Meadow Valley book series- Everything's changed

Chapter 41: Hide-n-seek

     Ana was curious and asked Zach lots of questions about the horse breeding business as he showed her around the smaller barn. There were twelve stalls with horses in them and a few empty stalls left in the barn. As they walked down the halls of the barn, Zach had showed her some of their award winning horses in the stable and explained the different types of show horses to her. He stopped next to the one stall with this gigantic black and white beautiful horse; it was stunning.

"This is Dakota Dreamer, A.K.A. Dakota. He's a purebred stallion and he's my horse," Zach proudly announced, "Dakota and I have won many trophies and medals together," he showed Ana some of the pictures and ribbons that were hanging next to the stall door.

"Dakota is a retired thoroughbred race horse and now he spends his retirement days here in our barn. We use him for our personal breeding and I ride him in hunter and show jumping events," he continued to explain to her.

     Ana had no idea what hunter and show jumping was but she knew that whatever it was Zach must be pretty good at it because she saw several first place ribbons on the stall door. Ana was very impressed with Zach's showmanship and confident that he was the perfect person to teach her how to ride a horse. Zach was just as good at riding and competing with his horse as Ana was with dancing.

     Zach could tell that Ana didn't have a clue about riding or horse competition so he explained to her each event. He wasn't trying to impress her with his medals but instead was just trying to explain to her about the horse competition world. Zach was not the bragging type and Ana liked that about him.

     Next, Zach took Ana to the equipment room where he explained to her the difference between saddles and bridles. He pointed out each piece of equipment and told her the names for them and explained what they were used for. They laughed and flirted with each other as Ana tried on different helmets and boots. Zach had found the perfect helmet for her to try on and as he helped her buckle the chin strap he gently swished her hair out of her face in order to fit and tighten the straps properly around her chin. Ana felt a little giddy when he touched her face and stood closely by her. She had small butterflies dancing around in her stomach and her heart began to flutter.

"There, finished. It fits perfect now," he declared as he stood there grinning at Ana.

She shyly looked away as he just continued to stare at her and then she took it off.

"I have an idea. How about a little game of hide and seek. You count as I go hide."

     Ana took off running and giggled. He thought that she was the most beautiful and intriguing girl he has ever met. He started counting as she was trying to find a place to hide. He knew every part of the barn so it was going to be easy to find her. He liked that Ana was playful and spontaneous. After he was done counting for a few seconds he went in search of her in the barn until he found where she was hiding in one of the empty stalls. Ana started screaming as he came in after her and picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder and attempted to carry her away.

"Put me down."

     Ana giggled and kicked her legs. Zach put her down and she went running back in the stall again. She tried to shut the door so he couldn't get to her. Zach was so strong that she couldn't hold him back and he came into the stall again and began to tickle and flirt with her. Zach had found Ana's weak spot, she was extremely ticklish on her sides. She tried to get away from him but he managed to tackle her to the ground in the stall and tickle her some more. She laughed so hard it hurt. Her hair was all messed up and full of wood shavings from the bedding on the floor. She kept attempting to get away but he would manage to pull her closer to him and torture her with tickles. Finally, Zach stopped tickling her and the two of them sat up and just laughed as they looked at each other.

"That's not fair. You're stronger than me," she joked and slightly punched him on the shoulder. "Now you have to tell me what your weakness is."

"Now why would I tell you that? I guess you're gonna just have to find out my weakness on your own."

     Zach had reached over and started picking out some of the pieces of shavings from her hair and laughed at the stupid look on her face. Ana got up and brushed herself off and tried to ignore his remarks by walking away and out of the stall. Zach felt slightly embarrassed and wondered if he pushed her too far so he went chasing after her apologizing. Ana gave him the cold shoulder and continued to walk away and ignore him. As he followed her he quickly jumped in front of her to stop her and then gently grabbed a hold of her arms and looked into her eyes.

"Please forgive me Ana, I was only messing around and I didn't mean to hurt you," Zach begged. Ana just looked at him and cracked a smile, "I guess I just found your weakness."

     Zach thought she was serious and was worried for a few minutes. He was really starting to like her and he didn't want to get her upset.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Zach probed.

"Me." Ana gave him a shy grin and then turned and walked away.

     Zach was a little embarrassed. Not knowing that it was that obvious that she was his weakness. He couldn't stand the thought of her mad at him. He just wanted to be close to her. The more time he spent with her the more he melted to her every command. As they walked towards the house again he tried to be really sweet with her. On the way over to the house from the barn they ran into Adam and his father. Zach nervously introduced Ana to his father.

"Dad this is Ana. She's Mr. Grant's granddaughter."

He shook her hand and smiled as he greeted her. "I know who you are Ana. Welcome to Meadow Valley. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Thank you sir and likewise."

     Ana shyly glanced over at Adam. She felt a little embarrassed by her appearance. Thinking that perhaps she still had messy hair from playing around earlier in the barn with Zach. She didn't want Adam to think that she had been falling for his brother's charm. Mr. Smith was a handsome older version of Adam and Zach combined, he was very well mannered and had a kindness in his eyes. Ana had figured out where the boys got their good looks and charm from.

"I'm sorry Ana but I'm not going to be able to take you home just yet. I still have some business to tend to with my father."

"I can drive her home. If that's okay with you Ana?"

"Sure. No problem."

     Adam walked over to Ana and placed his hand on her right elbow. "I'm really sorry I couldn't keep my promise."

"It's not a big deal Adam. Thank you for driving me to Lexington today. I had a lot of fun."

     Ana looked into his eyes. When he stared at her that way it made her heart beat a little faster. She gave him a quick hug and walked away.

"See you later."