Chris put another log on the fire and returned to her spot next to Mary Jo. “Yeah, some people shouldn’t have horses if they can’t or won’t take care of them.”
“So anyway, if it was you, what horse would you pick?”
Chris replied without hesitation, “Ramquette.”
Mary Jo’s eyes widened. “You would?” She recalled the barely controlled horse prancing at the end of the lead the other day.
“Yup, she’s definitely the most intelligent and would enjoy the work the most.”
“Oh.” Mary Jo was too surprised to say another word.
“I think the two of you would be a good team.”
“Okay. Well, I guess.”
Chris noticed her hesitation. “Don’t you have any experience with horses?” She put her wineglass on the floor and clasped her hands in her lap.
Mary Jo nodded. “Yeah, but none as high-strung as those Thoroughbreds. The horses I used to ride near where we lived in Honeoye were a lot calmer. Plus the horses I dealt with at school were often too sick to be that rambunctious.”
“Wait a minute. I thought you said you were from Poughkeepsie.”
Mary Jo smiled. “If you had let me finish yesterday morning, you would have learned that I was born in Poughkeepsie. Well, actually, near Poughkeepsie, in a little town called Hudson Mills. It’s just easier to say Poughkeepsie.”
Chris stared at her, mouth open. Suddenly, she looked at the fire, saying softly as if to herself, “I’m sorry.”
Mary Jo ignored the apology as well as Chris’s obvious embarrassment. “We lived in Poughkeepsie with my grandparents while my dad got his law degree. He’d commute to New York City for the week and come home on the weekends. When Dad graduated, he was hired by a law firm in Rochester, so we moved to Honeoye because Mom didn’t want to live in the city.”
Chris remained silent. Her knuckles turned white as she clasped and unclasped her restless hands. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I’m an idiot. I just assumed—”
“No need to apologize. It’s okay, really.” Mary Jo watched her with concern. She put her hand over Chris’s hands, effectively quieting them. “Chris, did something happen to you in Poughkeepsie?”
“I spent some time there. That’s where I met Bill.” She paused and then added, “I called about an ad he’d listed in a horse paper. He drove all the way to Poughkeepsie, we talked, and we drove here, to the farm. The rest is history, I guess.”
Mary Jo suspected there was more to Chris’s story. She wondered if Chris would ever be able to talk about it. “If you ever need an ear and want to talk, just let me know.” After giving Chris’s hands a light squeeze, she let go. “Okay?”
Chris nodded but kept her eyes averted. In a voice not much more than a whisper, she said, “Okay, thanks.”
Mary Jo grinned. “Change of subject. When can we start?”
Chris let out a breath, the tension in her shoulders visibly disappearing. “I guess anytime you want.”
“Should I just show up here when I can? I’d call, but…” Mary Jo let the sentence trail off.
Chris rewarded her with a laugh. “Yeah. Again, I’m sorry about that.”
Giggling, Mary Jo playfully bumped Chris’s shoulder with her own. “It’s okay. Tell you what, I’ll try calling just for the hell of it. If you’re busy, we’ll deal with it.”
“That sounds good. I promise I’ll try to keep better track of my phone.”
“You’d better,” Mary Jo teased. “I expect you to answer when I call.” She looked at her watch and got to her feet. “I’d better get going. Do you want help cleaning up?”
Chris stood. “No, it’s not that much. I’ll take care of it.” She glanced at the sweatpants Mary Jo wore. “Go ahead and wear those home,” she said, indicating the pants with her chin. “You can bring them back next time you’re here.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks, again, for the clothes and dinner.”
“I enjoyed the company.”
Mary Jo took a step toward Chris to hug her goodbye, but something told her she wouldn’t be quite receptive to such a gesture. She gathered her jeans and put her boots and coat on. “Goodnight then,” she said and went out the door.
The rain had faded to a drizzle. A light fog was beginning to creep along the ground, but Mary Jo scarcely noticed. She was too busy reliving the night’s events. A grin spread across her face.
“This might work out after all,” she murmured.
