MaMolly knows what I need before I say a word. She stops, once we get off the interstate, and switches places with me. I drive us straight to Dilara’s barn, not scared, not even anxious. Well, okay, maybe a little anxious. I have only had my license for forty-eight hours.
“Are you excited?” she asks.
Excited doesn’t even begin to cover it. I have a horse. An amazing horse. An impeccably well-bred Hanoverian with the sweetest temperament imaginable. And I get to spend the next year riding my ass off with one of the best of the best.
“MaMolly. You’ve changed my whole world. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
“You never have to thank me. You’re my granddaughter. This is for all of us. I can’t ride like I used to. Your mother doesn’t want to ride like she used to. But you do. And I can make it happen. Your parents love you so much and for as much as your mother may have balked, she came through in the end, didn’t she?”
“She really did.” A warm rush fills me as I think about her parting hugs when she and Dad dropped me off at the airport this morning. They even promised to make a trip down in the next few weeks to meet Dan and see us train together.
I park MaMolly’s Range Rover and practically run out of the car and down the barn aisle to Dan’s stall. He’s there, big brown eyes and velvety muzzle poking out over the yoke of his stall in anticipation of the peppermint I’m fishing from my pocket.
I feed him the treat from the palm of my hand, then wrap my arms around his warm neck. He hooks his head over my back and pulls me toward him in a perfect horsey hug.
A voice sounds from down the aisle. It’s Franz. “You’re back. Good.”
Then a second voice. “Nice horse you got there.”
It’s Lou.
“Thanks. I can’t believe he’s really mine.”
“You looked good on him the other day. Glad I’m an eventing girl so I won’t be competing against you in the big dressage ring.”
It’s a nice thing for her to say, I guess. “Thanks.”
“Well, see you around.” She walks past me with a wheelbarrow and doesn’t give me a clue as to what went down with her and Kat the other night.
I open my mouth to call her back, to ask her something, anything, but MaMolly has joined me next to Dan and what would I say anyway without giving it away that I’d been creeping on their good times. Better to let things evolve the way they will.
Like this opportunity with MaMolly and Dan.
I snap a couple of quick selfies with me and my horse. My horse. I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of saying that.
“You should send one of those to Kat.” MaMolly nudges me as she looks at my phone. “You look cute.”
“MaMolly!”
Her smile gives nothing away, but I’m onto her now.
And my force of a grandmother just may be onto something herself.
I hit send before I can second-guess the decision.