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Something from my pre-teen horse camps triggered. “Yeah. Guess I did . . . or at least my muscles did.”
“Ready?” he asks encouragingly.
A feeling of safety washes through me, as if he’ll protect me from the jarring danger I felt when the horse leaped into a run before. I nod, squeeze my heels, gasp, and grab the reins tighter as Jasper begins to trot.
The muscles in Luca’s legs stiffen until they’re as hard as rocks and he lifts me off the saddle. “Now, you hover in the saddle with your weight on your feet. And, most importantly, stay calm.”
I’m holding my breath, praying he’ll stop Jasper before the insane horse bolts down the trail.
“And breathe, Jack! Keep breathing or you’ll pass out.”
With his command, my lungs expand, and the oxygen helps slow my racing heart.
“The ride is always rougher between walking and a full-on run. When the horse is running at higher speeds, the ride is actually smooth.”
“O—okay.” But I don’t want to do that, regardless of how much I feel Luca has complete control over the situation. “Smooth is nice, but can we go back to slow-mo now?”
He chuckles in my ear, and his breath is warm, sending chills down my spine. “Yeah. Pull the reins toward you gently and say, ‘Whoa.’”
I follow his instructions, and amazingly, Jasper slows. Luca lowers me down to the saddle and removes his arm. My waist suddenly feels cold.
The group ahead of us veers to the left, and Luca says in my ear, “Now, to ask Jasper to turn left, press your right knee softly into his side.”
A smile spreads across my face when I do and the horse does exactly what I wanted. Maybe I will get the hang of this after all.
We enter a small clearing and Wyatt holds up his arm, hand fisted. “Who’s ready for coffee?”
My mouth waters immediately, and my head pounds. Me. Most definitely.
Chapter Five
Luca
In the clearing, we directthe LivFit team to circle the herd in order to keep them calm while we take a break for coffee. When everything is settled, I whistle for Frankie, the cattle dog, to come heel. She perks her ears, tail up, and trots alongside Lucy as we return to the rest of the group.
Jack stands at Jasper’s side, where I left her with a little black bag in her hand. As annoyed as I was starting out the day, riding with Jack was a great reminder of why I moved here to begin with. The open air and learning to see nature and animals in new ways settles my heart. My mind doesn’t race here like it did in the city. I don’t enjoy seeing anyone scared to ride these beautiful animals, but to watch Jack conquer her fear, gain confidence, and develop a quiet poise with Jasper made my day. That calming of the soul she’s displaying now is my reason.
This city girl with ladder-climbing aspirations and the change I see in her paint the perfect picture of mywhy.
Eddie, the young and energetic member of the LivFit team, comes over to where I’m standing with a huge, exhilarated grin on his face. “I’m surprised we’re stopping already. We’ve only been riding a couple of hours. I could go on forever.” He isn’t experiencing this adventure the same way as Jack. This is a new thrill for him, a novelty, whereas Jack has the characteristic off-kilter manner of someone who could come to enjoy this life. The thought sends a shudder through me, and I gasp as if I hadn’t been breathing. They’re clients. This is my job. I need to keep everything here professional.
Their colleague, Bruce, approaches us and crosses his arms over his chest. “Eddie, would you quit being so eager? It’s about time we stopped. I can’t feel my left butt cheek.” To emphasize the fact, he lets his left hand drift down and grimaces. If I recall correctly, he is the one who just had his hip replaced.
“Hey, I brought my French press,” Jack says as she walks close to where Emma is getting ready to start the fire. Jack opens a little black bag with what looks like a silk drawstring and draws out pulls a campground sized press. Her eyes twinkle like she’s just solved everyone’s problems for the day, but I stare at the dainty thing in astonishment. Of all the things to bring, she prioritized that?
“Who wants to help get the fire started?” Emma asks. She looks over this retreat group like a proud mom teaching her children something new. “Bruce, why don’t you give it a go?”
Bruce lets out a huff but walks over to the firepit and Emma shows him what to do. I check on the horses, and Jack approaches me.
“Not a bad idea on the French press, right?” she says with a large smile on her face.
I strain my neck to look over my shoulder and down at her. A few sarcastic comments come to mind, but Jack seems too proud of herself for me to let any of those fly.
I chuckle and pat her on the shoulder. “You did good, Jack. This will be the first retreat where we actually have good coffee.”
Yeah, it’s an odd choice of something to bring, but I won’t deny that the quality of coffee it’ll make is far superior to the chewy stuff out of the percolator. And decent coffee after the sleepless night might hit the spot. We stand around, all sipping on the coffee, and Wyatt explains the upcoming four-hour trek, mostly uphill, until we reach the place we’ll settle for the night.
When all the questions die away and almost everyone has put away their coffee mugs, Wyatt calls, “Okay team, let’s pack up our stuff, check the horses, and get back on the trails. Our next leg is long.”
