“That was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am.” They both stopped for just a second, waiting for the other to say something more, but when nothing else was said, Henry nodded. “Well, them saddles ain’t gonna mend themselves, I guess.”

“No, I guess not.” There was another second or two of silence.

“Alright then…I better get to it.” Somewhat reluctantly, Henry turned and headed for the tack room.

“Maybe…” Jessie started, but then stopped herself.

Henry turned back.

She hesitated. “Oh…nothing.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Henry turned and started for the tack room again.

“Maybe we could do it again sometime,” Jessie blurted. “You know, go find the mustangs.”

Henry stopped and looked back. Jessie was smiling tentatively. “I mean, if it’s something you wouldn’t mind doing,” she added.

“That’d be real nice,” Henry said with a smile of his own. “I’d like that.”

“Okay then,” Jessie nodded.

“Okay.”

Jessie headed to the barn to count hay bales and Henry went to the tack room to stitch saddle horns. Even though their conversation was a brief one, it affected them both in different ways. For Henry, he wasn’t sure if it was what she said, how she said it, or both, but the conversation seemed to breathe new life into his thought of asking her to the dance. At breakfast he was convinced she wasn’t very interested in him, but now he wasn’t so sure.

As for Jessie, she ended up counting the stack of hay three different times and getting a different total each time. The entire time she was counting, she was also kicking herself for being so forward with Henry in asking him to go see the wild horses again. Will he see that as me asking him out? She asked herself. It’s not a date, surely he knows that. I mean, it could be considered a date, I suppose. I didn’t mean it that way…I don’t think. Maybe I did. He said yes, so he must want to go. Although, I am his boss, and maybe he thought he had to say yes. That’s probably it. He doesn’t really want to go, but thought he had to. I should tell him he doesn’t have to go. No, if I do that then he might think I don’t want him to go. I should have just kept my mouth shut.

Throughout the rest of the day, a sort of cat-and-mouse game between the two began to take shape. Every time they were together, whether at lunch or doing chores or just in passing, Henry looked for an opportunity to ask Jessie to the dance, and Jessie looked for an opportunity to tell Henry he didn’t have to go look at Mustangs if he didn’t want to. By the end of the day, neither had really said much of anything, and at dinner they did little more than talk about how much hay there was, how many saddles Henry had finished, and what the plan was for the next day. No sooner had they finished with dinner when Henry, having once more talked himself out of asking Jessie to the dance, and Jessie, having talked herself out of telling Henry he didn’t need to go with her to look at the wild horses, said a polite goodnight, and once again went their separate ways.