Once they caught the horses, Lisa reattached her saddle bags to Gizmo's saddle and Jack gave her a leg up.
He smiled at her, as she mounted, his hand ghosting down her back. Once she was up, she smiled down at him. It was clear that something had shifted between the two of them. They now each knew that the other was interested. And were both very much along for the ride to see how things would progress.
Jack and Lisa headed down toward the river, eagerly anticipating seeing how Gizmo did with the river the second time around.
"You nervous?" Jack asked.
Lisa took in a breath and said, "A bit."
"I think you've got it this time," Jack said, "but, if not, you can always wear my jacket again."
"Such a gentleman," Lisa said, swatting his arm playfully.
"Well, it looks better on you than it does on me," Jack said with a gleam in his eye.
Lisa chucked, and she could feel the tension leaving her body.
As they approached the river, Jack led with Paint and walked him slowly into the water. Lisa stayed soft with her aids, and gently asked Gizmo to step into the river. He put his nose down and sniffed the river, and with a little bit of encouragement from Lisa, he stepped into the river and slowly made his way across.
"Well, he kept his head about him," Jack said as they crossed the river.
"Yeah," Lisa said, stroking his neck, "he thought about it, but took a breath rather than just overreacting."
"Good on you!" Jack said, beaming at Lisa.
Lisa clicked her tongue, as if to disagree, "Oh, it was certainly a group effort." She smiled at Jack, "But I must admit, I like this little guy."
"You ride him really well," Jack said.
"Thanks, Jack," Lisa said, smiling demurely. "I'm still getting used to riding western. It's not something I grew up with."
Jack laughed, "You'd never get me in one of those postage stamps they call an English saddle!"
Lisa laughed, tipping her head to the side thoughtfully, "I don't know, you'd probably look pretty handsome in a pair of breeches."
Jack smiled at her, "I don't know. I think that's probably better left to the imagination."
Lisa caught Jack's eye and they grinned at each other, and picked up the pace to a trot and headed back toward Heartland.
"Do you think Gizmo's about ready to head to Fairfield then?" Jack asked as they rode.
"That's what Marion seemed to imply. As long as today went well." Lisa said.
"And she thinks you and Aztec are likely to be done with training too right?" Jack asked.
"As long as tomorrow goes well," Lisa said.
Jack nodded, thinking he wished that just one of her horses would act up a bit to keep her coming around Heartland regularly.
"So, I was thinking," he started.
Lisa looked at him hopefully.
Jack realized that he didn't have much more than that thought through, "Have you ever thought about taking roping lessons?" he finished lamely.
"Roping lessons?" She asked, genuinely confused.
"Roping lessons," Jack said, attempting to sell it as if he had asked the most natural question in the world.
Lisa shrugged her shoulders, her eyes clearly showing her surprise, "I...I guess it's something I'd never really considered..."
"Well," Jack said, "Roping is a thing I was pretty good at during my rodeo days. I would be happy to give you some pointers."
"I guess," Lisa started haltingly, then picked up the thread more nimbly, "that if I want to ride western, I should learn to handle a rope."
"It's only natural," Jack said, feigning seriousness.
"Well then count me in," Lisa said gamely.
"Yeah?" Jack asked.
"Yeah," she said, wrinkling her nose.
They arrived back at the ranch and Lisa and Jack both dismounted their horses and led them back towards the barn.
"How was your ride?" Marion shouted, seeing them coming.
"I'm dry!" Lisa said, taking her hands off the reins and putting her arms in the air.
"Yay!" Marion said.
Lisa grinned, shaking her head. "Jack even got to keep his coat this time." And they all laughed.
"He was great," Jack said. "Didn't put a foot wrong."
"That's wonderful news!" Marion said, "Looks like he's ready to head home! And tomorrow we'll see about Aztec."
Lisa smiled, her eyes glimmering, "Marion it's been such a pleasure working with these horses with you."
"You too," Marion said, taking Lisa's hand. "And now, I should probably go check on Mallory and Amy. They're doing homework inside."
Marion smiled at them both, clapping her father on the shoulders, then headed inside.
Lisa and Jack untacked their horses, chatting happily about how the day had gone, and about their impending roping lessons. Lisa smiled to herself at the cute way in which Jack was trying to create a reason for her to keep coming back to Heartland.
As they walked out of the barn, side by side, Lisa smiled at Jack and took a breath, coming to a stop just in front of the barn. "I had a really great time today," she said.
"It's always nice to spend a day on horseback," Jack said, stopping and standing near her.
"And you know, I wouldn't mind if you called me sometime," Lisa said, putting her hand on Jack's arm.
"I might just do that," Jack said, his voice deep.
"Okay," Lisa said brightly.
Jack tipped his hat and leaned in to kiss her, and she could feel the scratch of his mustache on her upper lip, as the door to the ranch house crashed, and they pulled apart.
Looking up, they saw Amy, Marion and Mallory on the porch in the distance.
Lisa laughed, "Oh my! The whole posse's out."
"Some other time," Jack said hoarsely.
"I guess so," Lisa agreed.
"I'll give you a call," Jack said, as he turned, heading toward the house.
"Alright," Lisa said, "talk to you soon," and headed to her own car.
Jack watched as Lisa drove off, then walked up the steps of the porch.
"How was your date, Jack?" Mallory asked brightly.
"Or was it not a date?" Amy asked, laughing and smiling at her mom.
"No," Jack said, softly, "this one was kind of a date." And with that Jack headed into the ranch house.
