From the Ground Up

Black Sheep

"So, how are you finding things here?" I approached Sutton at her desk in Luke's office. She had a tall stack of CDs in front of her and files scattered.

"It's a lot of responsibility." Her blue eyes glistened. "Did you and dad talk anymore about the Blue Bird?" I sighed and nodded.

"We agreed that you can audition but if you get through, you're only allowed to perform on weekends." She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, contemplating a rebuttal to my order. "And before you say anything," I interjected, "your dad and I are on the same page about this."

"Okay, I guess I can respect that but you know how much this means to me."

"Absolutely and we feel it is a fair compromise. We can talk about it more later, we gotta head out now." I smiled and Sutton sighed, grabbing her bag and following me out the door.

"Any chance we will see you back on a horse Jenna?" Amber, my long time riding coach asked while she watched Sutton warm up her horse in the arena. Sutton was really missing being around the barn, so Hunter and I made the leap to leasing out a horse for her to work with. Amber helped us immensely to find the right horse for her.

"I don't know," I sighed, "trust me - I miss riding but the risk of falling - especially after the accident, I couldn't handle another hit." She nodded.

"Well, we are here when you're ready." She walked to the centre of the arena to start Sutton's lesson. I watched as Sutton directed her new mount, Izzy around the arena. Izzy was a beautiful black and white paint horse with a flashy tail and one blue eye.

"Mom this horse is so amazing." She patted her neck, taking a walk break after her canter.

"You look really good on her Sutton." My heart longed to be back in a horse but my mind said otherwise. I watched as Sutton bounded over the jumps, a big smile plastered on her face. I helped her untack and brush Izzy while Sutton dishes around her trunk for treats.

"Sutton," Amber walked over, "we are having our Leap Into Spring show series, I think you and Izzy would do really well together." She handed Sutton a pink flyer with all the details.

"Wow, thank you." She looked it over, "I would love to give it a try." I smiled as she handed the flyer to me. Not to deter her from performing at the blue bird, but to keep her focused on her current job.

"I think she should do it," I said to Hunter as we were pulling the duvet back and getting into bed. "Babe, I can't believe how well she did with that new horse today. She made it all look so effortless. Amber really has a good eye for matching clients with horses." A small smile rested on my lips as I thought about showing Corona when Sutton was just starting out.

"That's great babe. I'm glad she likes Izzy and aside from music, she has this passion."

"I will take full responsibility for getting her bitten by the horse bug," I winked, "it's kind of killing me to be benched." Hunter pursed his lips together and sighed.

"I know but it would kill me if something happened to you- especially with your brain still recovering."

"I agree one hundred percent." I leaned into his embrace. "I can't risk it. But being around to watch Sutton and even just being around the horses is really good."

"I bet it is." Hunter leaned into me, kissing my shoulder before laying his head against mine as I showed him a video from her lesson.

"She is really good. And Izzy is beautiful."

"She is absolutely gorgeous."

"Do you have plans tomorrow?" Hunter lifted his head up, and I shook mine. "How would you feel about coming to the studio, hear what we're working on....."

"Do you need back up vocals?"

"Yes. I need back up vocals." He laughed and I obliged. We snuggled up under the covers and called it a night.