FATED MATES

CHAPTER 8

He sets the picnic basket down and approaches one of the horses, speaking softly.

"Hey there, pretty girl. I'd like to introduce you to another pretty girl." He tells the mare, softly stroking her nose. I approach cautiously. JJ alleviated my fears in regard to the large animal, I was still nervous. "It's okay, Skye, she won't hurt you. She's our most docile horse here. Her name is Lady."

I reach my hand out and touch her nose like he's doing, surprised at the soft, velvety texture. She pushes her nose harder into my hand, eliciting a laugh from JJ and me.

"You're so sweet." I tell her, rubbing my face against her. I reach out and stroke her mane, marveling at the difference in texture from her nose. She's just sleek and beautiful all over. "You going to let me ride you?" Her answer is a snort. Laughing, I look over to where JJ is grabbing supplies I assume are needed to saddle her.

He approaches with a blanket, and hands it to me.

"Throw this over her back. Make sure there isn't anything stuck to it that would hurt or irritate her. The last thing we want is for her to throw you because she's uncomfortable." I nod my head in understanding and inspect the blanket. Not noticing any foreign objects, I take the heavy blanket and thrown it over her back. It lands with a soft thud. I adjust it so it's even over her.

He approaches once again, carrying a large saddle. He heaves it up and over, and it lands heavily onto Lady's back.

"That doesn't hurt her?" I ask curiously. That saddle is heavy.

"Nope. Not at all. the only way it would hurt would be if there's something caught between the blanket and her." He says while he adjusts the saddle to sit just right on her. He begins buckling the straps underneath her to keep the saddle from slipping, tightening them as he goes. She stands there quietly as he works around her. Satisfied everything is as it should be, he stands back.

I glance at him, and he has a soft expression on his face as he looks at Lady. It warms my heart. He turns abruptly to get the rest of the tackle, and proceeds to get another horse ready for a ride, this time adding saddle bags. He puts the picnic basket in the saddle bad attached to his horse, then retrieves a step-stool. He brings it over to Lady and sets it down on the left side of her, just underneath the stirrup.

"To mount her," HA! He said 'mount.' "you step up on the stool so you can reach the stirrup better. Then you lift your left foot into the stirrup and propel your other leg over the top of Lady." So I do what he says, holding on to the pommel of the saddle, and launch myself into the saddle. Se shifts a little beneath me, so I adjust myself into a more comfortable position in the saddle. "Good. Now that you're up there you need to know how to control her. take the reigns in your hands. Pull back on the right one for her to turn right. Pull back on the left one for her to turn left. Both back both of them in a short motion for her to stop. If you want her to walk backward, you keep pulling on both reigns. Got it?" I nod my head, a little overwhelmed at actually being on an animal.

He goes over and mounts, snicker, his own animal.

"To get her to go, you just tap her sides with your feet." He demonstrates, and I mimic his actions, and she starts walking forward. Exhilaration flows through me. I'm riding a frigging horse! "Feels cool, huh?" He asks me.

"Yes! It's so awesome. So, where are we headed?"

"There's a small pond about an hour into the land that I thought we could eat our picnic at. What do you think? There's some beautiful trails along the way."

"I think that sounds lovely. I can't wait to see."

JJ taps his heels to the sides of his horse, and they start moving. I don't even have time to tap Lady before she's moving.