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With her head down, she walked a few feet and looked back. I kept pointing. “Timeout, Sparkles.”
I turned back to Ty. “I’m sorry she was so rude. I don’t know what happened to her manners.”
Ty barely kept his laughter contained as he watched Sparkles walk sideways back to me ever so quietly. I turned quickly and she stopped and looked up. Focusing back on Ty, he laughed again. “What’s so funny?”
He shook his head. And I repeated what I’d done before. After two more times, Sparkles rested her head on my shoulder. “She snuck up on you, London. She didn’t go to timeout.”
I patted the side of her face while giving her a sugar cube. “Sparkles, Sparkles, Sparkles, what am I going to do with you?”
She shook her head. “Why don’t you take a bow since you snuck up on me?”
Backing away, Sparkles leaned forward as Ty clapped. “She really does do tricks, London! She’s the bestest horse ever.”
I gave her another treat. “I think so too. I need to ride her for a bit as a reward. Do you want to watch?”
Brows furrowed as he thought hard. “Do you think I could ride with you?”
“Sure, let’s go.” This seemed like good progress if Ty was willing to ride her. Per the McCole’s, he hadn’t ridden in a while.
Sitting Ty high up in the saddle, I mounted behind him. “You promise she won’t buck, London? I’m scared.”
I wrapped my arm around his middle. “If you want off, tell me and I’ll stop immediately. I promise she won’t buck. I promise, Ty.”
“Okay, London. I trust you.” Those three little words did more for me than I could have imagined. To have someone trust you was a gift beyond anything money could buy. I knew what it was like to lose someone’s trust. To have this child believe I would take care of him was a gift I would treasure—a sign that there was the chance to heal.
We set off at an easy pace. At first Ty had a death grip on the saddle horn, but it loosened as we walked along the rail of the white fence. I picked up the pace to a slow trot and didn’t see any signs of distress in Ty’s body posture. The pace increased to a cantor as Ty said, “Can we ride some more, London? This is the most fun. I love horses.”
“Sure thing, kiddo.” We rode until Sparkles had nearly exhausted all her energy. Jaxson, Pam, and Levi all stood at the fence and watched. Levi and Pam had huge grins. Something was off with Jaxson’s expression. I didn’t know him well, but he wasn’t the carefree person I’d met last night and this morning. As we arrived at the fence, Ty excitedly said, “Dad! Dad! Dad! I rode on Sparkles and wasn’t scared. She can do tricks. Dad, did you see how brave I was?”
Handing Ty off, Jaxson brought him into a bear hug. “I sure did, son. I’m so proud of you. That was very brave.”
“London is my bestest friend. She helps me be brave. I love her lots.”
Jaxson’s eyes locked onto mine. There was so much emotion there, I wasn’t sure what he was trying to convey with his eyes. I shifted uncomfortably on the saddle. Opening his mouth, he closed it and focused solely on Ty. “Come on, Ty. I think this calls for ice cream.”
“Yay! Can I get chocolate fudge too?”
Scrubbing a hand down his face, he nodded while Ty jumped for joy and took off toward the house, making it to the front porch in no time. The odd silence had me unnerved, so I said, “Let me brush Sparkles and get her tack put up. I’ll be right in to get to work if that’s okay, Jaxson.”
Turning my way for a mere second, Jaxson nodded, barely giving me a second glance. I wasn’t sure why that bothered me. The intense flirting drew me to him. This new side left me feeling bereft. I dismounted. “I hope I didn’t overstep or do something wrong with Ty. I wasn’t thinking.”
Pam pulled me into a big hug. “Don’t be silly, you precious girl. You were exactly what that little boy needed when he needed it the most.”
Levi gave me a nod. “Thank you, London. We’ve been worried about him.”
The way Jaxson acted still left me confused, but that was something I would need to talk to him about, not his parents. The last thing I wanted was to be one of those girls. The mental loop-da-loop with that sexy-as-sin cowboy was wearing on me. I focused back on his parents. “I’m not sure what to say. I didn’t do anything. But thank you for all you’ve done for me too.”
They left and my phone vibrated with a text message.
Dad: Pulling out with the new horse. Should be home by mid-afternoon. I figured you would be working and didn’t want to call.
Me: Just took Sparkles for a run. About to brush her down and start work.
Dad: Call me when you’re done.
Me: Will do. Love you.
Dad: Love you too, punkin’.
