Natural Attraction (8 page)

One thing that does strike me as we meander through each paddocks is that his equine friends are constantly jostling in closely (sometimes a little too closely for my liking).  They are keen to get their piece of Jax and wanting to gently lip nibble him all over. 

Having now experienced this with Maverick, I understand the importance of its meaning and it soon becomes clear to me that this man is a democratic deity to his horses like I am to my dogs. 

It is beautiful to watch.

Our final stop is the paddock in front of his house where the black Arabian is now waiting for us at the gate looking excited and keen to see us.

“And last, but not least, this is Trouble.” Jax explains as he leans forward to undo the latch to Trouble’s gate. 

“Trouble came to me about eighteen months ago because he was just that… Trouble.  He’d been through a series of owners who had all branded him as a nutcase Arab.  The day he arrived, I had barely spent ten minutes getting to know him when I fell in love with him and offered to buy him off his owner.  The woman gladly accepted explaining he was more trouble than he was worth.  She then jumped back in her car and took off without even accepting a dollar for him.  It was funny to watch.” 

He smiles a
s he reminisces and his eyes roam over Trouble appreciatively.

“Trouble is a fully registered, purebred Arabian stallion, otherwise known as Kadence Creek
Shadowy Night.  Trouble, is also the smartest horse I have ever met.”

I watch in awe as Jax steps back and swings the gate to Trouble’s paddock wide open.  This allows Trouble to step slowly out of his paddock and straight to Jax’s side.

Jax puts his hand out and lets Trouble take a big long sniff then he continues to give him a few loving rubs along his neck and back.  I am still dumbfounded that Jax has just swung the gate open and a full-blooded stallion is still standing there.  Shouldn’t it be charging off madly to see the mares or pick a fight with impostors?

“Check this out.”  Jax says with enthusiasm as he turns his head and points his eyes at Trouble’s rear end. 

As if on cue, Trouble sidesteps away from him and swings his nose to just about collide with Jax’s elbow.  And then it’s game on.

Somehow, that simple movement from Jax unleashes the dragon and Trouble rounds his neck, his nostrils swell and he throws his tail up over his back and starts prancing powerfully on the spot. 

I cannot believe my eyes.

Wordlessly, Jax moves left and right, backwards and forwards and Trouble continues his excited prancing while sticking to Jax like glue.  No ropes, no
sticks, no nothing.   It is like watching a dog play with his master except that this is a full sized stallion and it is something that I have never seen in real life.  Sure I’ve seen similar things on movies, but never this close.  To be honest I had always thought there were see-through ropes or something going on in the background.

Jax and Trouble continue to ‘play’ like this for a few more minutes.  I am broken from my mesmerized trance when suddenly, without warning, I see Jax swing his leg and he throws himself up onto Troubles back.

Still no ropes, nothing! 

Jax and Trouble then meld into one as Trouble swiftly turns and takes off down his paddock.  I feel fear grip my insides as I watch the two of them racing towards the far end of the paddock.

Oh my God
.

What should I do?

How the hell am I going to stop a crazy stallion I know nothing about from killing Jax without getting hurt myself? 

I think about my alternatives quickly and am about to make my initial
maneuver of at least shutting the gate when I hear Jax whoop madly like a crazed Indian.  I then see Trouble turn and head straight back towards me.  Flat-out. 

My brain freezes.  I am going to die and so is Jax. 

They are about halfway along the paddock on their way back to me when I notice Jax’s face.  His is not the face of a terrified man.  His is the face of a man in rapture as he beams his enjoyment to be racing around, out of control, on his horse.  

It is then that I also see Jax start to lean back on Trouble’s back and to my surprise, Trouble skids to a dead halt.  Just like you see the horses do on television with their legs right under them and the dust flying all over the place. 

Apparently Trouble is not out of control?

I cannot believe my eyes.

Jax then gently slides off Trouble’s back and gives him a loving hug around the neck.  He then walks back towards me looking pleased with his self. 

Trouble, as if nothing has even happened, walks calmly at his side.

“Wow,” I breathe.

“Cool isn’t he?” Jax beams as he gets closer to me
.  He turns to give Trouble another fond rub as he sets about closing his gate again.

Words fail me and I feel my heart swell to the size of a watermelon inside my body as I fall, completely and utterly, in love with Jax Walker
– and his horse.

Natural Horsemanship

“Where did you learn to do that?” I ask as we walk together back to the day yards, my tour complete. 

“I didn’t,” he says quietly, tilting his head towards me looking almost hesitant. “It sort of just happened one day.  He’s pretty cool isn’t he?”

I study his face for a moment, confused and slightly fascinated that he is being shy about what he has just shown me he can do with Trouble.  I
’m sure if I could pull off what he has just shown me he can do,
I
wouldn’t be shy. I’d be feeling as cocky as they come.

“He is, but what about you?  You are pretty cool too.  Not just anyone can do what I just saw you do.”

“Yes they can,” he announces confidently, “it’s not exactly a new idea.  Native Americans have been riding their horses around for centuries without ropes and saddles.  It is only us modern day horse riders who don’t know any better.”

“True, but still, you are amazing
,” I tell him, feeling embarrassed as soon as I say it.  I quickly move my eyes to focus on the ground in front of me, praying he didn’t hear me. 

