Page 36 of Choosing Her
Bear
Oh I don’t know, maybe at the stables at our school?
Tino
I don’t go up there
Horses give me the creeps
Crossy
I THOUGHT YOU’VE NEVER SEEN ONE
Tino
WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME
“Are you here for a reason or are you just trying to make my horse fall in love with you?” Saylor asked. I slowly lifted my gaze from my phone and stared at her, even though she kept her gaze on Bourbon.
“Did you just make a joke?”
Her eyes flicked up to mine. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“No, I just…” I slipped my phone into my pocket and studied her. She must have made jokes before this but something about that one had stood out to me for some reason. Maybe because it didn’t feel malicious. I cleared my throat. “You just took me by surprise. Anyway, do you have any treats I could give her?”
Saylor slowed down in her movements but didn’t stop. She looked like she was thinking really hard about something, then sighed and muttered. “There are peppermints in my bag. Beside you.”
I dropped my arms from the stall door and turned to the bag that was hanging on a hook on the wall beside it. Sticking out of it was a small bag and when I pulled it up, I realized it was a bagof peppermints. I raised my eyes and looked at Saylor but she didn’t seem to notice. Either that or she was ignoring me, which admittedly seemed just as likely.
“You give your horse peppermints?” I asked.
Saylor eyes finally flicked up to mine. “They’re her favorite,” she said softly. So different than that first time I visited her in the stable to beg her to tutor me and she’d snapped at me to stay away from her horse. I took a peppermint out of the bag and held it out to Bourbon, who ate it happily. It tickled as her mouth brushed my hand, eating the whole peppermint in one bite, and I smiled.
“Oh, this is for you,” I said to Saylor, then ducked down to grab the iced coffee I’d temporarily put on the floor. I held it over the stable door, jerking it out of the way quickly when Bourbon decide to try to take a bite. Saylor laughed softly and patted Bourbon’s neck softly, then took the cup from my hand with a quiet thanks.
“Were you here for tutoring?” Saylor asked.
I shrugged. “I guess we could do some math. But I was really here to check on you.”
She raised her eyebrows as she took a long sip of the coffee. I watched her face for a reaction, because I’d gotten a new flavor today—maple pecan. It sounded a little disgusting to me, but Saylor looked impressed as she took a sip of it. I made a mental note of that, knowing I would need to mark it down on my on-going list later, but I couldn’t do that I front of her. I would just have to remember.
“You came to check on me?” Saylor asked when she was done drinking it. She rested the cup next to my arms on the stable door and I snatched it up before Bourbon could knock it back off.
“You weren’t in class again today. I thought you might still be sick.”
“So you came looking for me in the stables?”
“Well, I know how much you love your horse.” I grinned and she rolled her eyes. But strangely, I was starting to see that as a sign of endearment instead of annoyance. “And Poppy may have mentioned to me that you were here.”
Her brows knit together. “You asked Poppy where I was?”
I shrugged. “She was watching our hockey practice again. And weren’t you the one who suggested I do that yesterday?”
“Yeah, I just…” She shook her head. “I guess I’m just surprised you care enough to.”
I frowned. “Why wouldn’t I?”
She stared at her, her eyes vulnerable. “Sometimes, I think of the summer. You know, when you told me…”
