slipped my hand beneath
my
shirt that she was wearing, pressed my thumb into the muscle there and began to rub in a circular motion. It never once occurred to me that my overwhelming need to take care of her in whatever way she needed would backfire on me and torture me further—until she started moaning and telling me how good it felt. I really had to fight the urge to thrust my hips forward against her ass with everything I had. 

“Do you need any Advil?” I rasped, suddenly eager to get out of bed, yet not easing the pressure or stopping because I needed to be touching her. Like I said: torture. 

She turned her face to me and kissed me quickly on the lips. Her cheeks were pink, and I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she was getting herself a little worked up a moment ago as well. “You’re sweet. I have some Midol in my medicine cabinet. I’ll grab some when I go to get ready,” she assured me. 

“Okay. What do you want for breakfast? I’ll go and get started on it,” I offered as she pulled herself out of my arms. 

I smiled as she stood, watching my T-shirt fall over the tops of her thighs. Even though I bugged her about wanting it back—because I did—I definitely loved seeing her in it. I wasn’t sure if it was just the fact that she was completely wrapped up in something that belonged to me, or if it was because she loved that it was both mine and a nerdy Trekkie shirt. Whatever the reason, I would gladly give it to her for keeps—but would never willingly tell her that. 

 “Omelets?” she suggested quietly. 

Nodding, I sat up and swung my legs off the bed to pull my flannel pants on. “Okay. I’ll go brush my teeth and get started on them.” 

Not wanting Madison to have to wait, I grabbed my toothbrush and snuck into the ensuite washroom that the spare room had and took care of my morning needs before breakfast. As I looked around the half-bath ensuite, I could tell it was added on after the initial construction of the home. Usually, a one-story farmhouse as old as this one was pretty basic. 

In my time living here, I could tell that Madison had likely put a little bit of money into the home to make it hers. The newer hardwood floors and carpet would attest to a renovation in the last five years, as well as the addition of this washroom and the fully renovated basement suite. 

As I stood in front of the mirror looking around, I found myself wondering why Madison never took this bedroom upon moving in. Not only was it bigger and brighter due to the two large windows on the walls that formed the outer corner of the house, but it had a private washroom. 

I kissed Madison on my way to the kitchen where I placed the frying pan on the stovetop and turned the burner on to warm. I gathered all the ingredients for our breakfast, took them to the island, and began to prepare everything in a mixing bowl.

I had just poured the egg mixture into the frying pan when Madison emerged in jeans and a tank top, wearing a zip-up hoodie overtop to guard her from the morning chill. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she smiled as she reached for the coffee. It had just finished brewing, so I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to pour it for her.