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Chapter Seven – Kevin

As we ate lunch, I couldn’t help but keep stealing glances at Addy. When I had entered the church this morning, a wave of realization like an ice cold shower had hit me smack in the face when I saw her standing there in that white dress. In my mind I placed her just the way she looked at that moment on her chestnut horse from the day before and came up with the woman in my dream.

That was bad.

“So, do either of you like horses?” Dr. Selinski said as he dug into potato salad with gusto. I tensed up. My cover was just about to be blown.

“Horses?!” Mason said, his face lighting up. “I wove horses!”

I felt Addy look at me; I had the decency to blush.

“You do?” she said. He nodded enthusiastically.

“Have you ever ridden a horse?”

Mason shook his head. “Daddy says I have to be big.”

“Would you like to see my horses?” Addy said.

She might as well have asked Mason if he wanted ice cream sundaes for dinner the rest of his life. The rest of the food on his plate was forgotten; he was scrambling off the stack of phone books like nobody’s business.

“Mason,” I said calmly. “We’re not done with lunch yet.”

With a huge pout he got back up on the chair. I tried to eat slower than I had ever done before, but finally I couldn’t prolong it any longer. I wiped my mouth with my napkin. Addy and her father had finished a good fifteen minutes before me. Both of them looked at me almost as eagerly as Mason was. I scooted my chair back from the table and swept Mason up in my arms.

“Lead the way.”

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Addy exchanged her flat shoes for a pair of barn boots, but she was still in that damn white dress as we headed to a barn. It was an old rickety barn with the paint peeling off the walls and spider webs everywhere. The strong scent of hay invaded my senses as she pushed the barn door open. Mason craned his head and squinted into the darkness.

Her boots made a loud and sure ‘tap tap tap’ as she headed farther into the barn. I saw her reach up and a bare bulb illuminated the space around us. The windows were caked with dust and dirt, sunlight struggled to filter through.

The three horses that I had seen the other day were in their stalls. Addy went up to her dappled white and grey first. As she put her hand on its nose; the horse whinnied and stomped it’s foot in excitement.

“This is Maiden Moonshine,” she said, kissing the horse’s nose. She moved over to an all black horse. “This is Puck, the Trickster King. He’s my ornery horse.”

I held Mason as he leaned over and petting Puck. The horse tossed his head a little bit but finally hung his head completely over the stall. Mason giggled and touched the ears that were twitching wildly.

“And last, but not least, is my favorite boy. This is Robin Hood. It’s his birthday today.”

Robin Hood was the chestnut stallion. His head came out over the stall and nuzzled her chest. She laughed, her hand stroking his head all the way to his mane. She stood on the tips of her boots as she wrapped both arms around his neck.

She turned with the most amazing smile I had ever seen. The little flecks of browns and golds in her eyes danced.

“Would you like to give him a birthday treat, Mason?”

“Yeah!”

Addy opened a cabinet and took out a shiny red apple. I watched as she lifted the bottom of her dress and gave it a good shine. My mouth went dry.

I liked it so much better when I was annoyed with her. She wasn’t the girl from my dream; and even if she was, I wasn’t interested.

Mason took the apple and Addy instructed him how to place it in his hand. Giggles sailed to the rafters as the horse gently nibbled at the apple. I had one moment of panic; the horse’s mouth was big enough to take Mason’s whole hand off with one bite. Even so, I remained quiet, and Robin Hood backed off when he had his fill of the apple.

Mason held up the core for me to inspect. “Daddy, look!”

I glanced over at Addy. She met my eyes.

“Do you ride Mr. Richardson?”

“Kevin.”

“What?”

“Call me Kevin.”

She glanced down at the wood planked floor. I saw her shoulders rise and fall before she looked back at me.

“Do you ride Kevin?”

"A little," I admitted. She looked thoughtful.

"I'll make a bet with you," she said. "We race three laps around this barn. If I win, I can use your field to exercise these guys. If I lose, then I will do my darndest to make sure you don't constantly run into me."

I looked at her thoughtfully.

"Daddy, race! Race!" Mason said. I don't think he quite understood the full extent of the conversation.

"So, you're saying that if I win I won't randomly bump into you anywhere?" I said. She smiled.

"I have a way of becoming invisible," she said lightly.
Somehow I highly doubted it. I felt a tug on my chin. I looked down at Mason.

"C'mon! You can win!" he said. He pointed to the black horse. "Ride that one!"

Only my son would think the ornery horse would have a chance of winning. I glanced at the dappled grey and white.

"I'll take the Maiden here."

Five minutes later Mason sat on a hay stack as Addy and I
saddled up the horses. She had chosen Robin Hood; I eyed the chestnut with a little trepidation. With a deft shake, I tested the tightness of the saddle I had put on Moonshine. She gave an annoyed snort, her back leg kicking up.

"Don't forget she's a lady," Addy said lightly. "She expects gentlemen to treat her nice."

I bit my tongue before I made a crude remark. Instead I placed the bit in Moonshine's mouth and threw the reins over. I was ready to go. I glanced over at Addy. She was leaning against her stall door, her leg up on a haystack, flicking a big chunk of mud off the front of her boot. I saw bare leg for miles.

"You're not going to race in that dress, right?" I asked. She looked over at me and smirked.

"Why not?"

Oh lord.