Chapter 13
The dogs, of course, heard Mary Jo’s truck pull in before Chris did. They had been sitting outside Ramquette’s stall, the Labs arguing over a stick while Sadie watched for the opportunity to steal it. They scrambled to their feet and trotted down the aisle. When Chris didn’t hear any barking, she knew Mary Jo had arrived.
Chris looked at the time on her cell phone. Three-thirty, right on time. Satisfied, she continued to fit the bridle on the mare.
Mary Jo soon appeared at the stall. The dogs had escorted her, Sadie in the lead, showing off the stick she now claimed as her own.
“What are you doing?” Mary Jo asked.
“I’m putting a bridle and saddle on her.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re going to ride her.” Chris lifted a saddle onto the horse’s back.
“I’m going to what? Are you out of your mind, Chris? I can’t ride Ramquette. She’s way more than I can handle.”
“MJ, you have spent the last two weeks getting to know Ramquette by spending time with her and grooming her. She knows you, your scent, and your movements. She trusts you. It’s time you learn to trust her.” Chris reached under, grabbed the girth, and tightened it to secure the saddle in place.
“Chris, please be reasonable. Why don’t you ride her and I’ll watch?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be right next to you.”
“Next to? We’re riding double?”
Chris snorted. “No, silly, I’m riding Ruby.” She came out of the stall and stopped in front of Mary Jo. “Ramquette is used to being ponied, so I’ll attach a lead to her bridle and ride next to you. Ruby has helped me with many skittish horses. She has a calming effect on them. You’ll see.”
“Oh yeah, that makes me feel so much better. You’ll see, all right. See me lying flat on my back after I fall off and break my freaking neck.”
Chris ignored Mary Jo’s sarcasm and wordlessly handed her a helmet that she’d hung on the door outside Ramquette’s stall. She watched Mary Jo put it on and fit the strap underneath her chin. “You stay here with your horse, and I’ll go get Ruby. Don’t pull her out of the stall just yet. I want to be here with Ruby when she comes out.” She hastened down the aisle.
“Okay,” Mary Jo said.
At the sound of the nervous quaver in Mary Jo’s voice, Chris turned around and went back. “MJ, look at me.” When she lifted her eyes, Chris rested a hand on each of her shoulders. “I will be right there with you. You need to relax. If she feels you all tense like this, she’s going to think she’s headed to a race.”
“Right. That makes me feel just peachy. See you in the next county, Martel,”
Massaging the muscles on each side of Mary Jo’s neck, Chris heard her continue in a murmur, “I wish I felt even a smidgen of your confidence.” At last, Mary Jo lifted her chin, took a deep breath, and relaxed. “Ok. I can do this. Just don’t you leave me, Martel, or I’ll strangle you with my stethoscope.”
Chris laughed and gave Mary Jo’s shoulders a final squeeze before letting go. “That’s the spirit. Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.” She left Mary Jo standing in the aisle and went to get Ruby.
“How in the hell do I get myself into these things?” Mary Jo muttered.
Chris walked into Ruby’s stall and led her out into the aisle. Ruby wore nothing but a bridle, as Chris planned to ride bareback.
“You’re nuts,” Mary Jo said. “And I just want you to know, that’s not the first time that thought has occurred to me.”
&n
bsp; “All right, bring Ramquette out and just stand her here in the aisle. I’ll help you get up in the saddle, but don’t go anywhere until I get up on Ruby.”
“You’re riding bareback?”
“Yeah, Ruby’s belly is getting too big for a saddle girth. It would be too uncomfortable for her.”
Mary Jo opened Ramquette’s stall, entered, and could be heard talking quietly to the mare. When she came out, Chris brought Ruby up alongside so her presence would keep the Thoroughbred calm.
“I could hear you talking to her,” she said. “That’s good.”
“You wouldn’t think so if you heard how I was damning you to hell and back.”
Chris ignored the comment. “Ruby, stand here.” She dropped the reins on the floor. The horse stood stock-still. After attaching a lead line to Ramquette’s bit, Chris moved back toward the saddle. “You do know how to mount a horse, right?”
Mary Jo put her hands on her hips and said, “Of course I know how. But I’m going to need a boost. She’s bigger than anything I’ve ever climbed on.”
