Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
2. If You Don't Know, Wing It
They agreed to meet at 2:00, but when Luke pulled up in front of the inn, Lorelai was nowhere to be found. Not inside, not stalking the contractor, not even in the soon-to-be kitchen with Sookie. Worse, no one he spoke to had seen her in the past half-hour. Releasing a frustrated sigh, Luke marched back to his truck, wondering why she was avoiding him this time. Probably some guy. Wasn't it always some guy? Or her parents? Or Rory? Wasn't that the dance they did? He was about to leave, about to give up on her, when he noticed the Jeep hidden in the shade beside the barn. Of course. The barn. They were going horseback riding and she was in the barn. God, he was stupid sometimes.
She didn't hear him as he walked down the row of stables. The air was hot and musty, and faintly scented with manure and hay. Not an altogether pleasant smell, but entirely fitting for the setting. He found her talking to a horse. Her arms were wrapped loosely around its neck and her head was pressed lightly against its shoulder. And briefly, in the moments before he realised the humour of the situation, Luke felt a twinge of jealousy rise up in his stomach. He was jealous. Of a horse. He seriously needed help.
They jumped apart at the sound of him clearing his throat. The horse shied and took two steps back, and Lorelai quickly let go and looked up in surprise. The guilty reaction almost forced Luke to laugh. Maybe he wasn't the only one who needed help. "Sorry to interrupt..."
"Luke," she warned, trying to head off the teasing. Of course it didn't work, she could see the eager twinkle in his eyes, the upward curve of his mouth as he fought the smile.
"I can leave if you two need to be alone..."
"Luke!" She took a menacing step towards him and he held up his hands in defence.
"Okay, I give." Then she smiled and it seemed to light up their dim surroundings. For a second, they stared at each other warmly. He wanted... Stop it! Don't go there Luke. "So, which one is this?"
She glanced behind her, almost as if she'd forgotten the animal was there. "Oh, this is Cletus. " Turning, she began to gently pet the horse's nose. "Aren't you big fella? You're a nice horse, a good horse. A..."
Interrupting with a small chuckle, "Again I ask, do you want to be alone?"
"He's just a little skittish around new people. It takes him a while to warm up to them. It'll be all right though. We're friends, Cletus and I. Yes we are..."
"Lorelai." The baby talk was almost too sugary to take.
"I..." Luke shook his head to stop her from explaining. He really wasn't looking for an answer, he just wanted to shut her up.
"So where's the other one? There are two of them, right?"
"She's outside already, and ooh! I've figured out her name!"
"Figured out or someone told you?"
"I knew her name you know, it wasn't as if I just completely forgot..."
"You phoned around until you found someone who knew?"
"Uh huh. The former owners. It was all like, 'Um you know the horses you sold to the Dragonfly Inn a couple of weeks ago? Well, my boss, my beautiful, witty, and smart boss, is having a less than one of her usual brilliant moments and was wondering what the name of the female was again.' And they were all snooty and concerned and like, 'Your boss doesn't remember the names of the horses we just sold her?' And I was all, 'She owns this inn, she can't possibly remember every single minute detail...'"
He stopped her mid-ramble by placing his hand on her arm. "Lorelai."
"...Yeah?"
"Why are you talking about yourself as if you're someone else?"
"Because I couldn't be me when I was phoning those people, they'd think I was insane!"
"You are insane." He grinned at the dirty look she shot him. "A good kind of insane, though." His hand still rested on hers and the softness of her skin called out to him. He let go. "So the name of the horse is?"
"Del? Demon? Des? Desdemona! Ha! See, I told you I knew it!"
"Sure you did." Nervously, he considered the wide span of the horse's back and the long powerful legs. "So, we're going to ride them?"
"It'll be okay, you know. They're goo..."
"Good horses. I got it. Can we go now?" It would be better to just get the humiliation over with. She smiled and nodded and began leading the horse out of the stable with Luke trailing slowly behind them.
"So, do you know what to do now?" Lorelai's brow knotted slightly in concern as she looked up at him. Apparently, riding horses was not one of Luke's natural talents.
"I, uh, I. Yeah." Breathe Luke, he told himself. It's only an animal. You're not going to kill yourself.
"Good!" He watched with envy as she swung easily up into the saddle and settled herself into position. "Oh, and Luke," she added, gathering the reins in her hands, "If you don't know, just wing it!" With that she was off at a gallop, leaving him sitting awkwardly in her dust with a horse that refused to budge.
Barely controlling his frustration, Luke leaned forward and growled into the horse's ear. "Dammit horse, just move!" And to his surprise, it did.
