“All right, Chloe, listen, because you’re here, and because you somehow seem to have a booking, I’ll take you through a lesson. But when we’re done, I’d really like to speak with your mother and get all of this straightened out, okay?”

That answer elicited a squeal of delight. “Yep! Sure thing. Okay, so which one will be my horse?”

“Hold on. Have you ever ridden before?”

She shook her head.

“Best to pair you with a horse that’s suitable, then.” Ryan showed Chloe down to stall three, where Bo, his twenty-one-year-old Appaloosa, was milling quietly and chewing on his breakfast. “There, how about him?”

Chloe climbed to the top of the stall gate and watched Bo lazily munch on hay. “He looks really old.”

“Bo’s a good horse,” Ryan said. “He’s friendly and kind and likes to take things slow.”

“You mean like an old person?”

He grinned. “Yeah, I guess so.”

After patiently listening to Ryan’s safety briefing, Chloe was brimming with excitement when it finally came time to start riding. The first few minutes in the saddle were a little overwhelming, but she soon got comfortable and settled into Bo’s rhythm. In fact, by the time Ryan had brought Bo to a gentle trot, she was already rising and falling to the beat of his gait as though she’d done it a hundred times before. She was a natural, exuding such confidence that it wasn’t long before she could balance on three gaits and had the basics of horsemanship well in hand. It seemed the girl had riding in her blood. He was impressed.

Later, after they had de-tacked and were escorting Bo back into his stall, Ryan heard an engine idling down by the ranch gate. Two toots of its horn rang out across the valley. Chloe handed Ryan Bo’s reins.

“I have to go,” she said.

“Wait, what about your mother? I wanted to speak with her.”

“Maybe next time.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a hug. “We’re kind of in a hurry. Sorry!”

And before he could say another word, she had spun and run off.

Ryan’s father came out of the house just moments after Chloe disappeared. A car door opened and closed, then an engine could be heard trailing off into the distance.

“Who was that?” his father called out as he limped slowly across the porch.

As Ryan walked up the steps, it occurred to him that while he had spent most of the morning with Chloe, the only thing he really knew was her name.

“Honestly, Dad, I have no idea.”

14

14

With no car at her disposal and the flyer stating that Ryan’s ranch was “only five miles from town,” Amy opted for a cab. She considered calling for one but decided to chance her luck on catching one from the sidewalk instead.