Page 66 of Ethan

I manoeuvred the reins over his head with care not to startle him and hoisted myself into the saddle. I instantly felt better; connected to the magnificent beast. My buddy.

We started by walking the ring. Each of us adjusting to one another. My sister Emma rode Phantom more than I did. My application of pressure was different than hers.

I urged him forward into a trot. Then eased him into a canter. He started to get excited, his ears alert and forward. He loved show jumping. I turned from the edge of the ring and pressed him forward to regulate his gait. We made a clean jump over an easy vertical.

I tried him with a higher one, then turned and took him over an oxer. We flowed from that into completing the entire course. Over and over again, moving in unison.

After a lengthy session, I noticed my mom standing beside the ring. I smiled at her and slowed Phantom to a trot and started his cool down. Walking, I stopped by the fence she was leaning against. "You looked good out there," she said.

"Thanks. I'm sure my time sucks but we enjoyed ourselves."

"You don't compete anymore. Enjoyment is the name of the game now."

I walked Phantom down the fence line to the gate. My mom followed and opened it for us. I rode Phantom as far as the barn and dismounted. I shifted the reins over his head, slung them over my shoulder, and ran the stirrups back up, preparing the saddle to be stored away.

My mom stroked Phantom's neck. "Such a beautiful horse."

"My boy." I smiled. "Walk with me, Mom." She followed me as I took Phantom back to his stall and started the process of removing the saddle and brushing him down. "I met someone."

"Oh?" She removed Phantom's bridle and hooked her arm through it.

I put on his halter, attached the lead rope, and tied him to a metal ring in his stall. "His name is Daniel. And he is the most perfect man I've ever met in my life."

"Moreso than the others? William, Peter, and Marcus?"

I nodded. "It's so different with Daniel. I feel like I've found my soul mate."

"So, it's serious?"

"Getting there. We haven't exchanged the L-word or anything like that … yet."

I lifted the saddle and carried it, the saddle pad, and the bridle to the tack room. I wasn't sure how much I wanted to tell my mom about Daniel.

"Do you see yourself getting there?" my mom asked when I returned. She was brushing Phantom down. I would get him a treat of oats when she was finished.

Right now, he deserved the apples I had brought.

I knew I was stalling with imparting information about Daniel.

"I'm falling hard, Mom. But I have concerns."

She stopped brushing. "Like what?"

"He was married … to a woman. He has kids."

"You're good with kids. You used to be a great riding instructor."

"Not those kinds of kids." I sighed. "They're in their late 20s … early 30s."

My mom lowered her brush and furrowed her brow. "How old is Daniel?"

"Fifty-four." I couldn't read her response. She simply stood and stared at me.

"Dad and I are only ten years older than him." She walked to the other side of Phantom and began brushing him again. "What do you see in him?"

"Utmost, he's kind and funny. Makes me feel good." I petted Phantom's nose and gave him another half an apple. "We can spend hours talking. The entire relationship feels fated."

"And he feels the same?"

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