Page 54 of Jump Start

We laughed and hugged. It had been too long.

Xavier let go and turned to look at Harper.

“Wow! What a bloody knockout. You know you’repunching, right?” he said to me with a wink.

Harper laughed. “He knows it.” Xavier leant in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

It was weird to see them meet. Seeing them together made my heart feel full for the first time in a long while.

***

Harper

Thomas’s mum insisted on giving me the grand tour of the property. It was breathtaking.

The house was filled with several large photographs of winning horses, ribbons, and awards.

There were a few family photos, which I laughed at. Young Thomas had no front teeth for a little while, longer than normal.

“We used to call him Bugs Bunny,” Xavier laughed. I felt Thomas’s hand grip mine just a little tighter.

The lounge and dining area was one large space filled with beautiful, neutral-coloured furniture, and a large island kitchen bench. The outdoor area had a pool, a kitchen, and the best feature, in my eyes, was a large open paddock that descended to a small dam.

“This is just beautiful, guys!” I walked out to the border of the pool to look out over the luscious green grass. Several horses grazed outside a block of stables to my right.

“Can we go see the horses!?” I asked excitedly, looking atThomas.

Xavier jumped in. “Sure, I’ll take you guys.”

“Lunch will be ready in half an hour or so,” Trudy yelled to us as we walked towards the stables.

“I can’t believe you guys grew up here, this is crazy!” I commented. I couldn’t find a single thing to concentrate on, my eyes darting around, trying to catch all the beauty in my surroundings.

“Your parents’ place is great though, Harps,” Thomas said calmly.

“I know, but I didn’t grow up there. We moved so much with Dad’s work.”

I had always longed to stay in one place for longer than one to two years, but it was just impossible with the Army.

“That’s right, your family are military, hey?” Xavier asked as he slid open the stable door.

“My dad and brothers, yeah. Dad’s retired now, though.”

There was a row of ten enclosed stables on each side of the walkway, all filled with the most majestic looking horses I’d ever seen.

“Welcome to the Jackson Racing Stud!” Xavier said as he started to pat one of the horses, who was less than impressed to see any of us.

The other end of the stable opened up to the same green rolling hills we saw from the outdoor area of Thomas’s home.

I was blown away by the magic of it all. I walked up to one of the horses but didn’t put my hand out. To be honest, I was a little terrified.

“She’s right, you can pat her,” Thomas said as he walked up behind me and grabbed my hand, guiding it towards the horse.

“This is Roo. She’s retired and lives a life of luxury here. She’s my girl,” Thomas said as we both patted and stroked her.

I raised an eyebrow. “I thought I was your girl?” He didn’t respond, just winked and kept patting the horse.

“Yeah, right, your girl, yet you never come to see her,” Xavier said as he fed some hay to one of the other horses.

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