They walked quietly in the direction he had pointed, the light wind wrapping her long skirt around her legs as she walked. She could almost feel the warm wind drying out her skin, she licked her lips quickly. Dianna looked around, keeping an eye out for Leslie. Hopefully she was at the north stable, and hadn’t gone wandering around somewhere else. She’d probably never find the girl then. As they turned the corner, she could see Leslie leaning against a fence, watching the horses gallop around the ring. The man laughed.
“I guess she wasn’t at the stable after all.”
“Thank for your help anyway. I’m sorry to have taken you away from your work,” she turned to him. “My name is Dianna.”
“Call me Jackson,” he answered, holding out his hand. “Good to meet you.”
She shook his hand quickly. After, he tipped his hat towards her and started walking back the way they had come. Dianna walked briskly towards where Leslie was standing.
“I thought you were supposed to wait for me at the parking lot?” she asked, her hands on her hips.
Leslie turned around and rolled her eyes. She was fourteen years old, and had to show everyone that she knew everything, like every other girl at that age. Somewhere, far in the distant past, Dianna vaguely remembered doing the same thing.
“Yeah, well, you found me. What’s the big deal?”
She leaned over to pick up her helmet and bag, and started walking towards the parking lot. Dianna sighed, and watched her niece walk away. After a few moments, she followed the younger girl.
They drove back home together in silence. They didn’t have very much in common, and often found it difficult to find things to talk about together. The silence in the small car seemed to stretch on forever, making the car seem smaller, and the ride longer. Eventually Leslie turned on the radio and pressed buttons until some country singer she liked came on. She turned the volume up, and ignored Dianna the rest of the way home.
Dianna sat up late that night in bed, trying to read her book. Instead of the words on the pages, she kept seeing Jackson’s face in her mind. She’d never seen him before, but then, she never paid much attention to all the people at the stable before. She always just wanted to pick up Leslie and get back. She turned off her lamp, and settled down in bed. She spent the night dreaming about cowboys, and was very interested in going back to the stable.
Three days later at the next riding lesson, Dianna tried to find an extra nice looking outfit. A long, flowing, light blue dress, hoping to see Jackson somewhere on the grounds. She had even stopped long enough to put on some makeup before she left. When she dropped the girl off, she got out of her car, and walked around some of the paths around the stable. But she didn’t see the cowboy. She got back into the car, slightly disappointed, and drove out to the park where she liked to work. After the lesson, she met up with Leslie, and went back to the car, trying to hide her disappointment and embarrassment. Leslie chattered happily the entire ride home, talking about a summer trip she wanted to take with her friends, and some kind of riding competition. Dianna made comments every now and then, to make it seem like she was paying attention, when really she wasn't. She was mentally berating herself for being so stupid. It was embarrassing really, she'd only seen him once, they barely spoke to each other, and here she was trying to show off to him. As if he really noticed her, or even cared if she showed up or not.
The next few weeks, Dianna started to get a lot more interested in picking up Leslie from the riding lessons. She still felt ridiculous, like a high school girl trying to hunt down a boy, but it never stopped her from trying. Many times Dianna would take an extra walk around, she didn’t always see Jackson, and sometimes she only saw him long enough to wave quickly as he went by. His face always breaking out into a huge smile when he saw her. Each time she had to remind herself that it didn’t mean anything special. He seemed like that sort of man who smiled at everyone.
One day, she sat in the car a little longer, after dropping Leslie off at the stable. She sat in the parking lot, watching the people walking around, when someone knocked on her window. She jumped slightly, surprised, and looked out. Jackson was leaning over her car. She smiled and lowered her window.
“We’re having a trail ride today,” Jackson said, standing next to the open window of the Volkswagen. “There’s an open spot if you want to come along while Leslie is having lessons. It will be fun.”
She felt torn. Horses were definitely not her favourite thing in the world, she wasn’t scared of them, but she didn’t like them. They always seemed so high-maintenance and fussy. But, she said to herself, it would mean spending more time with Jackson, even if there were other people around. And it was hard to make herself say no.
“I have a very sweet, gentle mare you could ride,” he added, hoping to convince her.
“Well, alright. That sounds like it would be nice,” she smiled at him, and got out of the Volkswagen. Thank goodness she had decided on pants today. She wasn’t entirely sure how well a dress would have worked on a horse.
“Follow me; I’ll make sure you’re all set up.”
They walked together to the tack building; he talked the whole way describing what the trail ride would be like. He said it was different looking at things from a horse than it was looking at them from the ground. She laughed, and agreed, to his surprise. Like everything else, it was all a matter of perspective.
Dianna looked around, curious about the place that could inspire such interest in Jackson, and her niece. She had never been in the tack building before. There were helmets and boots, and pieces of equipment she’d never seen before.
“This is the owner’s tack room,” Jackson said, pointing to the shelves around them, as they walked through.
