Chapter 15
As they drove toward Harv's horse farm, Rick and Harv took turns explaining the business. Harv ran a therapeutic riding center, catering heavily toward the military and those suffering from PTSD and other mental ailments. Anne was fascinated by the idea. Now here was a possible career where she could care for others and help them get back on their feet. And Russelle might even approve of this one. Assuming Anne liked horses. She had seen them on TV and had even seen one in person at a fair when she was younger, but she had never had the privilege of being close to one.
They soon pulled into the center. It looked more like Charles' place than a fancy riding center. A charming old farmhouse, probably centuries old, sat in front while beyond it loomed a large barn with a wide, fenced-in pasture filled with horses, probably about ten in total.
The instant Charles slid open the van's door, the musky scent of sweaty animals and manure wafted into everyone's nostrils and Anne immediately glanced at her sister. A polite, tense smile sat on Mary's lips, which morphed into a gag the instant Harv stepped out of the van. Anne sighed. She doubted she'd have any time to ride a horse; all her time would be dedicated to keeping her sister from not dissolving into a fit.
As Anne waited for the others to file out of the van, she noticed Harv favoring his right leg and heavily using the solid cane in his hand in order to avoid putting any weight on it. He wore too loose of jeans for her to get an idea of the injury, but Anne wondered if whatever accident had occurred had also been the inspiration for the therapeutic riding center. She glanced at Rick, wondering if he had needed the services of the center—and if that was how the two had become acquainted. Then again, they had both been in the military so perhaps they had met that way? She wished she might get the whole story one day, assuming Harv would be willing to talk about it. She knew Rick would never divulge the information since that would require talking to her longer than a minute.
The group ventured over to the horse-filled pasture and Louisa pressed herself against the gate, whistling at the horses to entice them to come over; none seemed interested. Meanwhile, Mary stood several feet away, a look of disgust firmly in place while Charles stood between his wife and his sister as if wanting to join Louisa but wary of what an unattended wife might end up doing. Anne hovered near Charles, wanting to be of assistance to Mary, but also curious of the horses. Rick grabbed tufts of hay from nearby bales and gave some to Louisa who promptly waved it at the horses. The big beasts trotted over and Anne edged away from the fence, no longer sure she wanted to interact with them.
"They won't hurt you," a voice sounded from behind her.
She turned to find a slender man, probably a year or so younger than she, but with eyes that spoke of a deep sadness, as though sunlight could never venture into their murky depths. He laid those sad eyes on the big beasts. "Horses are gentle creatures."
"They're a lot bigger in person," Anne confessed.
A hint of a smile crossed the young man's face. "They—"
"James Benwick!"
Anne jumped at Rick's voice, so close to her as he walked over to them.
The young man produced half a smile. "Hey, Rick. Haven't seen you in a while."
"Been busy." They clapped hands like old buddies. "Still working around here, I see?"
"It's a good place."
"Rick!" Louisa called. "Can we get more hay?" She indicated the hay in Rick's left hand. He stared at it as if surprised it was there, then his eyes jumped to Anne's. With a start, she realized the hay must have been for her. However, James swooped down and grabbed a handful of grass from the ground. "You can use these, too." He held it out for Anne while Rick continued to stand there as if unsure of what to do. Anne froze, her eyes on the two offerings. Half of her wanted to grab the hay as if that would somehow cause Rick to forgive her. The other half wanted to accept the grass in order to not offend James. Before she could make the decision, however, Rick did it for her and withdrew his offering, wandering back to Louisa instead. Hiding a sigh, she accepted James' grass, but mentally wished she'd grabbed Rick's instead. Louisa would probably have done so, wouldn't she? Which was probably why Rick was listening to her giggle instead of Anne.
James snagged more grass. "Hold it like this." He flattened his hand, balancing the hay on his open palm. "That way, they won't nip your fingers." He held out the grass and an eager horse trotted over, snapping up the offered grass. Anne stared at the big beast, then followed James' example. The horse sniffed at her offering, its hot breath blowing over her hand and scattering some of the grass; then it moved its mouth over her hand and gobbled up the grass. Anne smiled, relieved her offering had been accepted.
"Give her a pet," James said, rubbing the horse's long face.
Anne tentatively stroked its cheek, surprised to find the hairs so soft. But the horse abruptly tossed his head and she snapped her hands to her side.
"It's fine," James said. "She's nervous."
"Of me?" She stared at the horse. How can such a big creature be nervous of a tiny thing like Anne?
"Yeah, she wants to be friends but can tell you don't want it."
"Well, tell her I'm nervous, too. I've never been so close to a horse before."
"Really? That's too bad." He stroked the horse's forehead, but it threw up its head as if disagreeing with his statement.
"Anne!" Louisa called. She turned and found Rick's eyes on her, a haunted look in them, but he shot his eyes to Louisa as though trying to pretend he hadn't been studying her. Anne couldn't believe it. That was the third time she had caught him looking at her in less than two hours. What had caused the sudden interest in her? And how could she possibly keep it up?
