The movements came back to her just as Ken told her they would. And Jinx responded as if they’d been working together all along. “Warmbloods are commonly used in international dressage competition for both their size and temperament. You may have seen a dressage trial before or heard that it’s about as exciting as watching oatmeal boil.
“But originally, it was created to train military horses in battle. To make the horse more maneuverable on the battlefield. And while it’s done with an English saddle—or postage stamp saddle as you cowboys like to call it—the moves are not all that different from what you must teach a quarter-horse who works with cows. In the end, it’s about communication between horse and rider, and there’s really nothing more important when you’re on a horse. I’m communicating with him through my legs and hips and hands, but instead of telling you about it, why don’t I just show you a little freestyle dressage?”
Ken cued the music and the first song in a montage of songs she’d programmed began to play. Country music was the last thing the crowd expected to hear when Brad Paisley’s The Riverbank started playing and Jinx did his thing. He did it all for her, from passages to flying changes to half-passes diagonally across the arena floor. Along the way, she guided him through gates, over low barriers, and dancing as only a horse like Jinx could dance as she collected rings on a long pole, just for fun.
Fun! Olivia thought. She was actually having fun!
The crowd loved it, and clapped to the beat from the stands. When the Band Perry’s ‘Done’ began and Jinx did a freestyle pirouette they shouted and cheered. And when Ken entered the arena on Gracie and they had a showdown to beat of Darius Rucker’s ‘Wagon Wheel,’ spinning like two dervishes at the center of the ring in opposite directions, riding diagonals in unison and cantering in opposing circles only to meet in the middle, she knew she didn’t have to worry about utter failure. They liked it! And when they finished, Olivia looked at Ken and laughed, and they lifted their hats to the audience.
That was when she saw him. Standing near the entrance rail. Smiling at her.
Jake.
Beside him, Deke and Monday, who held a purple, stuffed elephant in her mouth.
*
Jake felt his heart take a tumble as he watched her ride like she’d been born to it. And she practically had been. But seeing her on a horse again eased an ache inside him, or maybe generated one, he couldn’t be sure which. Whatever was about to happen between them, he was glad she’d found her courage again. He supposed her nerve was what she’d been looking for all along.
He, on the other hand, had almost lost his, but instead of going to Seattle as he’d planned, Deke had come and picked him up, taken him home, and gone directly with him to the river. Along with Monday and the falcons, he and Deke had fished the rest of the day, not even talking, just sending the line in and out of the water.
In. And out. A meditation. Or a prayer.
Most of his best decisions got made, standing in the cool Yellowstone, hip-deep in water filled with trout. Something about the smell of the vibrant Montana grasses, and the sharp memory of all the other days spent that way, centered him. It hadn’t even mattered that they’d caught nothing, because what he’d found there was more important.
Yeah, he’d been mad at her. Disappointed. Maybe hurt was more accurate. But standing in the water, he started to understand what she was trying to tell him back at the car the other night. And she wasn’t wrong.
He realized she’d spent the last ten or twelve years answering to everyone but herself and her confidence had been chipped away to nothing. The fear that had kept her from riding, the thing she loved so much, wasn’t something he could fix for her or drive away like he could her ex-husband. Only she could do that. And what stood between them wasn’t so much her fear of what could become of him and her, together, as it was her need to prove to herself who she could be, to herself.
And he saw now that she was so much stronger than anyone, including him, knew. Today, in front of him and all the people she cared about, she’d pulled her courage up, from the dark place where it had been hiding. And she’d pulled it up all on her own. And he couldn’t be more proud of her.
He had three texts from her in his phone and he wasn’t too bullheaded to find out what she wanted in person, because texts were not the place to begin or end a relationship.
He knew the moment she saw him and he watched her double take and bite her lip. Beside him, Monday woofed past the stuffed elephant in her mouth and wagged her tail because she saw Liv, too. But he held her leash tight so she wouldn’t spook the horses.
As the exhibition ended, Olivia brought her horse to a stop and raised her arm as the audience quieted. “Thank you, so much,” she said over the loudspeaker, “it’s been a little while since I’ve done that and Jinx, Ken, Gracie, and I all appreciate you all being such a great audience.