Dianna turned around; Leslie’s bag was tucked into a corner. It looked very small sitting there, which was strange since it always seemed to take up so much room in the entranceway of the house where she seemed to like to leave it.
“Here’s the loaner stock,” he said, laughing as she made a face.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about wearing a helmet that so many other people would have worn. His face was serious as he flipped through the helmets, holding them up to her head. A couple times he had her put one on, but frowned and made her take it off. He finally found her a proper-sized helmet, and showed her how to get it put on, and get it tightened up properly. They walked towards the stables in a companionable silence, both just enjoying the company of the other. At the stables, she stood near the already mounted trail riding group, and Jackson ran back to get her horse. He came back guiding a light brown horse, with a white stripe running down her nose. She certainly seemed quiet enough, following Jackson placidly, looking around at where they were going.
“Here you are Dianna, please met our very own Lady Di,” Jackson said quietly, holding on to the bridle.
Dianna laughed, reaching out tentatively petting the mare on the velvety nose. He helped her mount, his hand on her back as she pulled herself up. His fingers brushed against her leg as she got settled in the saddle. She could feel her skin tingling through the fabric where he touched her. She breathed in sharply, and watched as he walked away. He quickly mounted his own horse, and expertly moved up to the front of the group, giving them all simple instructions on how to manage their horses. When everyone nodded their understanding, they set off. The group was small, only ten people with a guide in the front and back. Dianna was near the middle; every now and then she could see Jackson in the front, his back straight and tall as he rode. She felt nervous about the horses, still unsure about what to do with it, unsure if she would be able to stop it, if it decided to go somewhere else. The area was just as beautiful as Jackson had said it would be. The leaves of the trees whispered gently in the breeze, and the little creek they followed made her wish she could stop and dangle her feet in. She tried to fix the image in her head, wondering how she could reproduce the way the water sparkled as it moved with her threads. Probably something white
, with a bit of shimmer. Perhaps some kind of silk.
Dianna was feeling better about everything by the time the stables came back into view. The ride had been easy, lasting only about an hour. Thinking about the threads as she rode, seemed to make the time fly by. And the Lady Di, had been a wonderfully pleasant horse, perfectly willing to go wherever Dianna wanted her to. But just as willing to simply follow the horse in front of her. They got back with just a few minutes left of Leslie’s lesson, just enough time to talk to Jackson some more, and then meet Leslie to go home. When they got back to the stables, Dianna climbed down carefully off the horse, and looked around, but there was no sign of Jackson. Someone came and took the reins from her, leading the horse back to her spot in the stable, but she still didn’t see Jackson. She shrugged to herself, and pulled the strap of the helmet, he must have had to take care of something. Or perhaps his own horse was kept somewhere else. Slowly Dianna walked back to the tack house to return her helmet, keeping an eye out for Jackson. She handed back the helmet, and thanked the girl at the window.
“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting forever.”
A voice behind her caused Dianna to jump in surprise. She whirled around, her eyes wide and stared at Leslie.
“You’re supposed to be here to pick me up,” the girl continued, her hands on her hips, and her eyes angry. “You weren’t here.”
“Well, I’m here now. Let’s go.”
Dianna followed Leslie into the other room, and almost crashed into her when the girl stopped. She took a step back, and sighed.
“What now?”
“Where is my helmet?”
Dianna turned to look at her, “I don't know. It isn't my helmet to keep track of.”
“I was keeping track of it. I put it down where I always do. Then I went out to talk to Lindsay, and see if I could find you. And when I came back it was gone,” the teenager shouted.
Dianna motioned with her hands for the girl to calm down. The helmet was pretty big, there was no way it could have rolled off and hidden in a corner.
“I had it right here!”
“Are you sure Les?”
“Yes, I'm very sure. 100 per cent sure. And don't call me Les.”
Dianna sighed, “perhaps someone thought it belonged to them. I'm sure it will turn up.”
Leslie snorted, and picked up her bag, stalking towards the door. “Probably someone stole it.”
Dianna made a face at her, “no one stole it. Why would anyone want to steal just yours? There are so many more around here.”
Leslie spun around, “why don’t you ever listen to me? I bet you took it, so you don’t have to come here anymore. You’re trying to wreck everything.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t take anything.”
Leslie scowled at her, “then what were you doing in here? You never come in here.”
“I was bringing something back. And it wasn’t your helmet. I haven’t seen your helmet since we got here.”
“I bet you took it. I bet you took it so that you don’t have to come here any more.”
Leslie’s voice got louder and louder as she spoke. She tried to shush the girl, but that only seemed to make it worse. Finally, Leslie stomped out of the tack house. Dianna just looked at her for a few seconds, watching her niece stalk out to the parking lot.