“Okay, face her and lift your left leg backward at the knee.”
Mary Jo grabbed the saddle and waited for a leg up. Chris wrapped her hands around Mary Jo’s calf, lifted, and pushed up as Mary Jo swung her right leg over. As Mary Jo settled, Chris put a hand on her thigh.
“Just relax, you’re fine.”
“Right.”
Ramquette turned her ears back to her rider but didn’t move an inch. Mary Jo shifted her butt in the saddle to find her seat.
Satisfied that Mary Jo was okay, Chris removed her hand and stepped to the other side of her own horse. In a swift move, she vaulted onto Ruby’s back. “Ready?” she asked. Her heart was pounding hard with excitement.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Mary Jo picked up her reins and let Chris initiate their movement. “You make getting on bareback look so simple.”
“It’s not that hard. I’ll teach you sometime.”
“Sure, if I survive this act of idiocy.”
The horses went side by side down the aisle to the riding ring. So far Ramquette hadn’t tried to walk any faster than Ruby. In fact, the mare seemed quite relaxed and content to just go along with the lead horse.
As they rode in silence, Chris directed Ruby to follow the perimeter of the ring a couple of times to allow Mary Jo to find her rhythm in the saddle.
Mary Jo saw the open door at the end of the ring and glared suspiciously. “Why is that door open?”
“We’re going to take a little ride is all,” Chris said mischievously.
“Martel, honest to God, you’re nuts.” Mary Jo rolled her eyes. “All right, I have to admit, I’m feeling more and more confident on top of her.”
“You’re okay with that? I want to make sure you’re comfortable. I don’t want you having a meltdown or anything.”
“Sure. What the hell. Let’s do it.” Mary Jo shook her head in apparent disbelief. “When I was younger, I was a fairly confident rider. Much to my parent’s horror, I tried cross-country jumping with my horse. But when I started going with Doc to calls, plus school, I didn’t have much time to pursue it. I haven’t ridden much since then, so I started questioning myself, wondering if I still had it in me.”
Chris grinned reassuringly. “It appears it’s all come back to you just fine.”
She led the way outside into the cold November sunshine. It had snowed during the night, little more than a dusting, which the sun had already partly melted. The air was completely still except for the sound of the horses’ hooves crunching through the icy crust. The horses exhaled thick white plumes, and soon frosty icicles covered their whiskers.
Both horses walked calmly, but suddenly, their heads rose in unison. Ruby seemed alert, and her muscles tensed. Chris glanced at a movement off to the side. A doe was standing at the woods’ edge, alternately watching them and nibbling on a tree branch. Sensing no danger, both Ruby and Ramquette relaxed and continued down the pond trail.
Chris gazed at Mary Jo. While riding, her body conformed beautifully to the Thoroughbred. She sat erect, her legs and hands positioned perfectly, and communicated subtle instructions to the horse.
“If you’re nervous at all, you can’t tell by looking at you,” Chris said. “I’m impressed. You look great on her. How do you feel?”
“Wow. I’m just lost in the joy of being on a horse again. I can feel her muscles respond with every step.” Mary Jo looked at Chris and beamed. “Oh, my God, I’d forgotten how exhilarating it is to ride.” She winked. “Okay, Martel, I forgive you.”
Chris and Mary Jo rode in silence until they reached the woods. “We’ll just go down and circle the pond once or twice and see how she does,” Chris said. The lead line from her hands to Ramquette’s bridle had been slack ever since they left the barn.
“She’s doing awesome. Out here, you’d never believe she was a track horse. You’ve done great work with her, Chris.”
Chris acknowledged the compliment with a nod. She lifted her nose and took a deep breath. While they passed beneath the pines, chickadees and nuthatches peeped as they fed in the branches above. A squirrel chattered, seemingly annoyed at their intrusion as it invaded a cache of acorns. The trees’ blue shadows extended out far past the woods, an indication of how low the sun sat in the sky.
“I love the silence of the winter woods,” Chris said. “I always get a sense of peace and contentment when I’m out here.” She reached down to stroke Ruby’s neck. “I’m glad you didn’t back out on me.”