“I just want to add a few things before we go.” Jinx pranced rhythmically around the arena as she talked. “Whether you work with horses, or ride them, or just love them, communication is the key. Learning to talk to your horse with a gentle nudge of your knee, or shift of your weight, is a bit like a magical language you learn to speak together. It’d be easier if they could talk, of course, but there are ways of letting them know they’re your teammate.”
She looked right at Jake then and no one else. “Miscommunication happens between horse and rider. You want them to go left, but, inadvertently, you tell them to go right. But if you’re lucky enough to have a good horse that loves you, he’ll give you a second chance to tell him what you really mean. You learn to trust each other. Know what’s important and what’s not.”
“You have each other’s backs. And when you’re a team, there’s no telling how far you’ll go.” Her voice broke a little on that last part.
“Thank you everyone for coming. Give your horses some love, and have a great rest of your day at the fair!”
The stands erupted in applause and she and Ken cantered out of the arena, but as Ken kept going, Olivia pulled Jinx up and stopped beside Jake.
Her mouth was quivering a little as she smiled down at him. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” he answered.
“I thought you went to Seattle.”
He shrugged and gave her a little grin. “I thought you didn’t ride anymore.”
She nodded as tears sprang to her eyes. “Took me long enough, huh?”
“I’d say it’s perfect timing. So proud of you, Liv.”
“Oh, Jake—I’m so sorry—” She leaned down and kissed him full on the lips.
Jake kissed her back with all the pent-up emotion that had been roiling through him the last few days. No kiss had ever tasted sweeter. She put her hands on his shoulders and he pulled her off Jinx until she was flush against him with her arms around his neck.
“I was such an idiot to let you go,” she murmured against his ear. “But I didn’t want you to go. I wanted you to stay. See? I’m a terrible communicator. Even with the people I love. Can you forgive me? Give me another chance?”
He answered, kissing her face, her eyes, her mouth again.
He brushed her hair out of her eyes. “Did you just say you loved me?”
She brushed at her cheek with one knuckle. “Allow me to restate: I love you, Jake Lassen. I’ve always loved you, even if I called it something else. I was a fool to worry about what anyone else thought about it. Let ‘em say whatever they want. I do need you. And want you. And if that means you save me from my own foolishness, then thank God for it. You’re my team, my rock, and I can’t imagine my life without you. Let’s be us. I want that more than I can say.”
Jake replied with a deep, hallelujah kiss so there’d be no mistaking his answer. Beside him, Monday whole-heartedly agreed and jumped up on them with that stuffed elephant still in her mouth.
It had escaped their notice that the arena stands hadn’t really emptied, and they suddenly erupted again with applause, whistles and cheers. She an
d Jake looked up from their kiss to find the audience hooting and applauding for them.
“Your microphone,” Jake whispered with a grin. “It’s… still on.”
Olivia flushed, shook her head, then waved up at her friends and family up in the stands before turning a happy smile back at him. “No, that?” she said against his ear, “that’s the sound of the universe saying, it’s about damned time.”
“Hoo-ah!” he shouted and swung her in his arms.
The kiss he planted on her this time was the fulfillment of the promise that had been born under the Ferris wheel, twelve years ago, before their lives had spun them sideways.
But right here at the Big Marietta Fair, they’d come back, full circle. They’d found a way ‘in’ to each other, and today was just the beginning of a very long road together, one on which he intended to walk alongside her to the end of his days. Holding the sweet weight of her against him, her arms around his neck, he realized he was finally done searching for home. Because home was Olivia and wherever their lives took them from here, she would always be the place he returned to.
The End
The Big Marietta Fair Series
If you enjoyed A Fair to Remember, you’ll love the other Big Marietta Fair series novellas!
Beauty and the Cowboy by Nancy Robards Thompson
Buy now!
Cowgirl Come Home by Debra Salonen
Buy now!
For the Love of a Cowboy by Yvonne Lindsay
Buy now!
Her Summer Cowboy by Katherine Garbera
Buy now!
About the Author
Barbara Ankrum has a thing for the West and has written both historical and contemporary romances, all set in that magical place. Twice nominated for RWA’s RITA Award, her bestselling books are emotional, sexy rides with a touch of humor. Barbara’s married and raised two children in Southern California, which, in her mind, makes her a native Westerner. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.
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A Fair to Remember Page 14