Page 9 of Saddles & Suits

“It’s Jack,” Jack insists. “I know you from somewhere, don’t I?”

Chris’s smile turns rueful, and he offers a hand. “Chris Bryant.”

Jack laughs as he shakes it. “The Bryant black sheep.”

“That’s me. Gotta say, I’m much happier being the black sheep than a clone of my brother.” He rolls his eyes.

They chat for a while about people they know, while I glance over the list of horses on the table. The first part of the list is horses owned by the stable, used by students who don’t have their own mounts and by the trail riders. The second part of the list is horses boarded by the agistment, some of which belong to students. The others need to be exercised by the stablehands on days their owners don’t ride. Beside many of the horses’ names are the names of the students riding them today, orTand the name of the instructor leading the trail ride that horse is allocated to.

I skim a finger down the list. My favorite mount, Pony Stark, is free, and I frown. One of our intermediate riders always rides Stark on a Saturday morning. I make a mental note to ask Chris and keep looking. As expected, none of the other Vale horses are available, but three of the boarded horses haven’t yet been exercised. I know Jack is an experienced rider, even if it has been a few years, so I have no qualms about letting him ride one of them—especially since I’ll be with him.

I wait for a pause in the conversation, then ask Chris, “Laura not here today?”

“Sick” is the succinct reply. “Her mother called and said she practically had to tie her down to keep her from coming. You know Laura; she’d be on her deathbed and still want to ride. Still, it means you can take Stark out if you want.”

“Stark?” Jack asks. “As in Tony?”

“Pony,” I correct, grinning. “But yeah. The tradition of punny names hasn’t changed.” I turn to Chris. “I think we’ll put Jack on Priscilla.”

“Good choice.” Chris nods, grabs the pen clipped to the neck of his sweater, and makes notes on the list. “You’ll like her, Jack. She’s steady but likes to play.”

“Sweet. Gotta say, didn’t realize how much I wanted to ride until right this second.”

Yeah, I know how that feels. I recognize the glimmer of excited anticipation in his eyes, and love that I’m the one giving that to him. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to your mount.”

ChapterSeven

Jack

I relaxin the saddle as we turn off the road onto one of the trails that leads down to the beach. I truly didn’t realize how much I miss riding. Tomorrow, I’ll be sore as hell, but man, is it worth it. Maybe I should plan to get down here more often—once a month at least.

And there’s no question about what to give Seb for his birthday—he’s totally in love with that bay gelding, Stark. A few sneaky questions to Chris while Seb was getting tack confirmed it. It’ll be a simple thing to sign over the ownership papers, and then I’ll leave it up to Seb if he wants to lease Stark back to the school for lessons or if a replacement horse will be needed.

The track winds down in a gradual incline through the trees toward the ocean. This particular beach isn’t popular with swimmers, even in the height of summer, but it’s brilliant for riding because it has a wide, hard strip of wet sand. When we break out of the trees, the crash of the surf greets us, the sun sparkling off the water. The wind is cold—after all, it’s winter, and there isn’t much between us and Antarctica, just Tasmania—but I don’t care. For the first time in ages, I feel energized. I didn’t even know how tired and stressed I was until now that the cares have fallen away.

“Wanna canter?” The grin Seb flashes tells me I’m not the only one revved up by being out in the beautiful day. I don’t bother to reply, just nudge Priscilla and shoot off. Seb’s laugh follows, and then the sound of pounding hoofbeats.

I want to spend every weekend this way.

When I strollinto the office on Monday morning, I’m both rested and resentful. My weekend away prepared me for the work week like nothing else could have, but at the same time, I really didn’t want to leave the Vale. It was a wonderful part of my childhood; why shouldn’t it be just as wonderful a part of my adulthood? It’s mine now. I should enjoy it. Maybe I’ll work something out so I can work down there for a couple days a week. I probably can’t live there permanently, not without seriously reshuffling the office, but two days most weeks should be achievable.

I’m pondering that as I pass Sarah’s desk and pause to ask, “Do you think I could work from home some days?”

Sarah drops the croissant she’s about to bite into.

“Whatdid you say?”

“Oh, come on. You make it seem like I’m a workaholic,” I protest.

“Excuse me, but are you not the man who inherited an estate and then didn’t visit it for nine months because of work commitments?” She turns to her computer and brings up the calendar app. “I’m going to action this before you change your mind. How many days a week? I’ll make sure you have no in-person appointments those days.” She squints at the screen. “You want to work from the Vale, right? Thursday and Friday, or Friday and Monday? Or Monday and Tuesday?”

Whoa. This is really happening. I should have told Sarah I needed a break months ago.

“Whatever’s easiest,” I assure her.

“Okay. It might be different days for a while, if I can’t move some appointments. And no-go this week, I’m afraid.”

“Sarah, you’re a freaking legend. That’s fine. That’s perfect. Um… I’ve blocked out lunch on Friday. Can you make sure it’s kept free?”

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