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Nigel looked up from his casserole he’d just cut up. “What? When does she go back to school?”
April’s cheeks immediately reddened. “No, uh… the other thing? You asked me so long ago, maybe you don’t even remember.”
She struggled to look away from him, but knew she needed to see every expression he held. At first it was confusion, then brows raised in question if they were thinking of the same thing. “Do you mean…?” April nodded excitedly, with a smile. “ April, would you like to go to dinner with me? On a real date?”
“Yes, I would love that.” It took everything not to jump up and down and giggle with excitement. It had been a long time since she’d accepted a date with a handsome man. “Let’s check our schedules and maybe you can text me what days you’re free?”
Nigel nodded, not even trying to hide his excitement. His mouth hung open, eyes wide. She didn’t realize how much it would shock him. “Of course. I can do that. I’d love to-”
“Mom!”
The call from outside struck anxiety through April. A breath caught in her throat, making it hard for her to swallow. What could possibly be happening now? “Mom! You have to come see this!”
After a deep breath, she realized that her daughter wasn’t hurt, but rather, excited. “I’ll go check it out, you finish plating, and we’ll be back in a minute. Thank you, again,” she said, brushing her hand on his bicep before walking outside.
She couldn’t believe she’d actually touched Nigel like that. It’d been years since she flirted with someone and she couldn’t tell if that was strange or outdated. Still, it excited her to touch him.
“What’s going on, honey?” April called out from the deck. Georgia was no longer standing out front, packing up the tools. She squinted into the distance to try and find her, but it took her a minute to see the silhouette.
When Georgia didn’t answer, she approached. Out in the middle of the field stood Georgia, staring opposite of the house. “What’s going on?”
Georgia turned sharply and shushed her. “You have to be quiet. Don’t scare them away.”
That made April even more intrigued. Only as she slowly approached her daughter did she see the sight before them.
The dark brown fur pattern and the familiarity told April that this was the same horse from the first day she arrived there. But this time, it wasn’t alone. Standing beside it was a mate, a partner. “Oh my God,” she muttered under her breath. “Amazing.”
Slowly, she inched up to it. Once she was a hand’s length away, she reached out and brushed up its face. It let her, just like it did before. Only this time, she didn’t need crackers to get close to it. It just knew that she wasn’t going to do it any harm.
With April’s courage, Georgia found herself able to do the same. She walked up and pet the steeds, gently nurturing the wild animals.
The fur was slick under their hands, and warm. Their coats were so beautiful, a rich brown that covered them from head to hoof. Their manes were a dark black that shimmered in the sunlight.
“Aren’t they gorgeous?” Georgia asked her with a smile.
April nodded. Then she leaned onto the horse, gently nudging its head past her shoulder. She had to stand on her tiptoes in order to put her mouth to its ear. “I’m sorry, I don’t have any crackers for you today. But if you come back tomorrow, I’ll make sure you have as many as you could ever want. You have a friend in me and I’m not going anywhere.”
She knew that’s what they were really here for. Once she gave the food to the stallion, she knew the mare would come soon after. They would be searching for her and the treat she would give.
But just as quickly as they arrived, they seemed ready to leave. April could feel them getting restless and carefully pulled Georgia back with her.
At first, the two horses simply stared at them. As they took steps away from the house, they would look back as if their new human friends would have magically found the treats they wanted. When they realized they weren’t getting anything but love today, they trotted into the distance.
When they were even further away, they began to run. It was the most majestic thing April had ever witnessed. They simply stared at them, in awe of the beauty.
This was why April loved this place so long ago. It occurred to her that she hadn’t included them in her plans for the house. Her vision became tunneled after she had the dream about the bed and breakfast.
But maybe it was time for a new dream, something bigger than just a bed and breakfast by the beach. Something that included her precious animals and hundreds of acres of land that used to be a farm.
On this land, she would build a horse ranch.
