“No swimming.” I quirk a brow.
“Why not?” She grumbles.
“Because you can’t swim strongly enough.”
“No fair!” Her voice takes on that high pitch that suggests an argument is about to come.
“If you can’t promise no swimming, then no riding.”
She scrunches up her face, but concedes, so I get Mars ready while Juni deals with Ginger. Caleb has chosen a spot by the fence to read instead of riding with the girls.
“Be back before sundown?” I gently circle my hand around Juni’s ankle where she rests her foot in the stirrup.
She nods, “Anywhere we shouldn’t go?” She asks.
“Follow this trail,” I point to the path carved into the earth that leads towards the forest. “Swing left atthe split and then just follow it all the way to the falls. You’ll hear them before you see them.”
“Sure you don’t want to come?”
“Come on, Miss Juni!” Rosie presses her heels in, spurring Mars to move.
“Got some training I want to do with Dottie.”
She gives me a smile and steals a glance toward my daughter before she leans down toward me. I press up to meet her, peace washing over me when our mouths touch. We haven’t told the kids yet. They weren’t here when all the shit went down with Cal, so they didn’t see what everyone else saw, and we haven’t discussed talking to them about it yet.
I want them to know. Caleb already has an idea, but Rosie doesn’t.
“See you later,” she whispers before she rights herself and coaxes Ginger to follow after Mars. I watch them go, unable to take my eyes off her.
Chapter Thirty-three
I catch up to Rosie, her body looking tiny on the back of a horse as big as Mars, but she’s a natural and Mars is gentle with her.
Rosie had been begging for a ride since I picked her up from the nanny’s an hour ago, and I couldn’t say no to the sweet little girl. It’s the first day after all that shit in the past is behind me, so why not spend the freedom with my favorite little lady? She has a wild spirit I hope she’ll keep forever. We’d stopped at the grocery store on the way back to pick up dinner since the plan had been disrupted with everything that had happened, but the three of us will be surprising Silas tonight.
“Juni!” I turn to see Darcy trotting toward us on the back of her own mare, a speckled gray Quarter horse that’s as elegant as she is.
“Hey,” I smile at my friend, calling Rosie to wait until she catches up with us.
“Going for a ride?” She pulls to a stop beside me.
“Want to come?” I nod. “We’re just going to the falls.”
“Girl day!” Rosie hollers.
Darcy chuckles fondly, “I’d love to come.”
The air turns a few degrees colder in the shade of the trees, a welcome reprieve from the hot Montana sun, and the dry, hard earth crunches under hooves. It’s a gentle, easy ride with Rosie trotting on ahead while Darcy and I ride side by side.
“I heard about what happened yesterday,” Darcy says quietly, keeping her eyes on the little girl ahead of us. She doesn’t stray too far and probably knows these woods far better than I’m giving her credit for. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
I nod, keeping my voice low. “It needed to happen.”
“Sorry?” Darcy frowns, flicking her eyes toward me.
“I think if it didn’t, I’d still be waiting for the other shoe to drop. Cal was never going to let me go easily. I knew that.”
“Yeah, but to threaten you?” She shakes her head, “He tried to kidnap you.”
