“What do you think?” I squeezed his hand before intertwining my fingers with his. “I thought this would give you a little taste of home.”
Dakota pressed a kiss on my forehead. “It’s exactly what I needed.”
“Perfect,” I sang and tugged him towards the entrance.
A preteen girl greeted us and accepted the entrance fee of five dollars. When she slipped the cash in her woven basket, she offered us stickers with the farm’s logo. She told us we could hang out as long as we want.
“Not forever, of course.” She smiled. Her plethora of freckles reminded me of Anne Shirley. “We close at sundown.”
“Great, thanks.” Dakota nodded as he pressed the farm sticker on his jean jacket.
The girl blushed and ducked her head down when Dakota spoke to her. I smiled, telling her thanks as well before we started towards the petting area.
I’d never been on an actual farm. It didn’t smell as bad as I thought it would. My sneakers weren’t covered in too much dirt as we found our way up the walkway, following the signs for the petting zoo. There weren’t many people on the grounds. Most were families, with small kids who squealed when they spotted the roaming chickens. The kids begged to ride on the horses where signs read, Horses Cannot Be Ridden.
Dakota slowed a little when one of the horses came close enough to the wooden fence. The animal moved its head over the railing. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it looked directly at him, basically asking for some of his attention.
“Go ahead.” I let go of Dakota’s hand so he could get closer.
The horse bowed its head when Dakota got close enough to it. Its white coat had numerous black and gray patches. I pulled out my phone when the horse did its version of purring as Dakota rubbed its forehead. It pressed its nose against Dakota’s hand when he murmured praises to it. He looked so sweet.
“I think it’s in love with you,” I joked while snapping a few photos.
“Nah, she’s just tired of being cooped up.” Dakota continued to rub her head, brushed the long mane out of her eyes. “Aren’t you, beautiful? A little lonely, huh?”
I smiled at Dakota’s gentle tone and got a little closer to get a better look at the horse myself. As a kid, these things used to terrify me. Mostly because I’d been much smaller than them.
“One time, a horse got out of its fence in my town. It ran around the entire neighborhood in a frenzy.” I shared as I reached to pet it but pulled back at the last second when my heart sped up. Okay, I guess there was no “used” to about my fear. “It almost ran me over.”
Dakota flashed me a sympathetic look. “Must have been terrifying. And now, you’re afraid of them?”
I shrugged and stuffed my hands in my jacket pockets. “A little. They can be quite erratic, right?”
“Not any more than humans,” Dakota said, gently and then offered me his hand. I eyed it with a cocked brow.
“No, thank you.”
He smiled, keeping his hand out. “Come on. I’ll be right here. Nothing will happen.”
“You can’t promise that.” I scratched my head, feeling a spike in nerves thinking about my new realized phobia.
“Maybe not,” he agreed, sounding patient. “But if it does, I’ll make sure you won’t get hurt, Emmy. I promise.”
I glance at the horse and then, at Dakota. With a heavy breath, I offered my hand to him. Dakota pulled me closer and placed my hand flat on the horse’s forehead. He kept his fingers over mine the entire time.
The horse didn’t move closer to me like it’d been doing to Dakota. But it didn’t move away either, which I interpreted as her saying, ‘Eh, I suppose you’re not the worst person that’s petted me.’
“Knew you could do it. And it’s not so bad, right?” Dakota rubbed the back of my hand.
“Not so bad,” I agreed. My smile widened when he kissed my cheek.
“Come on. We should check out everything else.”
“Let’s get to it.”
We spent all afternoon on the farm. The owners, parents to the girl up front, let us help them feed a litter of baby goats. The small creatures were sweet but wild as they sucked from the warm milk bottles. Once more, the animals seemed to flock to Dakota, vying for his attention. I laughed as I recorded him being ambushed, and he seemed as excited to be around them as they were.
“I have so many options for my new lock screen,” I mused as I scrolled through my phone with one hand and held a warm mug of pumpkin spice tea in my other. We found a spot on some hay bales to sip on our hot drinks and watch the families help spread feed on the ground for chickens.