“Me, too. And I’m glad you didn’t let me. Next time, though, give me some warning so I can dress warmer.”
“Are you cold?” Chris asked in concern. “We can turn around if you are.”
“Just my feet, a little. But I’m okay to go around the pond like you want. You just have to promise me something warm when we get back.”
“Okay, deal.”
Ramquette and Mary Jo still in tow, Chris and Ruby circled the pond twice and entered the woods. Snow untouched by the sun’s weak rays muffled the horses’ hoof beats. Daylight was beginning to fade as she turned Ruby toward the barn.
“Chris,” Mary Jo said softly.
“Hmm?”
“Unhook the lead.”
Chris looked at her, surprised. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Let’s try it.”
Chris leaned over and carefully unhooked the snap from Ramquette’s bit. The mare didn’t seem to notice, walking steadily next to Ruby, never once breaking stride. Chris shared a smile with Mary Jo. It was great to see her relaxing in the saddle. It made her that much more attractive.
It didn’t take long to put the horses away after they returned to the barn. Chris declined Mary Jo’s offer to help feed and insisted she go into the office and warm up. The dogs would keep her company. Chris had locked them in while they were out riding. While they normally accompanied her on trail rides, this time, as Ramquette was unfamiliar with dogs, she had wanted to make sure nothing spooked the mare.
With chores finished, Chris looked through the window in the office door. Mary Jo was asleep on the cot, bookended by the two Labs, with Sadie curled up next to her chest. She looked adorable.
Chris paused. Over the past several weeks, she’d started looking forward to Mary Jo’s arrivals at the farm. They had shared a host of horse stories, a few bottles of wine, and a couple of meals she’d thrown together.
Aside from the night she’d found Mary Jo sitting on her porch in the rain, their conversations had remained on neutral ground, never touching the subject of Chris’s past. For that, she was grateful.
Chris could finally admit to herself that she was quite fond of Mary Jo and valued the friendship they’d forged. When she recalled how she had first met Mary Jo, she chuckled to herself. It seemed so long ago. Was this the same woman Doc introduced her to a few months ago?
She had pushed aside her growing feelings for Mary Jo, cautioning herself each time after s
he realized where her thoughts had wandered. As she’d told Frances, there was probably no one who would put up with her, let alone her and the animals, for long. She didn’t want to risk her friendship with Mary Jo to find out.
The dogs noticed Chris peering through the window and wagged their tails.
Mary Jo drowsily opened her eyes. When Chris opened the door, she asked, “You spying on me?”
“Yup, I had to check out the woman my dogs were warming up.”
Mary Jo stretched and yawned, obviously trying not to disturb anyone. Chris thought she needn’t have worried. Her movements prompted nothing more than a couple of sleepy groans from the dogs.
“Well, I had to warm up somehow. You were out doing chores,” Mary Jo said.
“Yeah, when you train the dogs to do chores, I’ll trade places with them,” Chris joked lightheartedly, pretending her remark was innocent of innuendo as she walked past the cot to her desk. “I think I have some packets of hot cocoa in here if you want.” She opened drawers to search. “Or,” she said, avoiding Mary Jo’s gaze, “we could go up to the house and have some brandy. I didn’t have anything planned for dinner, but you’re welcome to stay. I’m sure we could rustle something up.” She finally dared look at Mary Jo. The electric current of attraction that existed a few minutes ago had thankfully faded.
“You know what? I think I’m just going to head home,” Mary Jo said. “I’m beat and have a couple of surgeries scheduled tomorrow. But I should be done by two or so if everything goes okay. Can I come back tomorrow afternoon?”
“Yeah, sure. That’d be fine. I’d like to start you in the round pen if you think you’re ready. I think it’s time.” Chris tried to hide her disappointment. She had enjoyed the ride with Mary Jo and wanted to sit in front of a fire and bask in the success of their outing.
“Oh, by the way,” Mary Jo said as she got to her feet, “I’m going to miss breakfast again tomorrow. Doc wants to get an early start on a horse with a tooth extraction. The horse came in this afternoon, so at least we won’t have to wait for him.”
Laurie Salzer - A Kiss Before Dawn Page 13