Page 96 of Wed to You

“Yay! Can I ride Mable?”

“I don’t see why not. How about you, Chels? Want to go for a ride?” There was a twinkle in his eyes that made her wonder if he was thinking of the ride he’d given her on the dining table of their hotel in New York. As usual, her insides fluttered at the memory.

“I always like a good ride.”

He grinned. “Why don’t you come up around nine?” He set his cup in the sink, where Miss Z immediately scooped it up to put in the dishwasher.

“If we’re riding, we need to change.” Chelsea brought her coffee cup to the sink, rinsed it out, and put it in the dishwasher because Miss Z always fussed at her if she left dishes out.

“Okay.” Kaden jumped down from the table and ran out of the kitchen.

“I’ll take care of that,” Miss Z barked at Chelsea when she reached for Kaden’s breakfast dishes.

Lifting her hands in surrender, Chelsea left the kitchen.

Just before nine, she and Kaden showed up at the stables in jeans and sneakers.

“There’s Mable.” Kaden rushed over to where a horse stood, already saddled.

“She’s lovely.” Chelsea petted the horse’s neck.

“This is Chester.” Denny brought a bay-colored horse to her. “I’m told you’ve ridden before, but it’s probably been awhile.”

“Yes.” She took the reins from Denny and petted Chester.

“Will you help me up?” Kaden walked Mabel to Denny.

“Sure thing, big guy.” Denny got Kaden situated on the horse. “I can give you a leg up too, Mrs. Talbot.”

“Thank you.”

Denny walked Kaden’s horse out to the ring, with Chelsea following. It had been a long time since she’d been on a horse. In fact, the last time she’d ridden was to exercise the horses for the Talbots the summer of her sixteenth year. Like with riding a bike, the memory yarn in her muscles kicked in and she settled into the ride. Denny walked Kaden’s horse over some cavaletti. Feeling confident, Chelsea took Chester to a trot and eventually did a loop of the ring at a canter.

“Wow, you go fast,” Kaden said as she brought her horse to stand with his.

“Someday you can go fast too.”

“Is it scary?”

“No. It’s exhilarating. But you have to practice first.”

“I’m gonna practice.”

When the ride was done, Jagger met them back at the stable. “You looked good out there, Red.”

It was the first time he’d used a nickname for her. Chelsea didn’t particularly like the nickname Red, and yet, she felt a little warm and gooey inside that Jagger had given her one.

“She goes fast, Jagger. Did you see her?”

“I did. I didn’t know I married a fast woman.” The banter felt so normal and real. More and more she wished it was.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

He flashed her a grin. “Maybe during the winter we can fly down to the Caribbean. There are places there you can ride on the beach. In your swimsuit even.”

Her heart stuttered in her chest even as her stomach fluttered at the gleam in his eye. They’d agreed this marriage would go as long as Kaden’s custody was up in the air, which could last beyond the winter. It could go on for a year or more. But he couldn’t know how long the case would last. What if Kaden’s custody was resolved by the start of school? Would Jagger still want to take her to the Caribbean? His winter trip planning made her wonder if he saw their relationship as more than just a business arrangement.

“Mr. Talbot? The vet’s pulling up.” Denny pointed to a truck parking at the barn.

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