Love is Silent

Chapter 21

I threw myself into training. Now that I had remembered that Luke had saved my life, I had even more reason to want to be ready for this show. I rode Justice almost every night, only giving us one night off a week. My leg became a lot stronger, but I still needed my cane. I didn’t let that bother me though; I was just happy that I was improving.

            Chase came with me to the barn whenever he could. I gave him lessons at least three nights a week, and he started getting pretty good. He became more comfortable on horses and he really seemed to like riding Autumn.

            The weather improved over the next three months, and I finally started riding during the day again, so that I could work with Justice outside. I usually only rode when no one else was around still, but sometimes people would see me and stop to watch. I knew my parents must have talked to everyone though, because no one ever questioned me.

            On a beautiful day in early May, I met Chase down at the barn. We were going to go on our first trail ride today, and I had packed a picnic lunch for us, which was currently in the backpack I had on. We got Justice and Autumn ready to go, and then mounted up and headed out.

            “So the show’s next weekend. How are you feeling?” Chase asked me.

            “Nervous,” I admitted. “But I think we’re ready.”

            He glanced over at me. “Well, I’m not an expert, but the two of you look more than ready to me.”

            I smiled. “We do seem to work well together. I’m more worried about seeing all the people at the show than actually riding in it.”

            “Do you think any of them will bug you?”

            I shook my head. “No; it’ll just be strange, that’s all. I haven’t seen any of them in a year and it’s a pretty close knit group of people for the most part. I don’t really know what to expect.”

            “I’ll be with you the whole time,” he promised.

            “I know, and that makes it all a little less nerve-wracking,” I told him. “Come on, let’s trot a little bit.”

            We followed one of my favorite trails and eventually ended up in a clearing that was filled with wildflowers. We got off the horses and tied them up before settling on the ground. I opened my backpack and started pulling food out. Chase’s eyebrows rose when he saw how much I had packed. “Are we expecting company out here or something?”

            I gave him a sheepish look. “No, I just kind of went a little crazy when I was making food. I was excited about coming out here today.”

            He laughed and helped me unpack the rest. “Well we won’t starve, that’s for sure,” he teased me.

            I stuck my tongue out at him. “Just shut up and eat,” I said.