Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
This horse has a shiny black main and tail. His body is a lush black, but that heart shape is blue and beautiful. He’s quite impressive.
“What’s his name?”
“Wild Heart,” Trevor says with a smile. “That’s what Cuore Selvaggio means.”
I look to Trev with wide eyes. I have to have this horse. My heart sinks as he doesn’t seem to calm down. I know Leonardo isn’t going to allow me to ride him, no matter how much I want to bond with him.
“Maybe you will like his brother. Fumo is a much tamer horse. I can have him saddled for you,” Leonardo says.
Smoke, that sounds like a nice horse, but I can’t pull myself away from Wild Heart. I don’t know how to describe this pull between us.
“Would you like to ride Fumo? That means—”
“Smoke, I understood that one.” I shrug. “I guess, but can I have some time here?”
“Of course,” Leonardo says.
However, I don’t miss the wariness in his voice. Ignoring him, I focus back on Wild Heart. I coo at him, trying to get him to relax.
Trevor hands me a few carrots one of the workers brings over. It takes a moment, but the horse settles and comes to take a carrot from me.
“Good boy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so emotional. You can relax, I’m okay,” I whisper.
He settles right down and allows me to run my hand down his neck. I spend a few minutes with him before Leonardo returns to get me so I can head out for a ride on Smoke.
At first, I stand staring at the horse. Almost as if frozen in place. This was our thing. Pook and I would ride together for hours. My sister taught me how to care for the horses and how to love the equestrian life. I became a better rider because of her.
It feels so odd not to have her here, mounting her own horse. I can hear her voice in my head. I go to shake my head and turn away, but I can’t move at all. I feel so heavy.
“You can do this, Cakes. You’re my little sister. There’s nothing you can’t do and this isn’t even the hardest thing you’ll do in your life.
“Come on, get on that horse and show me what you got. Let’s go, times a wasting and we don’t have time to waste, now do we?”
I swipe at the tears I didn’t realize were falling. Pook said those very words after my very first fall. I was lucky not to break anything, but I didn’t want to try again. I wanted to call it a day and go back to playing with my dolls.
I was so happy when I didn’t quit because that day was one of the best rides of my life. Trevor, Cliff, and Tom had stopped by and they allowed me to ride with them to the lake, where we all had a picnic. I believe that was the day my crush on Trevor started.
I shake the memory away and blow out a breath while rubbing my suddenly sweaty palms on my jeans. I swipe the tears that haven’t stopped falling. Leonardo must think I’m a mess.
“No, Pook. We don’t have time to waste,” I mutter under my breath.
With a sage nod to myself, I mount the horse and breathe. From the moment I settle in the saddle, it’s like taking my first breath in months. I close my eyes and feel the faint breeze against my skin.
It’s as if my heart blooms and I return to a place I didn’t know I left behind. I press my palm against Smoke’s neck and give a gentle stroke. However, I can’t resist looking back toward the stable where I left Wild Heart.
He would have been perfect for this. I know I would have reconnected with riding if I got to ride him. I shake the thought off and watch as Trev mounts his own gorgeous horse on my left side.
Leonardo climbs onto a horse of his own as well, like a salesman taking us out on a test drive. We start on the trail slowly. I’m grateful to be left with my emotions and thoughts as everyone remains silent, although I can feel Trevor watching me as he rides behind me.
Leonardo leads us out to a clearing. It’s a wide-open space where I can allow Smoke to stretch his legs out.
Come on, Cakes. You can do better than this. I’ll race you. You win; you can have anything you want.
In my mind, I know her voice isn’t real, but I also want to win to have her back. So I take off. Riding as fast and as hard as I know how.
In the moment, if I have to race time, space, or the universe itself, I’m going to do it and win. My hair blows behind me and the wind whips against my face. It’s not until I get across the clearing that I realize how crazy my thoughts are.