Page 68 of Swift and Saddled

I didn’t know Emmy had come back to Meadowlark—I’d assumed that she had always been here. I couldn’t imagine Rebel Blue without Emmy, and I didn’t even know her that well.

“And you and Brooks?” I had noticed that only Emmy called him Luke. “How long have you guys been together?”

Emmy smiled. “Since I moved home, I guess,” she said.

“You didn’t date before?” I asked, confused. The way those two interacted, I would’ve thought they’d been together forever—even though I vaguely remembered Dusty being surprised that they were an item.

She shook her head. “No, Luke and I didn’t get along very well growing up. When I moved back here, I hadn’t seen him for more than five minutes in nearly ten years.” She started cleaning out Maple’s hooves with a stick thing as she spoke. “I came home under less-than-ideal circumstances, but I’d do it all over again to be with him.”

“Is it weird?” I asked. “To look back and know that you were so close to your soulmate your entire life without knowing it?”

Emmy moved over to Moonshine and started cleaning her hooves, but she looked at me with a big smile as she said, “Luke Brooks is without a doubt the love of my life, but my soulmate has always been Teddy Andersen.”

“That’s fair,” I laughed, despite the pang of jealousy in my chest. I didn’t have a friend that I could say that about.

Emmy straightened and went for the saddles hanging on the wall. I had no idea it took this much effort to saddle a horse. I thought it was just a throw-it-on-and-go situation. Emmy worked in silence for a few minutes, and after she got the saddles on, she unhooked each horse from the ties that were holding them and said, “We’ll mount outside. You can take Moonshine’s reins. She’ll follow you.”

Emmy picked up a large block in one hand and grabbed Maple’s reins with the other and started walking Maple toward the stable door. I followed with Moonshine.

Once we were outside, Emmy set the block on the ground, and Moonshine walked toward it. “This is a mounting block,” Emmy said. “It just makes it easier to get in the saddle—gives you a little more height than being on the ground.”

“Do I just like…stand on it? Or use it as a step?”

“You’ll stand on it.” I did as she said. “Now put your left foot in the stirrup—nice boots, by the way—good, put one hand on the horn—that’s that little knob—and one on the back of the saddle—yep—and then you’ll push off your right foot and swing it over the saddle.”

“I feel like that sounds easier in theory,” I said shakily.

“If you can get on a bike, you can get on a horse,” Emmy said. “I promise.” I tried to think of the last time I’d been on a bike but was coming up blank.

“You’ve totally got this,” Emmy said. “Do you want a countdown? Sometimes that helps.” I nodded. I would take anything at this point. “Remember, just push off your right foot and swing your leg over.” I nodded again. “Okay, three…two…one…go!” On Emmy’s mark, I pushed off the block with my right and swung.

A little too hard.

I made my way over the saddle but had so much momentum that I started going over the other side. I thought I was going down, but Emmy ran around and pushed me back upright.

And now I was on a horse.

“Good,” Emmy said with a laugh. “That was quite the leg swing!”

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly.

“No, it was good, honestly. I would’ve felt bad if you’d fallen, but I like the zeal.”Zeal,I thought.That feels like a compliment.

“Any advice?” I asked.

Emmy smiled wide and said, “Keep a foot on each side and your mind in the middle.” I didn’t know if that was helpful or not.

Emmy went over to Maple and put my mount to shame. Everything she did around the horses was so effortless. The first time I saw Emmy, I thought she looked free, and she did, but out here, with the horses, she didn’t just look free, shewasfree.

“Moonshine will follow Maple, but she’s neck-rein, so if you need to steer her, just pull her reins in the direction you want to go,” Emmy said. I nodded.

Maple started walking, and Moonshine followed. Holy shit, this giant animal was moving. And I was moving with her.

Holyshit.

Moonshine kept her head and neck beside Maple’s haunches, so she was neither behind her nor beside her—just near her.

“So,” Emmy called back to me after we’d been walking for a bit. “How much longer do you have on the renovation?”

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