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Seventeen
It was Saturday,and after a chilly week, the day was on the warm side for fall. I’d walked with the kids to the school playground for a break after cleaning the house.
Avery sat on a swing. She kept her toes dug into the small rocks and swayed from side to side. “I wish I could ride again.”
“I know.” She’d missed last weekend, and this weekend, Holden was busy moving and working cattle. Snow would be on the ground soon. Holden said they might have to pause with lessons until everything melted and there was no ice left next spring. He wanted the safest conditions possible for her.
Avery had deflated. I wasn’t sure whether I was going to have to console her or Holden. He’d hated disappointing her.
Riley was in the baby swing next to Avery, and Afton was on the other side of us. I gave Riley a push, and her little hands gripped the chains. When I was mostly certain she wouldn’t try to crawl out, I stepped to Afton and pushed her.
“Underdog!” Afton cried.
I dragged her swing back and ran forward, pushing her high and ducking under her. Then Riley demanded an underdog, and I gave her a modified version that wouldn’t land her in the ER with a concussion.
“Mom!” Landon called from the bottom of the slide. “Can we play catch?”
“I’ve gotta stay by Riley.”
Avery got off her swing. “I’ve got her, Mom.”
“Thank you.” My guilt from the early days after the divorce lowered since she still wanted to help when she didn’t have to.
I threw the football with Landon until it was getting close to dinnertime. We were walking back to the house when my phone buzzed.
It was Holden. I answered, “Hey, I didn’t think I’d hear from you again this weekend.”
“Are you and the kids able to come over, like, right now?” His excitement vibrated over the phone until I was smiling and didn’t know why.
“We’re a block from home. We were at the park, but I can just load them up when we get back to the house.”
“Awesome. See you in a few.”
I wasn’t sure what he had planned, but it didn’t take the kids much convincing to drive out there.
Avery speculated the entire way. “Do you think he wants to show us the cows? How do you think they move them? He said they use horses. Do you think Pittance is scared of the cows? Is Pittance the one that works them? Or does he use Poppy?”
I didn’t have much for answers, and I wouldn’t need them. As I coasted down Holden’s driveway, the kids’ attention was captured by the people and the horses. Nerves twisted my belly until I made out familiar faces. Colt, Stetson, Isla, and Nora.
I parked by Holden’s garage. His pickup was hooked to a horse trailer by the barn. Several horses were in his arena, still saddled, and people milled around the outside.
Stetson and Colt were talking to each other. It was the first time I’d seen them standing side by side. Both were big guys, but even in broad daylight, Colt looked like a guy I’d cross the street to keep from getting close to. I was glad I had met him while he was sitting and without his cowboy hat pulled down low to shade his eyes.
Isla was perched on the corral with Nora. They weren’t dressed like I’d seen them before. Their polish was gone. They wore dusty blue jeans with sweatshirts so stained and grimy I could see the dirt from where I was parked. Isla had a cowboy hat on. I couldn’t tell if the color was supposed to be a mottled brown or if it’d fallen and gotten trampled earlier.
Holden stepped out of the house with a huge smile on his face. “Nora and my cousins heard how disappointed you all were when you learned you couldn’t ride this weekend.”
Avery’s face lit up. “I get to go riding today?”
His grin widened. “Not just you. We figured that since the horses were all saddled up and we had plenty of adults—”
“I get to go too?” Landon squealed.
Afton jumped up and down. “And me?”
“As my cousin Archer would say, ‘all y’all’ get to ride—if your mom says it’s okay.” He winced. “Sorry, I should’ve talked to you first.”
He was comfortable surprising the kids. As if I’d turn this down. “No, it’s okay. I trust you guys to know your horses.”
