A/N: Thanks for continuing to read, review, and follow! I really appreciate it. I forgot to mention this in the last update, but Happy 7th Anniversary to "Things Change"! It's hard to believe, and this milestone would not have been possible without all of you! Thank you for sticking with me and continuing to read! This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Hope you enjoy this update!

/

"We're going to the stables?! We're going for a ride?!" Bianca asked excitedly. She loved riding, and her wife knew it. Not only did she love riding but spending time with the horses was also good therapy for her. Now while Bianca could be considered an expert rider, Marissa wasn't as self-assured as her wife. Don't get her wrong. The redhead loved horses, but she was also a little nervous around them. It was more that their size intimidated her. Marissa had, however, gotten better over time with Bianca's help.

"Yep! I figured, why not? It's beautiful day, and we've got some time to ourselves. It just made sense."

"And we're having a picnic too. It seems you've thought of everything." Bianca shook her head at Marissa's thoughtfulness.

"I have my moments." Marissa grinned and drove down the road leading to the stables. She parked the car, and the couple got out. "Hang out here for a minute while I go let them know we're here."

Bianca nodded and walked over to the fence surrounding a small pasture where several horses were currently residing. One horse in particular caught her eye. He was beautiful and had a reddish-brown body with a black mane, tail and points on his legs, face and ears. Just as he had caught Bianca's eye, it turned out that she had caught the animal's eye as well, and he made his way over to her.

"Hey there, big guy. How are you?" Bianca smiled as the animal slightly nudged her. She laughed and petted him. When she saw a bucket with apples that had been sliced in half near the gate, Bianca bent down and grabbed several slices and then fed them to the horse. If he didn't like her before, he did then.

/

Hank, the stable's owner, chuckled when he saw Bianca with the horse. "It's the bay. Why am I surprised that they found each other?"

Marissa smiled brightly as she watched Bianca and the horse interacting. "Looks like I picked the right one after all, huh?"

"That you did. I will never question you again."

When Marissa approached him about the horse, Hank suggested a different horse, but something told Marissa that the bay and Bianca would be the perfect match. Observing the scene in front of her, she had been proven right.

"I'll be sure to remind you of that."

Hank laughed. "Now that, I don't doubt for a second."

Bianca turned when she heard laughing. "Hi, Hank. This guy is a real beauty. When do you get him?"

"Hi, Bianca. Yes, he sure is. We got him a few weeks ago."

"What's his name?"

"Rusty."

"I like it. It fits with his coloring. Where did he come from?"

"My brother's farm in Kentucky. He was a stablemate and workout partner for one of the horses that ran in last year's Derby. He might have run himself, but he's just a little on the smaller side. Oh, his new owner may change his name." Hank said as he moved towards the stables.

"You don't own him? Who does? Do you think they might let me ride him?"

Marissa smiled and moved closer to her wife. She knew it was time for the big reveal. "I think she might."

"You know the owner, Rissa?"

"I do. In fact, I know her quite well, intimately even." Marissa waited as her words sank in and Bianca put two and two together.

Bianca's eyes grew wide. "You? You own him?"

"I did."

"Wait! Me?! You bought me a horse?!"

"Yep."

"Rissa, this is way too much."

"You don't like him?"

"No. No, I do like him. I mean how could I not? He's a beautiful animal, but …"

"Then, no buts. He's yours. Before you say anything else, I know it's a lot, but you deserve to be spoiled every now and then. I promise I won't do this all the time. It's just … I know how much you love to ride. I vowed to do everything in my power to make you smile, to make you happy, and this is my way of making sure I keep that vow. Also, this is your birthday present. So, Happy Birthday!"

Bianca shook her head. "This is the present that you ordered for me but wasn't in for my birthday, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I thought we agreed on limits for each other's presents."

"We did, but when I saw him, I couldn't help myself. Plus, I have Adam's inheritance with the instructions to spend it on something fun."

"Something fun for you, not something fun for me."

"But making you happy is fun for me." Marissa flashed the grin that she knew Bianca found irresistible.

"Dammit, I hate when you do that." Bianca mumbled. "Okay, you win this time, but don't think I'll forget you breaking our agreement. Also, we'll split the boarding costs."

"Deal." Marissa readily agreed. "Also, I know you feel the same way about me and my happiness."

Bianca couldn't argue with her wife about that.

"So, are you going for a ride, Bianca?" Hank asked as he returned with the saddle Bianca kept there.

"Yeah, I am. Rissa, care to join me?"

"Yeah, I will. Is Mabel available?" Mabel was the gentle filly that Marissa had developed a rapport with and was her horse of choice when she rode.

"She is. I just need to saddle her up. When you get back from your ride, I'll show you Rusty's stall."

"Thanks, Hank." Bianca smiled as she took over the saddling of her horse. When she was done, she turned to Marissa and kissed her. "Thank you for my present. It is beyond thoughtful. He's beautiful, and I love him. Not nearly as much as I love you though."

"You're welcome. I love you too."

Hank reappeared, this time with Mabel in tow. "Here you go, Marissa. Want some help?"

"You know me too well, Hank."

While Hank gave Marissa a boost onto Mabel, Bianca mounted her new horse with no problem. When both women were settled, they took off at a trot.

/

After some time, the couple came to a clearing near a small lake. Bianca squinted in an attempt to make out what was lying on the grass up ahead of them.

"Is that a picnic?"

"Yes, it is."

"How did you get that here?"

"While you were getting acquainted with Rusty, I retrieved the cooler from my car and passed it off to Hank. He brought it up here for us."

Bianca shook her head. "You thought of everything today, didn't you?"

"I tried."

"It's looking like you succeeded."

"Ready for lunch?" Marissa asked.

