After they had crossed the clearing twice, Eve asked, “Am I doing it?”
“Yes,” Gabe said. “I’m just walking beside you.”
“But you have the reins. Let them go.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes!”
He lifted the lead reins and placed them along Eve’s horse’s neck, giving up all control.
Eve moved the horse around the field in a circle. Her confidence grew as she maneuvered the horse and it followed her instructions.
Gabe rode beside her. “Relax. That’s it.”
Eve tried to relax. She concentrated on pulling the reins without tugging them too hard. She didn’t want to startle the horse. When she looked, she saw that Gabriel was no longer beside her. He was on the other side of the clearing! She was riding the horse by herself! Gabriel was right. Shecoulddo it. She gently moved the reins to the side to turn the horse.
You’re riding a horse! Eve!
Eve smiled at her sister’s enthusiasm.
Suddenly, the horse tensed beneath her, her legs spread in fear and she veered to the side.
Eve gasped. She tried to stop the horse by tugging on the reins.
The horse lifted onto her two back legs and the next thing Eve knew she was falling, tumbling backward through the air. She landed on the ground hard.
Gabe saw Eve’s horse spook and charged his horse toward her. “Eve!” He was halfway across the clearing, when her horse rose onto its hind legs and Eve fell backward off the horse. Dread clenched Gabe’s heart. He couldn’t reach her fast enough. He spurred his horse, but it wasn’t fast enough, and he watched her land on her back on the ground.
He dismounted, flinging his leg over the horse and dropped to the ground before his palfrey had completely stopped and rushed to her side.
Eve lay on her back on the ground, her dark hair spread out below her head like a pillow.
Gabe dropped to his knees at her side. “Eve! Eve!” he called.
Her eyes were closed, but she turned her head, groaning.
“Eve,” he pleaded, hovering over her. “Are you alright?” He clutched her shoulders desperately, his hand sweeping over her forehead, her cheeks. “Please open your eyes,” he begged. He didn’t see any wounds, but if she had hit her head it could be bad. “Please. I’ll tell you a story. A most amazing story, if you do.”
Her eyes snapped open and locked on his.
He stared down at her, at her sparkling blue eyes, her smooth skin, her luscious lips. The powerful fear gave way to an incredible relief. It raced through every nerve in his body, consuming him. What if she had been harmed because of him? What if she had been hurt because she was not ready to ride alone, because of something he had suggested!
The first flake of snow fell from the sky.
“It’s you,” she whispered.
He began to smile an uneasy grin. “Of course it’s me.”
She lunged upward, pressing her lips to his.
Startled, Gabe froze. Her lips were warm and soft against his. It was all he had ever wanted. This moment. Her. Gabe melted and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him, kissing her in relief and desperation. She was everything he had wanted. Just Eve. From the moment he had picked her up when he was a child. She was his destiny. “Oh Eve,” he whispered against her lips.
She sighed slightly as he pulled back to look down into her lidded eyes.
He gently brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “Are you alright?”
“It was Eden,” she whispered. “She spooked the horse.”
