AllFreeNovel
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“Sure you did. You’re not getting out of doing the dishes.”
“I know.” A minute later, she called him. “John. Come see this.”
“I’m not buying it.”
“No. Seriously. There’s a horse out here.”
He went into the living room and found Ember at the front door. She looked over her shoulder at him. “A horse and I think he’s hurt.”
John looked over her shoulder, then went around her to the porch. The horse was standing in the yard with a saddle and bridle, but the reins were hanging down and she’d gotten tangled up in them.
John went down the steps and Ember put a hand on his back. “Wait. Be careful.”
He took a step toward the horse. “Whoa there, girl. You’re okay.” The horse looked at him and stopped struggling. “There you go. Let me help you.”
“John?”
“It’s okay. She’s just scared.” He approached the horse and put a hand on her halter, then rubbed her neck for a moment. “There you go. You’re fine.” He untangled the reins, then led the horse to the porch railing where he tied her off. John looked at Ember. “Who has horses around here?”
“Um… I don’t know. I know there’s a riding stable about four miles from here.”
John stroked the horse. “She doesn’t seem like a rental horse. But they might at least know where she belongs.”
“I’ll go call them.”
“No. Let’s deliver her.”
“Excuse me?”
“Will you go get my boots?”
Ember frowned. “You’re going to ride the horse?”
“Yeah. I have a feeling it’s not the first time.”
She nodded and went inside to get his boots. When she returned, he sat on the steps and traded the tennis shoes he’d borrowed from Scott with his boots. He stood.
“Get your car keys.”
She went back in the house and when she came out, John was on the horse. She looked athim. “How does it feel?”
“Like I belong here.” He backed the horse from the rail. I’ll be back in a minute.” He trotted across the parking area in front of the house, then when he got to the road, he urged the horse into a lope. He took her all the way to the main road, then pulled up and patted her neck. He took a breath. For the first time since he woke up in the hospital, he felt a sense of calm. He turned the horse around, then galloped all the way back. He passed the house and continued to the edge of the lake, before slowing down, then stopping. He turned the horse again and walked her back to Ember.
She shook her head. “Okay. Maybe I was wrong about the cowboy vibe.”
Chapter seven
"And by we, you mean me?"
Ember drove her car slowly down the road, with John following her on the horse. She wasn’t sure how fast to go, so she kept it at ten miles per hour. When she got to the main road, she stopped at the turnoff and John rode up next to her window. She rolled it down.
“Are you okay?”
He smiled. “Yeah. Just pick up the speed a little or we’ll never get there.”
“I wasn’t sure.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep up.”
