Page 27 of You Shouldn't Have Come Here

She gave a forced nod. “Umm...yes.” It was almost robotic.

I smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

I’ll always have you.

15.

Grace

With one foot in the stirrup and one hand on the horn, Calvin hoisted me up on Gretchen. I straightened myself in the saddle, rocking side to side until I was somewhat comfortable—well, physically. There was nothing comforting about being six feet up in the air with nothing strapping you in. I made sure my shoes were firmly in each stirrup and inhaled deeply, holding it for a few seconds before letting it out. I didn’t like feeling like I wasn’t in control. My personality was Type double A, and right now, I was at the mercy of thisthousand-poundhorse.

“You all right?” Calvin glanced up at me.

I nodded but I’m sure the look on my face gave way to the fact that I was not all right. Calvin didn’t know it, but I had a slight fear of heights. You had no power when you were in the air. One slip and gravity would pull you to the ground. I sealed my nod with a smile just to reassure him.

He handed me the reins, and I held them tightly. Calvin put his foot in the stirrup on George, grabbed onto the saddle horn, and hoisted himself up, swinging his leg over in one fell swoop. He made it look easy.

“Hold the horn,” he reminded. Calvin had taught me all the parts of the saddle before I even got on the horse. He also made sure I got to know Gretchen through grooming before he saddled her up. He said it was important to establish a bond before you rode an animal. I grabbed the horn with one hand.

“You ready?” He smiled.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go over some of the basics again. I’m applying light pressure with my left leg while pulling on the left rein to get him to turn,” he said. George turned to the left. “You try.”

I took another deep breath and did the same with Gretchen. She turned her head just like Calvin said she would.

“See. You got it.” He smiled proudly. “Now, how do you stop the horse?”

“Pull back on the reins and saywoah.” I readjusted myself in the saddle.

“That’s right. Ready to start walking?”

I nodded.

“Hands soft on the reins. Apply some light pressure with both legs.”

I did what he said, and the horse started walking. Calvin got George to walk right beside Gretchen and me at a nice slow pace. I was fascinated by the idea of domesticating wild animals. They did as we said because we trained them to forget their nature, to disregard who they truly were. But nature can’t be erased. It’s always there, lying dormant, waiting for its turn to resurface. Even Siegfried and Roy couldn’t keep the tiger in the cage.

“How’s it feel?” Calvin sat tall on George, the reins in each of his hands.

“Better than I thought it would.”

“You look good on that horse, Grace.” He winked.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

His cheeks flushed, and he pointed up ahead. “Let’s go down by the river.”

I nodded, and we walked slowly across the green pasture until we got down to the water. My thoughts rolled like the water babbling over the rocks.

It wasn’t so bad here. Actually, it was better than I thought it’d be, despite the few hiccups. And Calvin... well, he had been a good host. That hadn’t always been my experience with Airbnb.

“You never told me why you picked my ranch,” he said. “I know Dubois was, in a way, fate, but why me?”

I glanced at Calvin, trying to get a read on him, but his face was serious.

“Couple reasons, actually. I liked that it was secluded. You know I don’t have that in the city. And you seemed nice and attentive, a person I wouldn’t mind spending ten days with.” I smiled briefly and then refocused my attention on the horse and the path ahead of us.

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