Anne berated herself. She was supposed to be over him! And look, his attention was all on Louisa again. If he was suddenly changing his mind, he could easily take the few steps to be by her side. It wasn't like they were miles away.
"They said we could ride the horses!" Louisa continued, waving at Harv. "Can you ride?"
"Anne can't ride," Mary said, ten feet away from the nearest horse, all by herself. Charles had apparently chosen to stand with his sister. "She's never ridden, like me."
"We have good horses that can handle first-timers," James offered from behind her. "I can make sure you get a really gentle horse."
Anne wasn't entirely sure her bravery could hold up for even a gentle horse, but she forced a happy smile. "That would be nice." Besides, she couldn't know she'd hate it until she tried, right? And being on top of the giant creatures might be safer than standing where they could trample her down.
Harv waved them toward the barn and the group trouped after him. However, Rick veered toward the house. Anne stared after him, wondering why he wasn't going to ride horses all of a sudden.
"You've never really ridden a horse before?" James asked.
Anne jerked, hoping he hadn't seen who she had been staring at. "I never had the opportunity. My family wasn't keen on animals." She glanced at Mary for the perfect proof—a deep disgust sat firmly on her face.
"So, you've never had a pet?"
"That would be correct. No dogs, cats, or even birds." She doubted any would have survived, anyway, judging by the self-absorbness of her family. Most likely, the care would have fallen to Anne and though she liked animals in general, she doubted she would have enjoyed taking care of them. It had never been a desire of hers. "Did you grow up with pets?"
That half smile flitted over his lips again. "Lots. Four dogs, two guinea pigs, several cats, and a parrot."
"Wow, that is a lot! Were you in charge of taking care of them all?"
"Ah, no," he looked away while a hand rubbed a charm on a silver necklace around his neck. "I had help."
She wondered if that necklace had anything to do with that deep sadness in his eyes.
"Here," he said as they reached the barn. "I'll get your horse ready."
She watched him head toward a stall and she stood awkwardly in the middle of the barn,
not knowing what to do with herself. Nearby, Charles attempted to persuade Mary to try riding a horse, but she was dead-set against it. He shot Anne a beseeching look, but Anne shook her head. She saw no need to force Mary on a horse. She was having a hard enough time herself to gather the needed courage.
James finally came out with a massive beast. It was taller than her and she gulped, not sure she could do this after all.
"It will be okay," James said. "Don't worry."
Anne attempted a laugh. "Is my fear that obvious?"
"You have the same look most people do when they first meet a horse."
She forced a smile while, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Rick striding into the barn, his slick suit traded for old jeans and a faded, flannel shirt, yet still looking just as good. How did he pull that off?
She half hoped he'd come toward them but wasn't surprised when he headed straight for Louisa. Laughter and chatter soon drifted from them as they saddled their horses—apparently, Rick had experience with horses? Another dream he had achieved.
Averting her eyes, she focused on the massive beast before her. "Do most people fall off when they get on?"
"Not with him." He patted the horse and it rubbed its head against him in a friendly manner. "He's too lazy to get spooked. Your odds of falling off this guy are worse than getting hit by lightning."
"Those are nice odds."
"Ready to get on, then?"
Anne nodded and he motioned her to the horse's side.
"Put your foot in the stirrup here, yeah, like that, then grab the saddle like this, stand up on the stirrup, there you go, and now throw your leg over and look, you're on a horse!"
She gripped the protruding knob on the saddle, hanging on for dear life, her eyes on the ground. If she fell off, it would hurt for sure.
"Don't worry." James handed her the reigns and she grabbed them like they were a lifeline. Unfortunately, they were attached to the horse. Not exactly the best lifeline.
James patted the horse's head. "He's slow and steady. He'll take good care of you."
Anne mustered up a smile but tightened her hold on the reigns when James left her alone with the giant beast. She held still, expecting something to happen. But the horse only lowered its head to muzzle the dry ground as if searching for munchies. Anne relaxed. So far, so good.
"All ready?" Harv called from the doorway of the barn. Apparently, he wasn't riding. Was it because of his leg? Or perhaps he had chores to finish? Or maybe it was due to the tough-looking woman he had his arm around. She was as tall as Harv with an angular face and hair pulled into a tight ponytail, but an easy smile relaxed some of her harsh angles. By the way Harv held her close, Anne deduced she was his wife.
"Keep to the trails," Harv's wife called, waving as the group headed out. Anne let the horse follow James' horse, but as they exited the barn, Anne spotted Mary standing behind Harv and the woman and Anne immediately regretted being on the horse. She should have stayed with Mary and eased Harv's task of entertaining her.
However, like a knight in shining armor, Charles walked up to Mary, calling her attention to something. Anne smiled, pleased with Charles' foresight to sacrifice riding a horse in order to keep his wife happy. She was quite proud of him at that moment.
As soon as the horses and their riders made their way out of the gate and into the wide open pasture, Rick and Louisa broke into a canter. Anne stiffened, worried her horse might follow, but it seemed more interested in muzzling the ground for something good to eat than chasing after the other two.
