Only Her

Once showered Skylar slipped into jeans and a tank. Then she went out to the paddock area. She had a new horse she had been working with. Beneath the hot, Ohio sun Skylar eased Majestic into the training area and began his lessons for the day.

Brett arrived at noon. She hadn’t seen Ava or Luka as she worked Majestic through his paces. Eventually she would work with his owner; wanting to show him Majestic’s routines. He was a good horse and would do well in the shows around the different counties.

She led Majestic to the fence where Brett had perched. He was wearing the same clothes he had on last night which meant he had spent the night with Ramona. “How are you?” She asked when she reined the big horse in beside him.

“We took ten steps back yesterday and five forward last night.”

“Is that a good thing?” Skylar asked him.

“It is. She let me stay the night with her. We just didn’t have sex. I held her and we talked. I’m taking her out to eat on her night off this week.”

“Imagine that a real date,” Skylar teased him.

“Imagine that,” he agreed.

“I’m happy for you.”

Skylar reached down and patted the horse’s neck. “What’s wrong?”

Skylar glanced up at Brett with a blank look on her face. “Nothing. I just didn’t sleep well last night. I have Majestic to train today and I’m tired.” She decided then and there to not burden Brett with her problems so that she didn’t come between him and Ramona again.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“I am,” she told him.

“I’m going to run inside and see Luka and Ava,” he told her.

“Sounds good. I’m going to get back to training Majestic.” Skylar leaned forward in the saddle and patted the horse’s neck again before she turned him towards the center of the training ring.

He climbed down from the fence. Skylar was trying to calm the horse because she wanted him to stand still. That was the one thing Majestic struggled with. He wanted to move. She had been working hard with him on this. Ava came outside to see Skylar. She hadn’t seen her mother all morning. Skylar was up and outside before Ava even got out of bed. Her child climbed up on the fence and Skylar sighed. Then she smiled. Ava rarely disrupted her when she was working. Skylar rode Majestic over to the fence once again. This training session wasn’t going very well this morning. She leaned in and kissed Ava.

“Can I watch?” Ava asked.

“Sure sweetheart but I need to get back to it. We have your soccer game this afternoon.”

“I know. I won’t distract yo

u.”

Skylar took him around the ring in a series of movements. Showing off his best moves. A cantor. A full gallop. Then back to a walk. He was getting good at listening to the commands when all he really wanted to do was run.

She could feel his pent up tension beneath her. If she turned him loose he would run at a full gallop all the time. She walked back into the center of the ring and was trying to get him to stand still again but he only danced at first.

“Majestic,” she scolded him.

Ava chuckled at her. “Good boy,” she told him when he settled in front of Ava and stood perfectly still. Skylar ran him through his paces for a while then she led him back into the barn and took off his saddle. Ava followed her.

“Do you like having Daddy here?” Her daughter asked her.

Skylar stopped what she was doing. She had to be careful how she answered considering that Luka was Ava’s father and things were fragile between her and Luka. “I’m fine with him being here,” she answered finally.

“I like having him here Momma.”

Skylar laid his saddle on the table outside of Majestic’s stall. “I’m glad sweetheart.”

“I still don’t understand why he left. He loves you.”

This was difficult. How to explain to a child why a man makes any decision that affected so many people. Skylar brushed down Majestic while she thought about so many of the conversations that she had with Luka.