Conflict of Heart

Chapter 3

The warm summer sun and the delicious wind that whistled past Isabella's ears was a pleasant contrast to the stuffy encasement of her office. While she could not complain about her office at Walker Inc., there was nothing that could match the freshness that came with the outdoors and the sound of thundering hooves beneath her.

A smile spread across her pink lips as she urged her mare to extend into a gallop along the grassy path, the speed causing her eyes to water. She glanced back to see her sister a small distance behind her.

"Come on, Rosa! Is that all you've got?" she goaded, and she achieved the desired reaction when her sister glared at her and urged her stallion to lengthen his stride, his powerful legs kicking up grass and ground alike as he surged past them like a train.

Diamond tossed her head, refusing to be beat, and stretched out her neck, foamy sweat coating her muscles as she ran at a blistering pace to catch them.

Eventually, the two sisters pulled their horses to a halt at the end of the path, which then gave way to many twisty trails and winding trees. Isabella rewarded her mare with a few sloppy pats on the neck as the horse heaved beneath her, trembling from the excitement and exertion of the race.

"I don't think they've ever gone so fast before," Rosa stated as she turned her stallion to face her sister, her expression flushed from the exercise and thrill of the race.

"Me neither," Isabella replied as she dropped the reins and then twisted her back clockwise once and then again in the opposite direction.

Rosa frowned as she watched her sister. "How's your back?" she asked, concern laden in her voice.

Isabella sighed as she dropped her arms back to her sides. "It was a little stiff this morning. Has a bit of an ache now, but it's alright."

The younger woman nodded as she watched her sister shift a little uncomfortably in the saddle. When Isabella was eighteen, she had a refusal on the cross-country course at a competition and had ended up landing on a stone wall on her back. The doctors had assured her that her back would heal but that it would always be a weak spot for her, especially in the cold months.

Subsequently, their mother forbade them both from doing cross-country competitions again, and Isabella lost a bit of her enthusiasm for riding due to the discomfort her back sometimes brought her.

"What's the time?" Rosa asked and watched her sister glance down at the watch on her wrist, her eyes widening in surprise.

"We'll be late for supper if we don't head home now. I'm sure Mom won't be happy if we eat smelling of sweat and horse."

"Good point there," Rosa chuckled as they both turned their mounts to ride back in the direction of the stables.

"How come Mom didn't come with you to visit me at work?" Isabella asked after a moment of silence, the soft breeze fluttering her midnight hair.

"There was an emergency at the clinic. Some old woman needed an emergency four-way bypass and the other surgeons were already in theatre with other patients."

"And you didn't want to help?" Isabella responded with a quirked eyebrow.

"She said that she would manage, and I've assisted with them plenty of times before," Rosa replied with a shrug.

Isabella nodded as she watched her sister ride beside her. Rosa still had a few years left before she became a cardiothoracic surgeon like their mother, but it would still take many more years before she was ready to take over the clinic; as Isabella had done with Walker Inc.

Some people would find it a bit unfair that Isabella would inherit the multi-billion dollar dynasty while Rosa inherited the clinic, but both sisters were happy with their futures. It wasn't as though they didn't have a choice in the matter. When they were teenagers, their parents made them sit down for a serious talk about their futures, wanting to know who would want to do what.