Finding My Soulmate

Chapter 10

"That was amazing!" Grace said, leaning back. She had stuffed herself with too much, but she didn't care. The food had been amazing. There was even plenty of it left after they had stuffed themselves. Grace ran her fingers through her half-long blond hair, untangling the knots in the way of her fingers.
"So what now?" Grace asked, looking up at Logan who was doing the dishes.
"I was thinking we could go for a ride? There's this great trail that I want to show you," he replied, his back still facing Grace as he turned off the water and began drying the dishes he had just washed.
"Sounds good!"

Grace went over to Kathy's place, and immediately went behind the house, where her two horses were. She'd agreed with Logan to meet him out on the road after tacking up. Her eyes widened when she noticed the bare fence. She was sure she hadn't moved her tack, so where was it?
"Good morning Grace," Grace whipped around, seeing Kathy step outside her garden door.
"Good morning," Grace replied, her racing heartbeat calming down instantly as she saw the friendly, older woman appear. "Um, have you seen my tack? I think I left it here but I can't remember," she asked her politely.
"I took it inside since it was going to rain," Kathy smiled, "Come and get it. Are you going for a ride?"
"Yeah, Logan wanted to show me some of the trails around here," Grace replied, her eyes not meeting Kathy's as she walked up towards the door. The older woman stepped back to let the now 18-year-old girl come inside.
"Here you go, have a nice trip," Kathy beckoned to where the saddle was hanging on the back of a chair, with the two bridles dropped over it. The young woman picked up her hat and put it on. She left the bridle belonging to Midnight and swung the other one over her shoulder, before picking up the saddle.

"Sandy!" She called to the mare, who lifted her head from the grass. The buckskin made her way across the field in a fast trot. When she arrived moments later, her human spoke to her, "We're going on a little trail ride."
Grace put the bit in the horse's mouth, fixing the bridle before swinging the saddle onto her back and tightening the girth strap, that went underneath her stomach to keep the saddle in place. She led Sandy out of the paddock, double-checking the gate after her. In one swift movement she was in the saddle, and walking towards the road. Midnight was now realising she was alone in the field, and called after her companion for a few times, before settling down, trusting them to come back to her soon.

Grace arrived before Logan. Her mare was being skittish, perhaps because of the recent events that had happened, but Grace wasn't bothered. She was sitting relaxed in the saddle, while the mare underneath her couldn't seem to stand still. But it wasn't long until Logan appeared on a chestnut horse, that couldn't have been much taller than Sandy, but whereas Sandy was of a skinny, sporty type, the chestnut was more sturdy and relaxed.
"Who's that crazy thing you're sitting on?" Logan asked with a light laugh at the mare's prancing.
"It's Sandy," Grace shrugged, unnerved by the mare's attitude, "Is that yours?"
"This is my guy, Titus," The young man patted his horse on the neck, "He's great for trails, but not quite fast enough when controlling the cattle, so he doesn't normally get ridden often. Let's go, shall we? Follow me," he began walking towards the end of the road, and Grace turned Sandy swiftly to follow after.
Sandy was jogging on the spot next to Titus, who didn't seem bothered about much at all. Grace was ignoring her mare's attitude, too, knowing she'd settle down at some point, and if she didn't, that was okay too because she wasn't uncontrollable.
Logan just shook his head, "I don't know how you put up with that."
"Just like I put up with you," Grace gave him a playful smirk.
"Not fair! I'm nice, you know," he protested.
"So is she," Grace replied, which left him sulking for a bit.

They turned down a small path by the forest. There wasn't enough space for them to ride beside each other, so Grace stayed behind, letting Logan lead the way. There were trees on each side of the path. It didn't seem to be used often, since the path was almost overgrown, yet they were still able to ride on it. Grace had to duck several times due to low-hanging branches, and a few brushed against her leg too. But it didn't last long, until the forest opened up, just enough for them not to feel strangled by the nature surrounding them.
"Let's pick up the pace," Logan said in front, urging his gelding into a trot. Sandy was already jogging, so she picked up the speed of her movements to keep up. Grace sat comfortably in the western saddle. It was quite plain and nothing fancy, but it fitted her horse's back and she could sit in it for a long time. The fresh air around her eased her headache from the party the night before. 

