Recovery

Chapter 39

"So, you're Jace?" Avery asks, raising an eyebrow.

"That's what I just said," I chuckle lightly, shaking Jace's arm off of me. "Avery, do you mind showing Jace to a room so I can go put Trig away?"

"I'll take his stuff to the room next to Aaron's. Why don't you show him around the barn and then show him his room later?" he asks.

Which is his indirect way of saying "I'd rather not be alone with him."

I sigh, but nod. "Okay."

I grab Trigger from Avery, offering him a small smile that he does not return.

"Come on Jace," I mumble.

After we're out of ear reach, Jace asks, "Is there something going on between you two? Because you just went from excited to see me to depressed in about thirty seconds."

I sigh. "Jace, I'm happy to see you. I can't talk about it now- remind me later, okay?"

He smiles at me. "Okay."

"Oh, this is Trigger!" I exclaim, suddenly remembering that I'm holding his reigns.

"Crazy horse?"

"That's the one," I chuckle. "I rode him bareback for the first time today."

"Aw, my little Grace has turned into a true cowgirl. I'm so proud," he teases.

"Shut up," I laugh, elbowing his side.

I spot Ivy and Laurel, and I call them over.

"Who's this?" Ivy asks.

"This is my best friend, Jace. He came to visit for a few days."

"Oh, I remember you," Laurel says. "You were that guy Grace was facetiming, right?"

"The one and only," Jace says.

I smile, looking in between them all.

"So, Jace- are you going to go on the ride with us all this evening?" Laurel asks.

He shakes his head and laughs.

"I don't think so. I can't imagine myself up on a horse," he chuckles.

"Oh come on, Jace, don't be a wuss," I say, elbowing him in the side. "You can ride Diesel. He's the first horse I ever rode, and he's push button. You can handle him."

"Grace-" he protests. I cut him off, raising my hand up to silence him.

"Please?"

I do my best impersonatioin of puppy-dog eyes, which seems to break his resolve.

"Fine," he groans, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

"Are you sure you two aren't dating?" Ivy asks after observing the two of us for a few seconds.

"Positive," I laugh.

"Don't worry, its a common mistake," Jace adds.

"Anyways, I've got to go put Trigger up," I say. "Jace, are you coming?"

"Yeah- Nice to meet you two," he says.

"See you around," Laurel pipes.

I lead both Trigger and Jace into the barn, quickly putting Trigger up into his stall before showing Jace all of the horses. I introduce him to Diesel, and show him the tack room.

On our way out, we run into Marc and Jesse. They exchange names, and Jace and I go out on our way.

"The only other people are Aaron, Piper, and Chrissie," I say to him as we head towards the house.