Time Sensitive Target

Part 45 - Riding the Sky

I strolled along behind the stablehand as he led us to the horses, my boots grinding into the soft silty ground. The day was seasonably warm but a gentle breeze rolled from the ocean along the mostly open plains of the Tijuana river valley, just enough to stop the heat from being irritating. I lagged further behind a bit to meet Ant's steady pace, glancing around quickly before I spoke. 

"Do you have a gun with you?" I muttered quietly. 

"Wh- what makes you ask that?" Ant looked suitably baffled. 

"I don't know I just thought of it. Jase carries one everywhere he goes," I wasn't sure if it bothered me or not. Part of me felt comforted by the unseen presence of the weapon, and another part felt there was something fundamentally wrong with that. 

"I'm not legally allowed to carry a firearm in the States," Ant responded with an even tone, the ghost of a smile across his lips. 

"That doesn't mean you don't have one," I pressed.

"Is horse riding considered a dangerous sport then? I wasn't aware you wanted to actually play cowboys," Ant grinned as we neared the stables. 

"No, I was just wondering," I murmured, swallowing as a rawness in the back of my throat prickled and my head juddered with fuzziness. 

"You're safe with me, Paige," Ant spoke seriously all of a sudden, his cool commanding voice always slightly lazy with a touch of arrogance that suited him. "And should the need arise, I'm equipped to deal with it." 

"Here we are, this here's Bodie," the stablehand led a beautiful mahogany stallion forward, a white elongated diamond adorning his forehead. "Bodie's for you," he nodded to me and led the horse to the mounting block. I stepped forward respectfully and stroked his nose. 

"Can I give him a mint?" I asked, shimmying my hand down Bodie's silky mane. 

"Sure," the stablehand called back as he retrieved Ant's horse. I peeled open the foil concealing the Lifesavers, known to me as Polos, and offered one to Bodie. He took it gently and crunched it.

"One more," I whispered, stroking under his jaw. I climbed up the block and hoisted myself over into the saddle, resting my feet in the stirrups and coaxing Bodie forward with a click of my heels. 

"This is Tido," a huge chestnut stallion was led into the middle of the barn. 

"Jesus, you're big aren't you," Ant awed. 

"You know it's always the men that are nervous?" The stablehand chuckled. 

"Well he's massive," Ant scoffed. He let the guide show him where to put his feet and how to ascend over, Ant nodding receptively but looking a little out of his depth. I urged Bodie out of the barn and into the sunshine, instantly enjoying the sense of liberty. There was a strange primal independence and power to being on horseback, the sense that you could really travel somewhere as opposed to just going there. I knew it was exactly what I needed; fresh air, nature, and freedom. 

We meandered down the river valley on a sandy white trail, verdant trees creating a shady canopy overhead. Wild nasturtiums in vibrant red decorated the path until the trees opened out to rolling plains, thick with luscious emerald vegetation; only the white sand trail disturbing the green, carving winding patterns into the land. We hacked on down to the beach, the wind picking up as we neared the shoreline. 

"How do you feel about a canter?" I called behind to Ant, guiding his horse over a rock with uncertainty. 

"That's the fast one right?" He called back. 

"Not as fast as a gallop, no," I smiled. 

"Yeah let's do it," Ant decided suddenly. 

"Okay, go into a trot first," I suggested, easing Bodie into a gentle ride and watching Ant do the same after a first attempt. "Now breathe and sink deep into the saddle and stirrups," I glanced over to him as he adjusted himself. "Move your legs so one is right at the girth and the other is just behind it, sit up straight and hold the reigns firmly but with no pull against him," we continued trotting towards the shore, Bodie edging ahead with his supple, clean movements. "You're going to ask him to canter in a moment; you want to make sure your back is straight and tall and head is up and looking ahead. At the same time you want to anchor deeply with your lower body, relax your core and sink into his movements, okay?"