This story follows immediately after the events in My Father's Second Wife. If you haven't read it, I would strongly encourage you to begin there. This is not a short read; those seeking instant gratification might be better served elsewhere.
Special thanks go to Palindrone for his valuable editing contributions.
Enjoy.
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I hadn't seen my father for two days, which was fine. I was still coming to grips, both physically and mentally, with the events of the week.
I spent time catching up on email. I decided to reconnect with friends from college, all of whom wanted to know when I was coming back.
I treated my body to some much needed pampering. I spent Saturday at the Boulders Spa. A deep tissue massage and a hot wrap were just what the doctor ordered.
I spent Saturday evening in, watching a rom-com and eating popcorn. I had no urge to party, which was an unfamiliar sensation for me.
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I awoke Sunday morning to an unusual sight: my father in my room. He was leaning over me. He kissed me on my cheek.
"Good morning, honeydew," he said. "Would you like to go horseback riding today?"
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I was sleeping in an oversized grey T-shirt and lavender tap pants.
"Yea, sure," I said, groggily. I couldn't think of any reason not to go riding. I also couldn't think of any reason why I would want to either, save for the fact that this was the first time my dad has asked me to do anything with him in years.
"That sounds like fun," I offered, mustering a little more enthusiasm. I smiled. He smiled back.
"Good. Be dressed and downstairs by nine," he announced on his way out.
"No problem," I said to the empty room.
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The drive to the horse ranch took about 50 minutes. There was some idle chitchat, about the weather and such, but generally a quiet trip.
Dad turned the SUV off the highway and onto a well maintained, but unpaved, road. As we got closer to the mountains, the trees got taller and denser. About a mile in, the trees were crowding the road, as if closing ranks to keep out an intruder. If they got any closer, I was sure we wouldn't be able to continue.
Abruptly, the SUV broke through the trees and emerged into a clearing. On the far side was a sprawling ranch house, a barn, stables, and several smaller structures. Between us and the house were four large grassy fields, easily two or three acres apiece, fenced off by white, tubular steel, boundaries. Clusters of horses, casually grazing, occupied two of them. The other two lay empty.
The road straightened out and bisected the four fields, leading straight towards the house.
As we pulled to a stop in the large circular driveway, a young woman emerged from the house. She walked towards us while we climbed out of the SUV. My dad was dressed in jeans, hiking boots, a solid grey cotton shirt, and his favorite leather bomber's jacket, which he's had for as long as I've been alive. It's been a long time since I've seen my dad in jeans. He made them look pretty good.
The woman was slightly taller than me, with straight strawberry blonde hair, pulled back into a single ponytail. She had a wholesome, Midwestern farm girl, look to her—a look strongly reinforced by her jeans and cowboy boots. She was bosomy, but it was hard to tell because her breasts were lashed down under several layers of knit camisoles, covered with a plaid work shirt.
The women recognized my father immediately and smiled—an easy, genuine, smile. She walked up to him and they embraced. It was the hug of friends that hadn't seen each other for a long time. This made me wonder when my dad had gone horseback riding.
She saw me when she disentangled herself. She sized me up quickly. I was decked out in classic equestrian style: camel riding jacket, white silk shirt, tan riding breeches, and black knee-high riding boots. I had forced my kinky blonde hair into a French braid, and it was not happy about it; tiny, rebellious, curls were erupting all over my head.
"I'm Bethany, but everyone calls me Beth," she said, reaching out her hand.
"I'm Charlotte, Char for short," I offered as I shook her hand. She had strong hands, a little rough.
"Do you have much experience riding?" She asked. What she didn't say out loud was "or did you just buy that outfit yesterday?" but I could hear the implication.
I was about to say something snippy, when my dad answered for me. "Char's been riding since she was eleven. She has quite the talent with horses." He said it like a proud father, which just sounded weird to me.
"Excellent," Beth said. She smiled again, completely defusing any tension. "That's less work for me."
She waved her hand for us to follow her, turned, and started towards the stables. "Let's see what we can find for you two."
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My dad and I wandered around the stables while Beth picked out the horses. She reappeared leading two bridled Tennessee Walkers. They were big horses, probably 16 or 17 hands. The mare on her left was sorrel colored, the name on her bridle read "Sweet Lilly." The stallion on her right was a good hand taller, and as black as night.
As Beth handed the reins to us, she made the introductions. "This is Lilly and Rocky. They're as calm as a mountain lake. Walk them out to the hitching post while I get their saddles and the other two."
I gave Lilly's nose a few strokes and then pulled lightly on her reins. She obediently followed. We walked out to the hitching post, where I looped Lilly's reins over the hitch, my father doing the same with Rocky a few feet away.
I know that math isn't my strong suit, but we already had two horses, and I only counted three people, so why was Beth going back for "the other two?"
The question didn't remain unanswered for long. Two more horses soon emerged from the stable, a beautiful white Appaloosa with black spots, and a chestnut Arabian that had already been saddled. The Appaloosa was the smallest of the four, maybe 14 hands, and had the most gorgeous black and white mane. While the Appaloosa was calm, the Arabian was feisty; he walked with an anxious gate, as if he was about to take off running any second.
I wasn't paying much attention to the horses. I was looking at the tall glass of water leading them towards us.
The boy was lean and lanky, close to my age. He walked with an ambling gate that was casual and self-confident. He had a long face topped with a black cowboy hat. He wore matching cowboy boots, jeans, and a solid maroon, western cut, shirt. Beth's clothes were snug, but his were tight, like plastic wrap. The body underneath was tight too. His biceps filled his sleeves, his shoulders and chest clearly defined. I couldn't really see, but I just knew he was rocking six-pack abs.
He lazily looked up at me, with just the slightest hint of a wry smile on his lips. I usually had the upper hand with boys, but I could instantly tell that this one was used to having girls melt in his hands—well, more likely they'd just pull off their panties and jump in his lap. It was abundantly clear that he had what I wanted, and he knew it.
He walked past me and tied up the other two horses. Oh yes, his backside was every bit as good as the front. I could spend a day bouncing dimes off of that ass.
I practically jumped out of my skin when Beth whispered in my ear, "His name is Jake." She had managed to sneak up behind me while I was preoccupied. She was carrying Lilly's saddle, and had a big fat "got 'cha" grin on. I felt my face flush.
Speaking to everyone again, Beth said, "Char, this is Storm," nodding towards the Appaloosa. "The other two are Skeeter and Jake. Jake, this is Charlotte and her father Donald."
Jake acknowledged my father first, walking around to shake his hand. He then walked back around Lilly. Pinching the brim of his hat, he tilted his head slightly towards me, and simply said, "Ma'am."
Beth had thrown a blanket over Lilly and was hoisting the saddle when she spoke to Jake, "Can you and Char get the other two saddles?" Jake nodded a silent agreement and starting ambling back toward the stables. I was expected to follow.
Jake's long legs made short work of the distance. I was torn between running to catch up with him, and hanging back so I could stare at his butt. I hung back. Don't judge me.
As it turns out, it was the right decision. Jake was friendly, but he was not a talker.
"Storm looks like a well tempered horse. Anything I should know about her?" I asked.
"Not really," was Jake's two-word answer.
"Have you worked here long?" I tried again.