Luna and Patience trotted up next to them.
“Whoaaa.” She gently pulled on the reins, and the horse came to a slow, smooth stop next to Sassy. “You’re such a good girl, yes you are.” She leaned forward and patted the side of Patience’s neck. “You were right. She did take good care of me today.” She draped the reins loosely around the saddle horn so the horse could dip her snout into the water.
“She’s great with newbies.” Boone swung his right leg over, dismounted, and moved over to help her down.
Luna beat him to the punch and climbed down on her own.
He was disappointed at missing out on the chance to put his hands on her again. He really enjoyed the feel of her beneath his fingers, against his body, hell, pretty much anywhere. But he didn’t want to risk losing the progress he’d made with her today and was prepared to take things nice and slow.
“Did you guys have fun?” Calliope jogged over with Lucas close behind.
Small puffs of dust billowed up with each step of their boots on the ground.
“Oh, my gosh! Calliope, it was so incredible!” Luna practically vibrated with excitement. “I hope I get to do it again sometime?” She turned and gave him a hopeful look.
“You can come out anytime you want.” He’d enjoyed their one-on-one time together a lot and wanted more of it.
Boone had become fast friends with the rest of the team, but as much as he loved hanging out with them, it was different with Luna.
During their ride up to the ridge, she’d shared all about how she came up with the idea for the bio-patch, built a prototype in her bedroom, then Caleb helped her find someone who would manufacture them. Since he was also an electronics whiz and understood the role they played in their line of work, he was the perfect advocate to have in her corner.
Boone was floored when she told him she signed her first contracts with OSI and the Department of Defense on her nineteenth birthday. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, her skill with a computer was otherworldly. She shared a funny story about hacking into her high school’s database to see test scores. A move her sister had been none too happy about.
Luna spent a few minutes excitedly telling them how amazing the ride was, how beautiful the view was, and how sweet Patience was. She made no mention of the weeping willow tree.
Boone had planned to take her up there, and her reaction upon seeing it was everything he’d hoped it would be. Knowing she understood how special it was to him meant a lot.
“We’ll let them drink for a few minutes, then I’ll adjust the stirrup length for you, Calliope.”
His sister was a couple of inches shorter than Luna, so they would need to be brought up a bit. Calliope wasn’t the type to get all butt-hurt about her size. She had learned to turn what some might perceive to be a weakness—especially in their business—into a strength.
They chatted until Boone was certain the horses had taken in enough water, then he handed Sassy’s reins to Lucas.
“You’ve ridden before, so you should take her.” He quickly added, “Not that you can’t handle her, Calliope, just that she sorta prefers guys.”
“Relax, dude. I’m just glad I’m getting to ride at all.” She accepted Patience’s reins from Luna, wedged her foot in the stirrup and hopped up to swing her leg over before settling into the saddle.
Boone adjusted the stirrups for her and checked the tightness of the girth straps on both horses.
“You can just follow that path over there, and it’ll take you up to the ridge.” He pointed toward the same trail worn in the grass that they’d taken. “The view up there is amazing. You’ll see a stream about halfway up. Go ahead and let the horses stroll into the water for a drink. It’s not too deep in that section, so there’s no need for you to dismount.”
“Sounds good.” Lucas clapped Sassy on the neck a couple of times.
“You take good care of Calliope like you did me, okay?” Luna stroked her hand down the front of Patience’s face, kissed her on the cheek, and stepped back. “Have fun.”
They gave a wave over their shoulder as they headed toward the main pasture and onto the path.
“I could use something to drink. How ’bout you?” Boone picked a piece of straw off her shoulder and tossed it aside.
“Sure.” She blushed, wedged her hands in her back pockets, and walked next to him on their way to the pavilion.
“I’m glad you had fun riding.” And that she’d confided in him.
“It was amazing.” She visibly relaxed when talking about the ride. “I’ll admit, I was a little bit nervous, but Patience”—she gave him a sideways look—“and you made it less scary.”
He’d love for her to join him more often. But it might be too soon to throw that out there.
“It must’ve been so great growing up with horses.” Luna’s gaze traveled to where Lucas and Calliope were just beginning to disappear from sight. “And growing up surrounded by so much land must’ve made you feel so safe and protected.”
