Page 33 of Burned

“We’d both like you to come. Anyway, it was Carys’s idea. She knows we haven’t seen a lot of each other lately and suggested I invite you.”

“She did?” That didn’t sound like the Carys Sadie had come to know. Could it possibly be that losing her mother changed something in Carys?

“Yes. She’d be very disappointed if you don’t come, as will I. Please. I think this would be a great bonding opportunity for the two of you since she loves horses.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been on a horse before.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you. Carys is an expert horsewoman. She’ll show you the ropes.” That was what Sadie was afraid of, but she kept that comment to herself. She honestly didn’t feel like going horseback riding, she was still tired and for the past week, all she felt like doing was sleeping. She wasn’t sure where this fatigue came from. On top of that, she thought she was coming down with some kind of flu bug because she couldn’t keep anything down.

“Rhys, I don’t know. I’m not feeling one hundred percent.”

“Sadie, please, we haven’t seen each other in a nearly a week. I need to see you. After horseback riding, we can do something together. Just you and me.”

“What about Carys?”

“I’ll drop her off at her girlfriend’s house. Please, love. I want to see you.”

It was hard to say no when he pleaded like that.

She sighed. This was going against her better judgment. “Okay.”

“Great. The stables are actually closer to your house so if you wanted to meet us there we could do that, or it’s no problem if we swung by and picked you up.”

“Just give me the directions and I’ll be there.”

* * *

“Are you sure she’ll come, Daddy? I mean she seemed awful upset the last time I saw her. Maybe she doesn’t want me hanging out with you guys.”

Rhys wrapped his arms around his daughter’s shoulder and dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I’m sure that isn’t the case, sweetheart.”

“But…I don’t know, I still feel like she doesn’t like me.”

It wasn’t the first time Carys had said that. A couple weeks ago he would have refuted that statement with absolute certainty, but with Sadie’s strange behavior lately, he didn’t know what the deal was. He didn’t want to believe that, particularly when he was in love with Sadie to the point of distraction, but what the hell was going on with her? “I’m sure she does, honey. It’s a nice thing you’ve done inviting her to join us like this. I know how protective you can be of your horses. You didn’t let your best friend ride either of them for months.”

She smiled. “Guess I’m growing up.”

“And I’m very proud of you for that.” Rhys prayed today would go well. The two of them had the horses saddled and ready to ride by the time Sadie made her way to the stables.

“Sorry, I’m late guys. I took a little nap before coming and slept a little longer than I anticipated.”

“No problem. We’ve just gotten the horses ready.”

Carys walked over to Sadie and handed her a helmet. “Hi, Sadie. Got you a helmet. Safety first.”

Sadie took the helmet from the teenager’s hand with a tight smile. “Thank you. How are you today, Carys?”

“I’m great. And I’m so glad you could make it. Look, Sadie, I know I’m probably not your favorite person, but I appreciate you being so understanding to me since my mother died and…well, I really want us to get along.”

Rhys was proud of his daughter for her maturity. Maybe this would be a good day.

* * *

Sadie gripped her horse for dear life. Any second now she felt like she’d fall off and break her neck. Rhys and Carys had taken nearly a half hour showing her exactly what she needed to do and she was doing well enough as long as her horse went slow. Very slow.

Rhys and Carys were excellent riders and they were patient with her, stopping when she got too far behind. After a while, Rhys’s stallion seemed restless.”

“Why don’t you go ahead of us, Daddy. I’ll hang back here with Sadie. Sir Percival seems restless,” Carys suggested.

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