Horse Ears.

Chapter Three.

The boy stopped nagging on the horse and the horse stopped rebelling. The girl looked at me, then back at the boy, then back at me.

“Get the fuck off my horse,” I demanded, staying in my spot.

“Um,” I heard the boy say, “nice to meet you too. Who might you be?”

I puffed my chest out defensively. “Get off Dancer!”

“He’s not your horse, girlie,” the girl looked at me.

I scoffed. “Um, yeah he is. Now get off him if you know what’s best for you.”

The boy and girl looked at each other. The girl said something quietly and the boy said something back. The girl shrugged and they both looked at me.

“Sweetheart,” the boy said, “this is Jeanette’s hose. I don’t know whose property you think you’re on, or how you know Dancer’s name, but you do not know this horse, much less own it.”

I pursed my lips. They were going to play hard ball. I can play hardball. I play it rather well.

With my lips up, I started to whistle. It was high at first, but then lowered. Dancer’s ears flickered towards me and he suddenly bucked, catching the boy off-guard. He fell to the ground, groaning.

“Weak sauce,” I called out to him. The horse wasn’t even moving. He was fine. I rolled my eyes as he got up, staring at Dancer, who was trotting over to me.

I held my hand out for him to sniff.

The dun horse’s nose touched my hand and I could feel his nostrils moving. He then used his lips to play with my hand. I smiled into his deep brown eyes. I brushed the black forelock out of his eyes and kissed his cheek, putting my arms around his neck. He neighed, surprising me.

“Good boy, Dancer,” I smiled. “Good boy.”

“Okay,” the girl started to walk towards me, her blue eyes untrusting. “Who are you?”

“And how the hell did you get him to react so well?” The boy said, following her. This time, I was able to get a better look at him. He took his hat off, wiping sweat off of his forehead. His hair was dark and shaggy, glimmering with sweat. His eyes were a light brown, almost hazel. He was tall, to say the least. Maybe six foot two inches or so? I felt my breath catch in my throat and I quickly swallowed before answering.

“Dancer is my horse,” I said, smiling. I couldn’t look at him again—at least not his eyes. They were gorgeous. Instead, I looked between the two, but mainly at the girl. “I was there when he was born, I named him, I broke him in.”

“You’re…” the girl hesitated. She raised a hand, pointing a finger at me unsurely.

“Lacey,” I answered with a half smile.

“The goddaughter.” The boy said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

I nodded. “Yep, that would be me. Now who are you guys? My aunt’s hired help?”

The boy let out a huff and put his hands on his hips. “Zachary is my name, actually.”

The girl smiled. “I’m Jessica. And,” she paused, “you called Jeanette your aunt?”

I nodded again. I don’t know why my mouth wasn’t working very well today. “I call her my aunt, but she’s actually my godmother. We’re close.”

An awkward silence hung in the air. Jessica looked back to Zachary and they seemed to communicate with their eyes. At the same time they both looked at me and I raised my eyebrow. Dancer snorted and I decided to break the ice.