Friday, March 15, 2013

Chapter Twelve

Over the following weeks Ava made a steady recovery. Both Richie and Heather weren’t comfortable enough for her to return to riding but that wouldn’t be too long out. Meanwhile she visited often and just walked around the ground with Oliver and watched Jocelynn ride or teach Richie how to ride.

Richie had spent the past week in Jersey to write some more with Jon and finish up some other songs while Jocelynn stayed behind and trained Oliver. She’d also spent a good amount of time visiting ranches and looking for a nice yearling for Ava. One in particular had caught her eye and as soon as  she’d taken Ava to meet him they were both in love. The light palomino stallion was 13 months old and great with people. By the time they were done visiting, the foal had both of them wrapped around his little hoof. After settling on a price she arranged for them to deliver the young horse three weeks later.

Richie too, had been making a lot of progress. They’d filmed him doing an easy reining pattern and sent it to Jon, who in turn was shocked. Richie wasn’t a competition rider but he could hold his own on a horse now. It was time again for another lesson today before they had a barbeque with Ava and her friend Jasmine. Jocelynn had trained Oliver in the early morning so he would have enough energy for another ride now.

Right now Jocelynn was in Olly’s paddock, seated on the dusty ground and feeding the horse some carrots when Richie arrived. He stayed back into the shadows and watched her interact with the animal. Not a care in the world and completely trusting him not to step on her. He could see her whispering to the large horse but couldn’t hear a word she was saying. The light wash denim shorts were slightly colored from the sand as were her brown boots. The light grey tank top was tight and gave him a great view of what was underneath. After a few moments he felt too much like a stalker and walked over to her.

“So that’s how you get him to listen? Spoiling him?” He spoke with a youthful grin as he approached her. Jocelynn lifted her head to meet his eyes and smiled. “You gonna lay around all day or are ya gonna teach me some of that cool stuff?”

At this Lynn grinned. “Tough decision. Think I’ll go with laying around.” Tipping the straw hat down to cover her eyes she leaned back against the fence. “You, help yourself. Just don’t wake me.”

Richie laughed and grabbed Oliver’s halter and leadrope from a hook on the wall and entered the paddock. “You go do your thing, I’m gonna get this boy ready for some fun.” Today he was without his Stetson, knowing Jocelynn would steal it away again otherwise. He had learned his lesson from last time.

“That was a good one Rich. Now on the next circle, sit forward a bit and let your hands move forward too. Then make a kissy sound. Olly should go into an easy lope.” Jocelynn spoke loudly from the centre of the corral. “Don’t worry, I see you tensing up. You’re ready for this, I know you are.”

Richie’s face scrunched up in concentration as he did as Jocelynn explained the way to position his body. The jog had been going fine for a while and although he had done a lope while on a long rope before, doing it himself made him nervous.

“Now do the sound.” Jocelynn spoke as he positioned his body, Olivier increased his speed already because he  knew what was coming. “Richie, do the damn kissy sound!”

He did and Olivier jumped into a slow and steady lope. Going for a few circles left they went back to a couple rounds of walk before taking on a lope on the other hand. Lynn clapped her hands and squealed in delight. “This is awesome!” Richie exclaimed happily.

“You’re doing great, let’s go for a few more rounds in walk to cool him down. You both did amazing today!” Letting out a sigh she moved over to the fence and easily hopped over. Strolling into the barn she switched on the water supply outside and emptied a bucket of grains into Oliver’s feeding bin. Closing the stable door behind her she leaned against it. Her thoughts drifting to the wonderful man outside.

Pinching the bridge of her nose she closed her eyes and heard Richie lead Oliver to the washing spot and talking animatedly at him. A grin spread over her face as she walked out and smiled.

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The following day Lynn invited Ava for lunch after the young girl had her first ride with Oliver after the accident. Nothing more than a simple walk and short jog but she was nothing short of thrilled. They had picked out a nice restaurant and sipped on their water as they discussed Ava’s progress.

“You’ve done really well. Oliver is responding well to you and even though the fall was pretty nasty, you were confident back in the saddle.” Lynn spoke as the waiter left with their orders.

Ava smiled happily and nodded. “You’ve taught me well.” A grin appeared, making the resemblance to her father hard to miss. “He’s a great horse and the fall wasn’t his fault. I’m just happy mom and dad are still letting me ride. Especially with the little one joining the barn. He’s gonna be a handful when he grows up.”

Jocelynn couldn’t help but smile at the wise words from the fourteen year old in front of her. “You got that right. At least you’ll have a bunch of experience before he’s that far. You’re learning quickly and I’m very proud.” Another sip of her water and she glanced around. “I know your mom and dad want to protect you, but I think you should try entering a competition with Olly. Nothing serious, just to try it.”

If the girl wasn’t shocked enough at the compliments her jaw now litterally dropped. “Are you serieus? Do you think he’s good enough yet? Do you think I’m ready for that?” She spoke, trying to get her thoughts straightened out. “The plan was just to do some outdoor trail rides with him...”

“I do believe it would do both of you good. It wouldn’t be to win prizes yet, just to get some more experience.” Jocelynn explained. “For me it always helped to work under pressure, mistakes become more clear then. How small they might be. You could benefit from that and use the information to your advantage when your foal is ready to get trained.”

Ava visibly thought about it for a short while and the waiter came with their orders. Picking at her salad she smiled. “Why not, it’s not like I have anything to lose.” They shared a smile and continted to munch on their lunch.

5 comments:

  1. I am glad that you updated. This is an interesting story and I am interested in seeing how Ava recovers...and what happens in the romance department! Hope Heather doesn't cause trouble for Richie and Lynn.

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    1. I'm glad you like it. It's been a short hiatus but we're back and I'm writing lots so there should be another update in the next couple of days. Thanks for reading !

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  2. I really like the characters even nasty Heather. LOL. I can't wait for the next chapter.

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  3. i really love this story please say your gonna update soon.

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