AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 19
Saoirse checked both sides of the pool. Seeing that everyone was ready, she raised the red flag she was holding.
“Cheval, on your marks!”
A chorus of “ayes” and “yeses” rose from the pool.
“Knights, get set!”
A chorus of giggles rose from the Littles perched on their Mommies’ and Daddies’ shoulders.
“Go!” She dropped the flag.
Across the pool, in five lanes, the jousters surged forward. Sprays of water spattered the pool deck, the watching, cheering crowd, and even Saoirse’s own shoes as the contestants fought through the waist-high water toward each other. When they met their opponent across the pool ropes Saoirse had strung, they jabbed and batted at each other with their brightly-colored pool noodles to cheers and wild giggles from both participants and watchers. Saoirse clapped and hollered along with the crowd, shouting encouragement to the teams of Littles and their caregivers as they battled it out in the water.
Little Alex was the first to fall off his “horse”.
“Spread like an eagle!” she called to encourage him and gave him a whoop when she saw him float perfectly. Alex’s Daddy gave Saoirse a huge thumbs up before he collected his Little and made their way to the side of the pool.
With giggles and guffaws, Little after Little splashed into the water, knocked off their horses.
Finally, when only one couple remained in each lane, Saoirse took stock of the “winners” of the first heat and marked them on a big whiteboard that the University had provided.
“I call unfair advantage.” Jared joined her by the whiteboard and pointed to where the teams of Ned and Courtney and Derek and Sadie had advanced to the second round of the joust.
Saoirse, who felt that she owed Jared a huge debt for freeing her even though she knew he’d been paid well for it, but who’d also learned he had quite a sense of humor, shook her head at him. “Are you claiming my joust is rigged in favor of the real cowboys, Counselor?”
Ned called up from where he was taking position in lane three. “Just because a man’s goodona horse doesn’t mean he makes a good one, Jared. Get those fancy pants off, get wet, and I’ll show you.”
The attorney grinned. “Sucker bet.”
Ned laughed and slapped the water, splashing Jared’s chinos.
Saoirse called the second heat and the third. She tried to keep the smile off her face and maintain a neutral expression, but she couldn’t help from grinning as Master Derek and his ebullient Little progressed, winning joust after joust. Their final battle against a grimly determined Chef Connor and Hayleigh was epic, with the couples returning to the opposite ends of the pool four times and running at each other through the water. A panting, chagrined Connor finally lost his footing in the waist-high water and Hayleigh splashed down to a roar from the crowd.
Once everyone was out of the pool, Saoirse grabbed Derek and Sadie’s hands and raised them high to declare them victors, then draped their necks with the medals that she and Carrie had painted.
The victors led the way out of the pool area to where an end of summer barbeque had been prepared, filling the September air with the smells of roasting chicken, corn, and… pizza? Saoirse laughed when she saw one of Chef Connor’s helpers carrying large trays of pizza out to the tables on the grass.
Once Saoirse finished coiling the pool ropes, she wandered out to the grassy area and mingled, commiserating with the losers of the joust and listening to Alex’s colorful retelling of his “mighty fall”. As the afternoon shaded to twilight, Master Derek approached her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“You’re leaving tomorrow?” he asked.
She nodded. “I know I’ve said it before but thank you for everything.”
He squeezed lightly. “You’ve said it before, so you don’t need to say it again. You’re welcome back any time. Your friends here at the Ranch will miss you.”
Saoirse looked around. She caught Carrie’s eye, who grinned at her, holding up two iced lollies.
“We’ll be back,” Saoirse promised. “Maybe for New Year’s Eve? New Year at the Ranch sounds like a wonderful time.”
“It is,” Master Derek said with a wink. “We’ll look forward to seeing you and your Daddy for New Year’s Eve. Tell Sutter to expect fireworks.”
Saoirse laughed. She’d had a summer of fireworks. Some good, like falling for her Daddy. Some not so good, like the legal drama of which she’d been the very unwilling star. She’d happily live without fireworks in her life for the foreseeable future.
But fireworks in the Ranch’s big sky, over a peaceful January snowscape, sounded just fine to her.
Epilogue