Once again I have said too much and the last thing I need is him seeing that I am now embarrassed that I have called him amazing.  What is it with me when I am around this guy, why can’t I just say something like ‘True, but you are very good with
horses.’ 

Amazing, who calls someone they just met amazing?

Jax stops walking abruptly.  “Are you blushing?” He asks with a hint of humor in his voice.

“No!” I snap, not stopping to turn and look at him.  I most definitely do not want to see the
humor on his face that I know will only embarrass me more.

God this sucks.

Why can’t I stop running off at the mouth and getting all these stupid emotions flaming across my face? 

This is so not me.  

I quickly devise a plan to just keep walking hoping that he will ignore me and change the subject. I have barely made it another two steps when I hear the thud of his booted foot behind me and his strong hand grabs mine as he pulls me to a stop. 

Still looking at my feet I watch Jax’s boots walk around and stand squarely in front of me.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he says softly.  “I was just amused by your reaction to me and Trouble.  I’ve never shown anyone what he and I do when we play together, but for some reason I wanted you to see it.  On top of that, I was also feeling embarrassed about having shown you what we could do.  I thought it was funny that
you
were the one who ended up embarrassed.  Believe me, I wasn’t laughing
at
you, I was laughing
with
you.“

My eyes shoot up to his face. 

“
You
were embarrassed about showing me
that
?
Jesus Jax, don’t
ever
be embarrassed to show anyone that.  I can’t believe I’m the first person you’ve shown.  Why me?”

The million dollar question.
 

How can someone do something so amazing with a horse and not ever show it to
anyone? 
It sort of defies logic and doesn’t fit with the ways of modern society.  It’s far more common to see someone take an IPhone video of their self and plaster it all over YouTube or Facebook.  What does he have to be embarrassed about?

Jax sighs and lets my hand go.  He moves his fingers to the bottom of my chin.  With gentle pressure he tips it towards him and speaks softly, “I don’t know.  It just felt right today.  It was someth
ing to do with the way Trouble was connecting with me.  It was also looking across to see you looking all soft eyed and amazed.  I suddenly wanted you to see it.”

He chews his lip thoughtfully and continues to rock my world.

“I have shown some of my close friends what we can do on the ground.  You however, are the first person I felt strongly enough about to show what I could do with him when I was on his back.  I suppose there’s always been a mixture of fear of failure and general caution in my actions.  Most of all, I normally worry the extra pressure of having someone watch us together will shatter the link we have going and we’ll both look silly.  Even worse is the fear that it will all go to pot and I’ll fall off in front of someone.  The worst case scenario is that Trouble is hurt ‘cause I am stupidly showing off.  Today I didn’t feel that and it had something to do with you.”

Wow.

That was left field and a bit deep for this time of day.  Especially with all the strong emotions I am feeling towards him after only spending a few hours with him.

This is a conversation better had after an hour of two of steady drinking. 

Time to move on.

I step back to break his finger contact with my chin and ask him the first thing that comes to my mind
.

“Is it lunchtime yet?”

Jax fixes his sunglasses on my face for a few more seconds looking confused and sighs.

“Sure, it’s probably good tim
ing and then after lunch we can go and start working with Maverick.”

“Sounds good to me,” I say spinning back around and continuing my way to the barn.  It is time to shake Jax out of my head and focus on the job at hand. 

Lunch, then ride Maverick, then go home.

It
’s always good to have a clear plan.

A sick feeling hits my stomach and I fe
el it churn.

Crap
.

The part of the day I have been dreading is here.  It has been six full weeks and I still can’t shake the uneasy butterflies that keep overtaking me.  Although I feel like Maverick and I know each other a whole lot better, the
butterflies hit every time I think of climbing up on his back. 

The memories of the pain and injuries I have received launch to the front of my mind and I feel my breath hitch. 

I so wish I could get out of this. 

I start racking my brain for excuses to use that might get me out of the riding demonstration that Jax wants. 

Perhaps I can plead sickness?

It would need to be a sudden illness considering I was healthy all morning. 
A dodgy salad-roll for lunch perhaps? Maybe a faked phone call that draws me back home? 

Yes that would be perfect
.

I speed up a little planning to grab my lunch from the fridge and head straight to my car to call Jen and set up my fake call.  My plans are interrupted when I hear the loud, deep grumble of a v8 engine approaching along the driveway.

I slow my pace again and turn to see Jax looking up the driveway shaking his head.  He looks annoyed. 

I follow his gaze and see what looks like a fiery metallic red version of Clint Eastwood’s car out of the movie
Gran Torino
inching it’s way along the driveway. 

My eyes bulge and my jaw drops as I quickly scan the car of my dreams.  Shiny mag wheels, black racing stripes across the bonnet, gorgeous sleek lines
running smoothly along the fastback body.  This car is amazing. 

For the second time today I am seeing something in the flesh that I have only ever seen on movies or in magazines. 

I refocus my attention on the occupants of the vehicle and receive yet another shock for the day.  Not only are there three ladies in the car (no men!), but the driver of this gorgeous machine is an elderly gray haired lady with a perm.

A perm.

Who gets a
perm
in nowadays? 

I almost
feel like laughing out loud but think better of it.  I think better of it because when I take a second glance, I see a gorgeous set of crystal blue eyes shining above another cheeky set of dimples.  

Dimples
... Is this his mother?