Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“But the guy did it differently,” I offered.
“Yeah. Frank became a part of each foal’s life from the moment they were born. He began building the bond he needed from the minute that baby left its mama’s belly. By the time the colt or filly was old enough to put a saddle on it, it wasn’t a one-day process. It took however long it needed to take.”
“So you bought BJ from him?” I asked. “Wouldn’t that make him pretty old? Is it even safe to ride him like this?” I’d lost track of where we were on the trail, so it took me a moment to catch my bearings. “We’re going up to that ridge, right?” I asked as I pointed to the only conceivable spot where the trail could end. “I’ll walk the rest of the way.”
I was in the process of trying to figure out how to slide off the horse and not land on my ass when Flynn turned in the saddle until we were nearly face to face. “First off, BJ isn’t old, and once we reach the top, he’s going to be expecting an apology. Second, I didn’t buy BJ from Frank. It’s a long story but I would like to tell it to you when we reach the top.”
Flynn sounded almost desperate. Was all of this some ruse to force me into talking about what had happened in the hotel?
“Okay,” I murmured. It wasn’t like I could just get off the horse and walk back to the ranch. I had no idea how far away from it we were and even if I had known, I’d never be able to find my way back alone.
We ended up not speaking again once Flynn got BJ going. The higher we got, the more treacherous the trail became because of all the rocks and exposed tree roots. As Flynn had said, though, the ride remained smooth. At worst, I had to hang on to him a little tighter as we went higher up, but I couldn’t really call that a downside.
I used the time to study the scenery. I’d been so busy avoiding contact with Flynn during the first part of the ride, I hadn’t been paying attention to our surroundings. Now, as I took in the gorgeous mountains that seemed to surround us from every direction, I realized we weren’t really climbing one of those mountains. It was a large hill at the base of one of them. To our left and in front of us were trees. On our right was a valley of tall green grass that became hypnotic to watch because of the way it moved with the breeze.
“Here we go,” Flynn said out of nowhere. It seemed like only minutes since we’d last spoken out loud, but since we were at the top of the hill, it had obviously been longer. I’d just happened to get lost in our surroundings.
Even though my ass ached from riding on BJ’s bare back, I wanted to stay exactly where I was. Overlooking a world that seemed miles away while discovering something so endlessly beautiful as the snow-capped mountain range made me feel strangely insignificant, but in a good way that I couldn’t really explain.
“So much,” I managed to say as I stared at the seemingly endless miles of white-peaked mountains surrounding us.
“Makes you realize what a small part of the world you ever see in your life, doesn’t it?”
I had my head resting against Flynn’s back. “Yeah.” A sense of calm that was unlike anything I’d ever experienced overwhelmed me as I stared at the mountain range. A few of the mountains had what looked like tiny valleys between them. I couldn’t see Eden, but I knew it was in one of those valleys.
“Thank you for showing me this, Flynn. I’ve seen pictures of landscapes like this but actually being here… there’s no comparison.”
“I’m glad you like it, but this isn’t what I wanted to show you—well, not the only thing, anyway,” Flynn said. He shifted his weight enough to indicate he was getting off the horse, so I released my hold on him. I tried to figure out how to get down by myself, but Flynn took care of that too by lifting me off the horse. Thankfully, he waited until my legs could hold my weight again before he released me. After grabbing a small sack and his rifle from the saddle, he proceeded to remove both the saddle and the bridle from BJ.
“What are you doing? What if he takes off? We’ll be stuck up here,” I exclaimed.
Instead of responding to me, Flynn gave his horse a pat and said, “First he doesn’t trust you to get us up here and then he accuses you of ditching us. I think any future apologies are going to need to come with a carrot or two, what do you think?”