The forest ended abruptly, and surrounded a large field, too large to be called a clearing. They came trotting out of the forest in a fresh pace.
"Race you to the other side!" Logan yelled, using his feet to nudge his horse's sides. They set off in a fast pace.
"Oh no you don't," Grace threatened, copying his movements. Her mare shot forward and she had to grab onto the mane as not to be unseated. In no time at all, she was up alongside Logan.
Logan gave her a worried look, "I'm worried you'll overtake me at this point."
Grace laughed at his remark, "It was your fault for starting it. I'll see you at the end of the field," She leaned forward, nudging the mare to move even faster. She sped past him towards the other end. The wind was blowing her long hair back, despite it being in a ponytail behind her head. She let out a light laugh. Rushing across an open field was a great feeling, and she loved it.

She ended up at the end of the field, quite a while before Logan caught up. Sandy was showing no signs of having run at top speed, while Titus was breathing heavily.
"Does your mare not get tired?" Logan commented.
"She has too much stamina," Grace shrugged, "I don't know how she does it but she never seems to be tired."
"Let's walk for a while, my poor horse isn't a stamina machine," Logan huffed.
"Are you upset?" Grace teased.
Logan snorted, "No way!"

They walked through the forest for a while. Some places there was more space than others, so it varied, but most of the time Grace was behind Logan, and not beside him. After a while, they path suddenly seemed to be overgrowing. Grace ducked her head to get under the low-hanging branches again, but when she sat up again, she was breathless. She halted Sandy next to Titus. In front of her was a lake, the water arriving by a waterfall from the cliffs in front. The grass on the ground looked lush, for a horse, and the green trees around the place fitted the scenery perfectly.
"This place is amazing!" Grace exclaimed.
"It is, right? Not many people know about it, but I love coming here when I need some time to myself," Logan admitted. 
Grace nodded in reply and nudged the mare forward to the edge of the lake. The buckskin put her head down to sniff the water. before she began drinking it. Logan rode up alongside her, but his horse had other plans than to stand by the edge, and trotted in, splashing the water on them. Sandy took a step back and snorted, shaking her head.
"Hey!" Grace exclaimed, feeling the cool water that hit her.
"Come on in, it's not that deep," Logan challenged her.
"Haven't you learned not to challenge me?" Grace replied, nudging the mare into the water after him.
The mare trotted alongside them, lifting her hooves high, the water slashing around them. It wasn't too deep, but the water went up to her feet. Any deeper and the horses would have to swim.
Logan splashed some water on Grace and she squealed in reply, "Oh no you don't!"
Grace took ahold of his arm and pulled him in the water, as the two horses went their separate ways. However, he refused to let go of her arm and she fell into the water too.
"It's cold!" She gasped. She felt hands surrounding her from the back.
"I better keep you close then," he said.
She wiggled out of his hands and stood up, "I think we should get out of the water instead."
"You ruin the fun," Logan whined, before pulling her back down, "I won't let you go that easily."
"Logan!" Grace squealed as she hit the water again.

After a while, they got too cold to stay, and headed up to the bank where both horses had resulted in gracing on the grass underneath them. Grace was drenched as she sat up in the saddle. They started heading back the same way they came, although in walk. A silence fell over them, but it wasn't uncomfortable.
When they reached the road, they could again walk side by side. They had both dried out in the sun, and the horses too.
"Hey, how's the hangover?" Logan asked playfully as Grace came up alongside him.
"Better," she admitted, "Riding does wonders."
"It sure does. i'm glad you're feeling better," he smiled.

Hearing the sound of a roaring motor behind them just before they reached the town, the look on Logan's face changed as he turned his head, seeing the black vehicle speeding towards them, showing no signs of slowing down. What was that in his eyes? Pain? Fear? Grace couldn't quite tell.
"Grace, ride ahead to Kathy's," Logan said in a restrained voice.
"But-" She started to protest.
"Go!" The harshness in his voice made her widen her eyes. She nudged Sandy into a trot, leaving him behind. She arrived to a lonely Midnight moments later. She untacked Sandy and let her back out in the paddock, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Who was that in the black car? And why did Logan act the way he did? She hadn't seen that side of him before. She wondered if there was something he hadn't told her.