James brought his horse beside Anne's. "I warned you he doesn't go very fast. If you want, we can trade. I can get him to go faster."
Anne watched Louisa and Rick ride out of view, both laughing as if in a race. "I'm fine. It lets me enjoy the ride."
That hint of a smile crossed James' lips and they rode together in silence for a while, enjoying the beauty of the countryside, the trees shading them from the early afternoon sunlight.
"So," Anne said, breaking the silence, "Are you the only one that helps Harv run the place?"
"No, he has a bunch of helpers, but everyone's at a big retreat with most of the clients."
"Retreat?"
"Yeah, we do several a year. Head out into the boonies to camp for a few days. It's a great bonding experience."
"Why didn't you go?"
He touched that necklace again. "Someone needs to stay and help with the horses that didn't end up going."
Anne frowned, having a feeling he was avoiding something.
"What about Harv? Shouldn't he go if he's the boss?"
"It's Star's birthday this weekend—"
"Star?"
"His wife. She waved us off earlier."
"Oh. So he stayed for her birthday? That's sweet of him."
"Yeah. I think they were planning a romantic weekend since they packed their kids off to Star's parents."
Anne winced. "We ruined it, didn't we?"
A half smile cracked his lips. "I don't think they mind. Harv and Rick go way back. Rick's the reason Harv got married in the first place."
"What do you mean?"
"Harv used to be a player. Thought marriage was overrated. A relic of the past. But when he met Star, she turned his head good. But he resisted giving up his freedom."
"And...Rick changed his mind about this?"
"Well, Rick and Brandon, another friend of theirs, they are the "one love only" type of guys—"
Anne gripped her reigns. One love?
"—and they were able to convince him that Star was worth the price. And he's been grateful to them ever since."
Anne hesitated for a moment, knowing she shouldn't ask. She was over Rick, right? But she couldn't resist. "Did Rick or Brandon ever find their one love?"
"Don't know. They always change the topic whenever it comes up."
"Oh." Anne had no idea how to interpret that. They obviously weren't happy with their "one love" but it could mean they haven't found that girl yet just as likely as if they had lost her already.
"What do you do?" he asked out of the blue.
She turned to him in surprise. "I'm sorry?"
He ducked his head as if wishing he hadn't said anything. "I meant, what's your job?"
"Oh, um, I'm kind of in between jobs right now."
He looked up. "You are? What are you hoping to get into?"
She stared at her horse's head, not sure she wanted to confess her current plan of becoming a school teacher. She already knew how appalled her family would be and wasn't sure she wanted to face the same reaction from a stranger. Besides, she wasn't even sure she wanted it. "I'm still thinking. What about you? Is this your dream job, working on a horse farm?"
He patted his horse. "It is now."
"Does that mean there was something else you wanted but you realized you wouldn't like it?"
"No, life just...got in the way, I guess."
"I'm sorry." Anne waited a moment before daring to ask, "What did you want to do?"
"Be a juvenile counselor."
"What's that?"
"It's where you work with and help troubled teens that end up in jail."
Anne perked up. Rick had been a troubled teen once, getting into enough fights to end up in a juvenile center. And she had witnessed his explosive anger twice: a month into their relationship when they were evicted from the musical room for being too loud; the second when she dumped him. Convincing him to calm down the first time, while stressful, had also been very rewarding. He confessed no one had been able to do that before. And later, he admitted that was the moment when he didn't want to ever lose her.
What if she became a juvenile counselor? While she highly doubted she'd get the same reaction with other troubled teens, it did seem something she was good at. Her own family, in a way, were troubled and she had daily practice learning how to calm them. And it would utilize her law training as well as allow her to work with kids.
"Why didn't you become one?"
Anne asked, wondering if there was a downside she wasn't seeing.
He sighed as though the sorrows of the world had descended upon his shoulders. "I didn't think it would pay enough."
Anne knew exactly that feeling. It was why she avoiding talking about becoming a mother or any other career that sounded interesting to Anne. "Well, money doesn't always bring happiness." An argument she hoped would work against Russelle.
He sighed and touched that necklace again. "Wise words."
She decided to be bold. "What's the necklace for?"
He clenched his jaw as if angry.
"I'm sorry," Anne said, "I shouldn't have asked—"
"No, it's okay." He sighed. "It was given to me by Fanny."
"Oh?" She prodded.
He gazed up at the sky, hands on the necklace. "She was the love of my life. But I...I was stupid. I messed up."
Anne felt like he was speaking about her life. "Did you let her go?"
"I left," he spat out, "to earn more money. Went into the military so it could pay for college. She was so good, so perfect, so smart. I didn't feel like I deserved her love. I wanted to prove my worth to her and her brother. I wanted to prove I could make a good living for her, give her the type of life and comfort she deserved. She told me she didn't care and would have followed me to the ends of the earth no matter how poor, but I wanted better for her." He shook his head sadly. "So stupid."
Persuading Him: A Modern Persuasion Retelling (Pemberley Estates Book 1) Page 14
