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He hesitates for a second, then does as I asked. I take his hand and place it on the neck of Jasper, runningit down to the side. When I get to as far as his arm can reach from his position, I lift it, bring it back to the top, and repeat the same movements.
Our fingers intertwine as I continue the motion a few more times. When I look up to Dalton, he’s staring at me, not Jasper, which catches me off guard.
I instantly remove my hand and walk back to Brandy and hop back on, doing the same thing to Brandy that we were just doing to Jasper.
“You have to become one with the horse. They have to trust you just as much as you have to trust them.”
Dalton rubs his lips together as he continues to pet Jasper. With every movement, I can visibly see his body relax. When he takes a deep breath in, I know he’s more comfortable being here now.
“You ready to walk some more?” I ask.
He nods. “Just walk though.”
I laugh. “Fine. Just walk.”
I pat Brandy, and she starts off in a slow walk down the riverside some more.
“I didn’t realize your property came back this far,” Dalton says.
“Yep. All the way to Eli’s place.”
“Seriously? That’s far from here.”
I laugh out loud. “Yeah, two thousand acres is a lot of land.”
“How come I didn’t know it was that big?”
“Used to be, remember?” I glare at him, then look forward again. “Now, it’s a lot of empty land.”
He doesn’t say anything in response, so we continue in silence for a few minutes.
“You doing better now?” I ask.
He nods and looks around like he’s lost in thought as he takes into account everything around him, then turns to me. “Yeah. This is better. It’s kind of peaceful.”
I take in a long inhale and let it out with a happy sigh. “It sure is. I love it out here.”
“I can see why.”
I look toward him. “Thanks for the embarrassing story you told Mrs. Anderson.”
He lets out a sharp laugh, making me roll my eyes. “Thanks for going along with it.”
I shrug my shoulders. “A bet is a bet. That’s what I get for thinking you couldn’t fix that fence.”
“Still surprised I did it, huh?”
“Yeah. Even more now after seeing you try to ride a horse.”
“Hey, if you had started out at this speed, then I would have done just fine.”
“But where’s the fun in that? I had to get you back for that made-up paper somehow.” I click my legs against Brandy. “Let’s go, girl.”
Brandy takes off in a trot, and Jasper is quick to try to outrun her.
“Not this time,” Dalton says from behind me. “Yeehaw,” he calls out as he kicks his legs and starts to pass me.
I laugh so hard that I almost lose my balance. “Did you just say ‘yeehaw’?”
