Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 69610 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69610 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
I don’t know if I can hold it all in any longer.
When I arrive, there are a few bikers hovering around, as they always are. The caretakers at first didn’t like it, but I think they’ve come to enjoy their rowdy company. I slip out of my car, and I’d try to stop the tears, but there isn’t a great lot of point. They’ll know I’ve been crying the moment they see me. I park my car right at the barn and get out.
I know Scarlett has some nice horses. She also has a lot of land. And I need to clear my head. I grew up around horses, I know them, and I’m not afraid to take one out. So, that’s exactly what I do. I climb out of the car and walk into the barn, glancing at all the horses. Scarlett told me they’re all placid, so I go to the closest one, a grey gelding with big, brown eyes. He leans over right away for a nuzzle, and I know he’s the one.
I find a saddle, a bridle, and then I get him out and get to work. One of the bikers on duty, Mason, comes in when I’m halfway through. He’s probably in his mid-thirties somewhere, and, like the others, is incredibly good looking, in a quiet, scary kind of way. He’s rougher around the edges, with a jagged scar running down his cheek, and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen on a man. Sometimes, in the right light, they could be mistaken for a bluish kind of silver. He has long dark hair that is braided down his back. I’m not sure of his heritage, but his looks mesh together in a way that is striking.
“Hi, Mason,” I say to him when he stops and places a big, thick hand on the horse’s rump.
It doesn’t flinch.
“Amalie,” he says, holding my eyes. “You goin’ for a ride?”
I nod. “Yeah. Is Scarlett here?”
He shakes his head, eyes narrowing. “You sure you’re in a state to go for a ride?”
I swallow. “I had a hard day, but surely it’s safe to go for a ride here? I won’t go far, just into the big paddock for a stretch. I can ride, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Can see that,” he tells me, eyes flicking to the horse then back to me. “You’re tackin’ it up like some sort of pro, but it is nearly sundown ...”
“Please, Mason. I won’t go far. I won’t be more than an hour. Haven’t you ever needed to just clear your head? You know that feeling your motorbike gives you? That’s the feeling the horses give me.”
He doesn’t smile a lot, but his eyes do lighten a touch. “When you put it like that, can hardly argue. Okay, but for the love of my balls, get back on time.”
“Thank you.”
He stares at me a second longer, then turns and leaves. He walks out and I continue my mission tacking the horse up. When I’m done, I find a helmet and a pair of boots and lead him out. I wave to Mason as I move to the big paddock and open the gates. My heart is beating so wildly, a mixture of anticipation and pain from earlier. I can’t wait to let this horse loose in the paddock and forget the world for just a moment.
I climb onto his back after I’ve locked the gate and walk him around for a while. He’s obedient and does everything I ask of him. Feeling more confident, I push him up into a trot, moving him around in a figure-eight and a few circles, warming him up, before I decide it’s time to stretch his legs. I aim him toward the paddock that rolls on for miles, and I give him a good kick.
He’s responsive and jerks into a canter right away.
My pain is taken away and I smile for the first time in hours. I inhale the cool air that brushes across my face and let my lungs expand and pull, taking it deep into my body. The horse, who I have decided to name Silver for the day, gets faster and faster. Moving from a canter into a gallop. We fly down the paddock, and I feel exhilarated. Like nothing in the world could touch me.
Now I know why those men rely on their bikes so heavily.
This kind of freedom is hard to find anywhere else.
When I reach the end of the paddock, I look back up. The house is nothing more than a tiny speck in the distance. My heart is racing, my body pumped, and I don’t want to turn around and go back. I glance around. Scarlett told me there are hundreds of horse trails through her property. She made sure of it. So I jump off Silver and open the gate, stepping out to where the land becomes endless.