They drove home in silence. Leslie sulking about her helmet, Dianna unsure of what to say to the teenager. But if Dianna was worried she would sulk all night, Leslie answered that question when they got home. She stormed into the house, slamming the door behind her, and dropping her things on the floor.
“Whoa, what’s all this about?” her dad asked, holding up his hands.
“Aunt Dianna lost my riding helmet.”
“I did nothing of the sort,” Dianna argued, coming up behind Leslie. She could feel her voice rising.
“I had to go looking for you, so I had to leave everything sitting there without watching it.”
“Which you do all the time anyway. Who watches your things while you’re out with lessons? Who watches those things while you’re out looking at horses, forcing me to go looking for you?” Dianna pointed out. “You are very rarely waiting where we are supposed to meet, and I have to go looking for you.”
Leslie growled in frustration. “You ruin everything. I wish you weren’t even here. I hate you.”
Leslie stormed up to her room, and slammed her door. Her brother shrugged at Dianna, who just shook her head. She didn’t understand Leslie’s sudden mood changes any more than he did.
“Why did she have to go looking for you?” he asked, frowning.
Dianna pulled her lips into a tight line, “I had been asked to go on the trail ride. It ended only a few minutes after Leslie’s lessons.”
He nodded, relieved and stood up. He went upstairs after Leslie, and knocked on her door. After a few minutes, he came back down, sighing.
“Sorry about that,” he said making a face. “Teenage girls are hard to figure out.”
He sat down next to her at the kitchen table, rubbing his head.
“I’ll take the kids out tonight, give everyone a little break, and we’ll see what’s up with Leslie.”
Dianna smiled weakly and nodded, “that might be a good idea.”
“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” she asked him, as they were getting ready to go.
Her brother shrugged, “I don’t know. Probably a while. Don’t have any wild parties.”
She laughed, and waved at them as they went down the driveway, only Leslie not waving back. Since Dianna still had no friends here, a wild party seemed like a far-fetched idea, even though she had been known for it in high school. Many neighbours were pleased when she finally moved out of her parent’s small home in Manchester. She shut the door, and padded softly into the kitchen, making herself a small sandwich for dinner. She sat on the couch, wondering what to do with herself. It wasn’t often everyone else went out without her; she would have to take advantage of that while she could.
Her brother had said they would be gone a while. That meant she would finally be able to get some dying done. She took take up as much room as she wanted, and most of the noxious fumes would be gone by the time they came home. She quickly changed into a large shirt, and plain black leggings, not wanting to accidentally dye her clothes. Carefully she tied up her hair in a bandanna, making sure none of the long strands could get free to dip into the dye. The only way to reverse that mistake would be to cut the hair off, something she had learned once the hard way.
Carefully she pulled her dyes and tools from the storage cupboard, and set them up. She filled up her big bowl with water, leaving it to sit in the sink, and dropped her threads and yarn in. She turned on the stove, and set her pot on the burner. Suddenly the doorbell rang. She growled in annoyance. She decided not to answer it, the person couldn’t see the kitchen from the door, and they would never know she was there. She measured out the dye into small cups, carefully adding and mixing colours. The doorbell rang again. She put down her dye, and snapped off the stove burner. Obviously they weren’t going to take the hint. She stomped to the front door, and pulled it open. Jackson stood on the doorstep, blinking at her, shifting back and forth on his feet.
“Oh. Ah. Hello,” she said, looking embarrassed. She reached up to touch her hair, and remembered the bandanna, her face going red slightly. This was really not how she wanted to be dressed when she saw him again. Looking embarrassed, Jackson brought his hands out from behind his back, holding the missing riding helmet. Dianna's face brightened.
“Oh you found it! Where was it?”
He turned red slightly, “I had it.”
“What?”
“I had it,” he said again.
Dianna frowned, “perhaps you had better come in and explain.”
She stepped away from the door, leaving him space to come through. She directed him to the living room, where they both sat down on the couch facing each other. Dian
na pulled the bandanna off her head, letting her dark hair tumble around her face. When they were both sitting, she looked at him, and raised an eyebrow.
“I saw it sitting on the bench. And I thought I would hang on to it, say she lost it, and then bring it to you. Then I heard you fighting.”
“I’m sure everyone heard us fighting,” she interrupted.
“Yup, I’m pretty sure they did,” Jackson chuckled. “And I felt bad, causing that problem.” He picked up the helmet, and handed it to her.
Her fingers brushed against his, as she took the helmet, it felt like a jolt of electricity to her heart. She turned the helmet around in her hands, looking at it instead of at Jackson.
“But why? I don’t understand. Why did you take it?”
He flushed red, and coughed. He said something quietly, but she didn’t hear all of it. She frowned at him, and he blushed even harder. He looked down at his hands and said it again, “I took it so I could see you.”
Romance: First Time and Pregnant With The Navy Seal (Stepbrother, Military, Romance) Page 5
