A Fighting Heart

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

The Texas sun is already beating down hot as I step out of the car. Rally Stables consists of a beautiful Victorian house complete with full barn and paddocks. 

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for the convertible type of girl,” I hear Chase call out, and turning I can’t help but grin. Never have a seen a boy look so good in a cowboy hat, blue jeans, and plaid. 

“It’s my grandfather’s, I’m just borrowing it while he’s away.” Chase nods and grins back, taking my hand and leading me towards the barn. “You ride here often?” I ask, falling into step next to him. 

“Yeah, my dad is best friends with Jim, the owner, so I come here a lot. It’s a good place to clear your head.” We walk a little further and are about to enter the barn until someone calls Chase’s name. Turning we wait as an older man approaches us. 

“Good to see you boy,” the man says with a smile, shaking Chase’s hand. Then he turns to me and smiles. “And who might this pretty lady be?”
“Jim, this is Savannah. She’s here for the summer staying with her grandparents. Savannah, this is Jim, the owner of these stables.” 

“Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking Jim’s hand. 

Jim smiles real wide and nods to Chase. “Pretty girl you’ve got here Chase.” Then he looks back to me. “He doesn’t bring anyone up here, ya know. You must be pretty special. Maybe you can talk him out of that bull riding craziness he does. God knows his father and I aren’t getting anywhere.” 

I look at Chase questioning, and notice he’s visibly stiffer than before. “Leave it Jim, you’re embarrassing me,” he says with a forced laugh. Jim looks between the two of us and nods curtly. 

“It was nice to meet you Savannah. Chase, make sure you give her something real safe to ride, and watch out for her ya hear.” I give Jim a nod and he turns and walks back to the house. 

I turn on my heel to look at Chase. “What?” he says after a moment, looking down and kicking the dirt with his boot. 

“Nothing. I just figured you brought all the girls up here. Cowboy on a horse.. great way to get into a girl’s pants.” Chase looks up surprised, and then grins. I start walking backwards into the barn. “Well, are we gonna ride or not?” 

“Hell yeah we are,” Chase says, walking up beside me. 

“And don’t you dare listen to Jim. I want the fastest horse you’ve got.” 

Walking through the stables I gaze at the beautiful animals in the stalls. “Here we are,” Chase says, motioning to two stalls at the end. One has “Chevy” written on it, and the other one has “Dodge”. 

“You named your horses after cars?” I asked incredulously. Chase just rolls his eyes. 

“American made cars,” he says, pointing a finger my way. Then he moves and picks up a cowboy hat from the hook on the wall. “My old one,” he says, fingering the rim as he steps towards me. The black material is worn. 

Chase reaches up, and I think I’m holding my breath as his fingers graze my cheek. He brushes a strand of hair out of my face and takes another step so we’re inches apart, before placing the hat on my head. “Perfect,” he breathes out, never breaking out gaze. 

One of the horses whinnies, starling us both, and I let out a nervous laugh. “So,” I start, “Which ones the fastest?” 

About half an hour later, we’ve brushed and saddled up the horses, walked them around to warm them up. Chase is having me ride Chevy, a beautiful chestnut stallion with a long golden mane. Giving me a leg up, I mount him and wait, while Chase does the same.