"Yes, I am. I'm starving!"

The couple turned their horses toward where their picnic lunch was waiting for them.

/

"Oh my! That is one beautiful car." Jessica said as she admired Marissa's car. When she had seen the couple pull up and park in front of the house, she came outside to join them carrying the baby monitor with her since Danny was down for a nap.

"Thank you! Just let me know when you want to go for a ride."

"I'll go on one after you take Jo."

"Done. How's Danny? Did he give you any trouble?" Marissa knew the answer she would receive and wasn't disappointed.

"Now, you know better than to ask me that. He is never any trouble. We played, and with the way he is jabbering away, I can tell he is definitely your son."

Bianca laughed. "I've told her the same thing!"

Marissa rolled her eyes at the teasing. It didn't bother her the least little bit. In fact, it was the exact opposite. Words could not describe how much she loved it when comparisons were made between her and the kids. Marissa knew Bianca loved it just as much when the kids were compared to her.

Jessica was amused by the two. They reminded her so much of Lydia and Roy. "Oh, I almost forgot. How was your surprise, Bianca?"

"You knew about it, huh? What am I saying? Of course you did. It was wonderful and way too much, but you know Marissa."

"That I do. She was so excited about it."

"Want to see a picture?"

"Of course I do."

Bianca retrieved her cellphone and pulled up the pictures they had taken at the stables before handing the device to Jessica to scroll through them. "This is Rusty. He's beautiful, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is." Jessica laughed at one picture in particular as she scrolled through the photos. The horse's head was leaning over Bianca's shoulder with both facing the camera. "I swear it looks like he's smiling."

Marissa laughed. "I know, right? I said the same thing. He's a bit of a showoff and a little bit of a ham. So, he fits in perfectly with this family."

"He most certainly does. If you didn't say it, I was going to." Jessica chuckled. "He really is beautiful, and you look right at home up on that saddle, Bianca."

"Thank you." Bianca beamed. "I do love riding him. What do you think of Rissa?"

"I have to say I'm impressed. I know you get a little nervous around horses, but you can't tell in this picture."

"They gave me a really gentle horse by the name of Mabel. She is always very patient with me."

Jessica continued to scroll. "Oh, I really like this one of the two of you and the car."

"Yeah, I like that one too. Hank took it for us." Marissa said.

"It looks like the two of you had a good day." Jessica handed Bianca's cellphone back to her.

"We did. It was great, and I am an extremely lucky woman." Bianca squeezed Marissa's hand.

"Ditto."

"Well, I better go. I have a cake to bake." Jessica couldn't wait to start on Danny's cake.

"I can't tell you how much we appreciate you doing that for us. Let us know if you need anything." Marissa hugged the woman who was a second mother to her as well as a grandmother to the kids.

"It is my pleasure. Enjoy your day off tomorrow."

"Thanks, Jessica." Bianca hugged Jessica as well before the older woman left.

/

"Mom! Ma! Whose car is that out front? It's so cool!" AJ's eyes were wide with excitement.

Miranda and Gabby burst into the family room, hot on their brother's heels. Susan trailed behind them.

"Hi, Susan. It's mine."

"Hi, Marissa. Hi, Bianca. Great car."

"Thanks."

"Really? That is so awesome!" Miranda said.

"Can we go for a ride? Please?" Gabby asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not. I'll take one of you at a time, and the other two of you can start on your homework. Sound good?"

The kids nodded.

"Since she was the one to ask first, Gabby gets the first ride."

"Sounds good to me. I'll help AJ and Miranda figure out who goes next. I'm thinking best two out of three rounds of rock, paper, scissors." Bianca offered.

"Come on, Monkey."

Susan waved goodbye to the others and followed Marissa and Gabby. The babysitter parted ways with the mother and daughter once they were outside.

"Enjoy your ride, Gabby! I'll see you both at Danny's party on Saturday."

"We'll see you then, Susan."

"Bye, Susan!" Gabby climbed into the car and fastened her seatbelt.

Marissa followed suit and then looked at her daughter. "Are you ready?"

Gabby nodded excitedly. "Yep! Let's go!"

/

When the car rides were all done and the new car was parked inside the garage, the family sat down to dinner and talked about their days. After the kids were finished with their updates, Bianca told them about the surprise birthday gift she received from Marissa. She shared the pictures that had been taken earlier, and the kids were excited to see Rusty.

"I've got an idea. Why don't we go to the stables tomorrow? The weather is supposed to be great for the next several days. The kids can meet Rusty and go for a ride." Marissa suggested.

"What about Danny, Ma? He's too little to go riding still."

"True, Mimo, he is, but I'll stay with him. He can meet some of the foals and a few of the other animals there."

"Are you sure, Rissa?"

"I'm positive. Danny and I will get some bonding time in tomorrow since I couldn't take him for a ride in the car."

Bianca smiled at their youngest who was sitting in his highchair. Danny returned the smile and showed off some of his teeth. "Yeah, I don't see him being able to go for a ride in it for awhile, since it's not really built for car seats. As long as you're sure, I think a trip to stables is a great idea." Bianca did some quick thinking and determined that could fit into her plans to surprise Marissa quite nicely.

The kids grinned over the plans for the next day because they all loved to ride. They knew the day was going to be about their Ma and celebrating her birthday however so they didn't want to make her do something she didn't want to do. If their Mom was okay with the plans though, then they were too.

"Great! We can even take Max with us. He loves going out there. Don't you, boy?" Marissa chuckled when Max barked in reply.

"Yes, he does. We can order lunch from Krystal's and pick it up on the way home." Bianca suggested.

"Sound good to you guys?" Marissa asked the kids.

"Yep!"

"It sounds like we have a plan then!"