Love is Silent

Chapter 19

            I guided him down a nicely groomed trail, and the four of us chatted as we went along. “So Autumn is a lesson horse?” Hailey asked.

            “Yeah, he’s used for a lot of beginners. He’s big, but he’s also very gentle and listens really well. We got him about five years ago and everyone loves him. He’s a favorite at the barn.”

            “How many students are there here?”

            “I think around sixty or seventy, but that doesn’t include boarders. Most of them take lessons on their own horses.”

            “You grew up here?” she wanted to know.

            “Born and raised,” I replied. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

            “You’re so lucky. I grew up in town, but I always loved visiting friends who lived in the country. There’s just so much… space out here.”

            I smiled. “Yeah, there definitely is. I don’t think I’d ever be able to live in a town.” I clucked and tapped the reins on Autumn’s rump to get him into a trot. “So when are you two getting married?”

            “In August,” she responded. “Blake wanted to get married earlier, but I told him planning a wedding takes time.”

            “If we’d just eloped like I suggested, we wouldn’t have had to worry about all this crap,” Blake grumbled. “Who really cares what kind of flowers we’re having? Or if the invitations look to plain? We’re the ones getting married, not everyone else.”

            “Oh stop being such a grump,” Hailey chided. “This means a lot to me.”

            Blake sighed. “I know, which is why I agreed to wait until you could plan this whole thing. I’m just impatient to be married to you.”

            “How long have you two been together?” I asked.

            “Four years. We met in our final year of high school. We actually went to the same school that you go to now,” Hailey said.

            “Really? That’s kind of cool. It’s a nice school.”

            “Is Mr. Avery still the principal there?”

            “Yeah. He’s a nice guy.”

            “He is,” Hailey agreed. “Blake and I had trouble with a substitute teacher there one day, and Mr. Avery made sure that he was forced to retire after that.”

            This intrigued me. “What happened?”