Chapter Four: Looking in all the Right Places

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Amy slipped Foxtrot's halter off and positioned his bridle over his nose. She was wearing her tall boots and helmet today, which only meant one thing: she was English riding. It also meant that she was probably going to do a little jumping.

She led Foxtrot out into the barn aisle from his stall and tightened his girth. "Okay, buddy," She said, "Let's do this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, glancing for the first time at the text from Ty that said, "Be there in 10 minutes."

Leading Foxtrot out to the arena, she fastened her helmet just as Ty's truck pulled up. "Hey!" He said, walking towards her. "How's he doing?"

Amy was standing with the gray horse in the arena with a variety of jumps set up in it. "So far he's fine." She said. "How was work?" Ty leaned against the gate of the arena and yawned. "It was good."

"You're working too much, Ty." Amy said worriedly, walking over to him. She looked at the bags underneath his eyes and the way he looked half-asleep. "Why don't you ask Scott if you can take a few days off?"

"I'm fine, Amy. I need the hours." He said, smiling to try and reassure her. "Now go on, I want to see what this horse can do. And you, of course." Smiling, Amy mounted Foxtrot.

She eased him into a walk, and then a trot. He trotted easily, not seeming scared of the jumps or anything. "Good boy." Amy breathed, squeezing him into a canter.

They approached the first jump. Amy felt her own breathing in line with the horse's, and she pressed her heels down as she prepared to rise into two-point for the jump.

They were almost to the jump, when suddenly, something went wrong. Foxtrot saw the brightly colored, albeit small, jump, and spooked. He snorted and halted quickly. Amy grabbed onto his mane so she wouldn't fall off as he skittered sideways, obviously frightened.

"Whoa!" Ty said. "What is wrong with him?" Amy pulled up on the reins, calming him down. She got Foxtrot back into a walk and said, "He spooked at the jump. I'm not sure what's wrong."

"Are you going to try it again?" Ty asked. She shook her head no. "No, I'll try again tomorrow." Despite the fact that Amy had come a long way since her injury, she still had a little bit of work to do to get back to 100% with horses.

She hadn't been around a spooked horse since. Now she wasn't nearly as frightened as she would have been a month ago, in fact she was wasn't scared at all, only a little nervous; but she knew her limits. "Taking it one day at a time." She murmured to herself as she dismounted.

••••••••••••••••••••

Caleb tapped his fingers along the steering wheel in nervous indecision. Should he go? Should he not go? He couldn't make up his mind. If he did go, it could ruin things for him. If he didn't go, he would forever think about what could have happened.

Shutting off his truck, Caleb stuck the keys into his pocket and climbed out. He hadn't been to this place in ages. Briar Ridge. It was bustling as always. Riders were in the round pens and arenas; grooms were walking around, cars were everywhere.

Now to find Ashley. He knew that she had moved back in with her mom, Val Stanton. Which had surprised him, because Ashley had always had problems with her mother. But here she was now, living with her again.

He walked towards the main stables and approached one of the grooms. "Excuse me," he said, "Have you seen Ashley O'dell...Stanton anywhere around here?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, I saw her a few minutes ago. I think she went to her house." Caleb was just walking out of the barn towards the house when he ran smack-dab into none other than Ashley. "Hey, Ash...uh, sorry." He stammered.

"Watch where you're going, Caleb!" Ashley said irritably, wiping at the spot of spilled coffee on her vest. For a moment Caleb saw the old Ashley: spunky, independent, hot-headed. Just like him.

He grabbed his handkerchief and began wiping at the spot for her. "Sorry." He repeated. "I was looking for you, actually." Ashley looked up at him now, her eyes full of hope.

"Really?" She asked. "I'm glad to see you." Caleb looked around at all the people. "Can we go somewhere quiet to talk?" He asked.

"Sure. Let's go to the house." She grabbed his hand and started leading him in the direction of the big brick estate owned by his ex-mother-in-law.

Caleb gulped. He still wasn't sure about this.