"It's good, right?" she grinned and he nodded in appreciation.
"Amazing!" he said through a full mouth.
"And look," she said, picking at her taco awkwardly, "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that he cheated and I probably never knew about it, but trust me, he didn't."
"Okay," he said with the verbal equivalent of a shrug.
"He didn't," she insisted.
"None of my business, really," he said, and she agreed. Then he reiterated, "These are really good."
"Right?"
"It's no wonder you keep coming back here. These things are amazing!" he raved.
The two continued eating and talking until the tacos, the chips, and the guac had been devoured. The food was so good on that hot Sunday afternoon that if Trent weren't with her, Grace knew she would have gone back for seconds.
"So, I was thinking about something," Trent said after tossing their wrappers into a nearby trash bin.
"What's that?"
"Maisie had mentioned that you had some experience horseback riding," he said slowly. "And I have a race across Texas coming up that requires me to have a partner."
"Yes," she said, drawing out the word.
"Well, I was wondering if you'd wanna enter with me? Be my first mate-err, first rider? I'm not sure what it's called," he laughed. "If nothing else, I promise it'll be a great way to spend your summer. Plus, it'll help you get to know more people around town."
"Are you serious?" she blinked in surprise.
"You can feel free to say no, though, as added pressure, I will say the event is for charity for horses and other farm animals to get free veterinary treatment. It also supports local farms and ranches."
"But no pressure, right?" she giggled. "Of course, I'll do it," she said. "I'd love to."
7
Trent
Trent didn’t know why he felt the need to apologize to Grace. Maybe it was the Southern boy inside him that his mother had raised to be kind and respectful to others, but for some reason, he couldn’t sleep at all the night he got back from being out with Grace.
As it turned out, apologizing to her was the best choice he could have made. Not only did he have a clear conscience, but he also had a riding partner.
Trent had asked Grace if she wanted to meet him at his ranch to practice riding. She asked if they should do a dry run of the trail that would be used in the race in the car and then again on horses to see how long it would take, but Trent wanted to take things back to basics for their first couple days out.
Grace said she’d been on horses before. She’d even gone as far as saying she loved to ride, but he wanted to see it for himself. The last time she’d ridden was more than five years ago, and he wanted her to get used to being on a horse again.
She showed up at the ranch just after lunch and walked into the stables in full riding gear.
"Ready to ride?" he asked.
"Yes, sir, I am," she grinned.
"I hope you don't mind I have my best partner here with us," he said, then nodded toward the stables where Bex walked out in a little helmet and vest.
Grace turned and seemed startled for a moment when she caught sight of him, then exclaimed, "Oh! Hey, buddy. You must be Bex!"
"Hi," he said shyly, looking up at his father as if asking for permission to talk to the woman.
"You like being out on the horses?" she asked, kneeling to get closer to his height.
"Yeah, it's my favorite," Bex said, rubbing his arm and giving her a taste of his bright eyes.
Grace glanced at Trent, gushing through her expression as she repeated cutely, "It's his favorite!"
"Oh, that's awesome!" she said to Bex. "I used to go riding with my aunt and uncle all of the time in Connecticut."
"Is that right?" Trent asked, curious about her life before Texas.
"Yep," she said. "I used to go sailing with them, too, in Long Island Sound. Now that is cold water."
"Did you ever jump in?" Bex asked, his eyes beaming up at her excitedly. Bex had taken baby swim classes the year before, and he was obsessed with water.
"Yep," she said with enthusiasm. "We'd sail far out really far, and then I'd jump off my uncle's teeny-tiny yacht, and we'd swim around for a while!"
"You'd swim in Long Island Sound?" Trent asked curiously. "They've spotted great white sharks there, you know!"
"You swam with sharks?" Bex tried to enunciate, looking up at her with wide eyes.
Grace giggled and Trent watched as her overgrown bangs fell in her face. She brushed them out of her eyes with such delicacy, Trent couldn't help but stare. "No!" she said brightly. "They've only reported like two there, and if they were around, we didn't hear a peep out of them."
"Cool!" Bex cheered.
Trent brought Bex up into his arms and walked beside Grace as they headed inside the stables. He leaned in close as he mused, "I just want you to know that from now until the end of time, he is going to think you're awesome. So, you're welcome for that."
"And all I had to do was not swim with sharks," she winked. "So, you think bringing a two-year-old out on horses while we ride is a wise idea?"
"Yep," he said, knowing that Bex had ridden plenty of times. "Besides, I thought you were supposed to be some kind of expert at this?"
Grace smiled in surprise. "Okay, wow, you really trust me. Look, I'm a little rusty, obviously," she said, looking at Bex. "I hope you've got a strong stomach."
"We'll go easy today, just ramp you up for the basics," he said. "Though I'll make this clear now: I don't care how long it's been since you've ridden, I'm hoping to win this thing."
From terminology to trotting, he and Grace spent the entire morning practicing the basics of riding. By the end of their training session, she asked if she could ride around in the horse enclosure, and he obliged.
To his surprise, she took off like a bullet, hooting with excitement as the horse galloped into the pasture.
When she got back, her hair was wind-swept, and she looked exhilarated.
He had to admit, he was impressed with her skills. She clearly enjoyed being around the animals, but it was more than that—they seemed to enjoy being around her, too.
Her horse, Hayley, listened to her rider like he’d never seen her listen to anyone before—himself included.
Her riding wasn't the only thing Trent was impressed with. He was also pleased with how kind and attentive she was with Bex.
You could always tell a kid person from a non-kid person. Others would be polite to Bex, but they wouldn't engage him, whereas Grace seemed to talk to Bex more than she spoke to Trent.
The three of them grabbed lunch at the farm-to-table restaurant on the ranch. Even though he wasn't the one cooking the food, now that Trent knew how much Grace cared about food, he felt a little nervous having her eat at the restaurant.
She ordered the Texas Blueberry, a salad of avocados, goat cheese, and berries on a bed of leafy greens, and the cedar baked salmon, both of which she seemed to thoroughly enjoy. For dessert, they all ordered the key lime tarts made fresh at their on-site bakery.