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She praised the horse and patted her neck when Gypsy took another step forward. The smile on the little girl’s face said it all. She was happy with the way Gypsy was responding to her, and I was incredibly turned on with the way Cole had come over to give his own opinion on the matter.
“She’s doing it!” Bailey said with a grin. “She’s coming with me!”
“You see how when you are relaxed and asking someone to do something with you, it goes so much better than when you try to force them into doing something? That’s how it goes with everyone. Really stop and think about the way you talk to the people you have in your life – and how you deal with them. Think about how you can treat them like you are treating Gypsy here, and you might just be surprised with how the people in your life treat you differently than they do when you demand them to behave a certain way,” I said.
“That’s amazing,” Bailey said when she finally started walking again with the horse coming with her. “All I had to do was ask!”
“Exactly,” I confirmed. “You might be amazed with how much of ourselves we put out there without saying a word. You can say all the right things, but if your actions aren’t matching up to that, then she’s not going to believe you. You’ve got to work with her, not against her. And the same goes with people, too.”
“Thanks, Raya!” Bailey exclaimed when she got the horse into the corral.
“Now I want you to take her around the ring a few times. You know how to ride, let her go as fast as you are comfortable with. You’ve got another twenty minutes before your mom comes to pick you up, and I would love for you to be able to get Gypsy all her exercise by then so you can show your mom how you put her back in the stable yourself,” I directed.
The young girl nodded before climbing onto the back of the horse, and in an instant, she was riding around the ring as free as can be. I knew she wouldn’t need any more direction now that she was on the back of Gypsy. We would start with more work in the saddle later.
For now, I was happy with the small victories I had with Bailey. She was strong willed and stubborn, but she came from a rough background which also made her incredibly angry with life itself. I wanted to break through to her before she turned to drugs and alcohol, and she was coming up on the age when that wouldn’t be difficult for her to obtain.
“You’re really good with kids,” I told Cole once Bailey was out of earshot. “You would be an excellent father, I hope you know.”
“I’ve always wanted a little girl,” Cole told me, which I thought was the sexiest thing I had ever heard come from his mouth. “I don’t know if I could handle a boy like me. I barely keep myself in one piece as it is.”
I laughed, then nodded down to his boot. “I see you’re progressing.”
“Slowly but surely, like the rest of us I guess,” he said with a shrug. “Glad I could help.”
“More than you know,” I told him. “It really is the little things with these kids. Just a word of encouragement here and there, or a little something from someone who doesn’t normally help them – like you – goes a long way.”
“She’s a good kid, anyone can see that,” Cole replied. “If something I say can give her a leg up in life, I’m glad for it.”
“She is a good kid,” I agreed. “She’s been through hell in her twelve short years, but she’s strong. She’s a warrior, let me tell you.”
“Takes one to know one,” Cole said with a wink. He turned and walked away, leaving me blushing where I stood. My mouth fell open to reply, but nothing came to mind. I didn’t know how he could be so smooth, but he was a pure natural when it came to laying out compliments like that.
Once again I wondered how he could be so amazing, yet so stubborn at times. He was like the perfect match to myself, and I knew I was falling in love with him. I wished I could say it was a little more each day, when really, I knew I had already fallen head over heels for him.
It was the last week he would be working with Romeo, however, and I honestly didn’t know what he had planned after that. I wanted to believe we would still see each other, but it was a long drive, and I had no idea if he would be willing to keep it up.
I could compromise with him, but only to an extent. I had my life here, and I knew he had his own life with his own ranch and his own horses farther up north in the state. It wasn’t fair for me to expect him to be the one to make all the effort of coming to see me when a relationship was a two-way street.
Still, I pushed the thoughts out of my mind. I knew it wasn’t a problem I could ignore forever, but it was one I could ignore today. I still had a week with him, and there was a lot that could happen in a week’s time. I wouldn’t expect anything, but I would keep an open mind to see what did happen.
As Cole walked away, I noticed he had a slight limp. I wanted to believe it was the awkwardness of the boot, but the longer I watched, the more it became evident to me that his leg really was bothering him. I knew better than to bring it up. That was medical, and it wasn’t any of my business. As the person paying him, it wasn’t my place to ask him about his injury.
But, I hoped he was okay. I knew how much it hurt falling off a horse, but I hadn’t ever broken a bone doing so before. I worried he had pushed to get out of the cast too soon, and the doctor had given in when he shouldn’t have. But, it wasn’t any of my business to get involved with him or how he chose to handle his own health.
I would still worry, however. I hated the thought of him being hurt, and I hoped he wasn’t doing more harm to himself now as he was fighting to get through the day with a bum leg. It looked painful, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
I hated the feeling. I just wanted him to be okay. I wanted him to be better.
I wanted so much.
But most of all, I wanted him.
