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“No. I never got around to getting one.”
“We’ll have to do something about that.” He read the logo on the hat. “Greenfield High?”
“My brother’s school.” She smiled. “He teaches there. He’s not a student.”
“Gotcha.” She went to the horse, and he handed her the reins. “You’ve spent some time with Button in the pen. But on the trail, she’s a nice, easy ride.”
“Hello again, Button.” Ember ran her hand down the horse’s nose and looked her in the eye for a moment. It’s what Jake like to do when he was getting to know a horse and he found it interesting she did the same thing. She then put her foot in the stirrup and got into the saddle, taking a moment to settle in. She nodded at Jake. “Let’s go.”
They moved away from the house, then walked the horses side-by-side along the creek. They were walking on mostly grass and it was level ground. So it was easy to navigate.
“Normally, we would’ve had our first snowfall by now.”
“This is really nice. But I’m guessing you probably need the snow.”
“Yeah. It’ll come. It always does.”
She glanced at him. “Thank you for this. It’s really beautiful.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for coming with me.” They rode on in silence for a while before Jake said, “There’s a swimming hole a couple of miles upriver. Gen and I used to spend hours there when we were kids. And of course, my kids grew up swimming in it, too.”
She smiled at him. “We’re not swimming, are we?”
“No. We’d freeze to death. But it’s a pretty spot. I brought a lunch.”
Ember nodded. “A picnic sounds great.”
They took it slow as they followed the creek meandering through the grassy meadow and the occasional stands of willows and aspens. They didn’t talk much, but it was a comfortable silence. Ember was easy to be around and they didn’t need to keep a conversation going.
When Jake spotted the stand of willows bigger than what they’d passed through and reaching farther into the meadow, he knew they’d arrived at the pool.
“It’s just up ahead. We’ll skirt around the trees and it’s on the other side. The creek turns and makes a wide spot which formed a pretty nice hole. But my dad and grandfather drove a backhoe out here about thirty years ago and dugit out. In the spring, it’s about eight feet deep in the middle.”
When they came around the trees, Ember gasped. “Oh my goodness. This is beautiful.”
The willows opened up with a few huge ones right along the edge of the water. The branches with moss hanging from them like a bridal veil, hung over the water, shading it during the hot summer afternoons.
“Yeah. It’s a special spot, all right.” He stopped Chief and dismounted. Ember got to the ground too and handed the reins to Jake. He tied the horses to a tree, then they went to the water’s edge. The water was low this time of year, but the pool was still several feet in the deepest part. The water was clear, and the flow was slow so you could see down to the bottom of it.
Ember spotted a large tree with pieces of two-by-fours nailed into the trunk, forming a ladder up to the branch hanging over the deepest part of the hole.
“I imagine that gets a lot of use.”
“Yeah. The kids climb up and onto the limb. Then they jump from there.”
“And how about you? Do you jump off the limb into the water?”
“I’ve been known to jump a time or two every summer.” He glanced at her. “Are you ready to have some lunch?”
“Yes, please.”
John went to Chief and took a blanket anda small canvas tote from his saddle bags. He set the lunch down, then he and Ember spread the blanket on the grass in a sunny spot about ten feet from the creek. They sat a few feet apart and Jake took out two sandwiches.
“Peanut butter and jelly. I went all out, though. Crunchy peanut butter.” Jake saw something in Ember’s eyes he couldn’t quite decipher. “Not a fan of peanut butter and jelly?”
She smiled. “No, it’s fine. I love peanut butter and jelly. Especially crunchy peanut butter.”
“Good.” He reached into the bag. “I also brought desert. Chocolate chip cookies.”
