I saw the girls sitting, no standing, and cheering as me and Leo ran by them once, twice, three times. The rest of the crowd was cheering for us as well. The racing kept my mind off of David.
Leo pushed forward, ahead of two or three more Jocks and reached second. The horn blew and we slowed down to a trot. Instead of showing the horses today, our managers wanted us to talk to the press.
After I showered, changed and put Leo in the trailer, I met the girls and answered two or three questions before heading to the car.
When we got there there was a reporter, standing in front of my car. The girls let go of my hand and ran straight towards the man. He picked up one girl in each arm. By the time I reached him, the girls were already giggling. The reporter took off his sunglasses and I could now see the familiar blue eyes.
"David?" I whispered., dropping my bags. He put the girls on the hood of the car and I flung myself into his arms. He lifted my chin and I kissed him long and hard. When we finally parted we were both out of breath.
"David. I missed you. " Tears came to my eyes as I stepped back.
"It's okay, Ilse. I will never leave for that long again." He rubbed his nose and hugged me again, breathing in the scent of my hair, no doubt.
I sniffled. "Lets go home." He nodded and we strapped the girls in. David drove us to my parents and then to our house. By the time we got home it was dark and the girls were asleep. We carefully brought them inside and changed them into pajamas before putting them to sleep.
Me and David shuffled into the bedroom and threw ourselves onto the bed. I turned to look at him. "I need to take a shower." He smiled and followed me into the bathroom.
"Me too." He took of his shirt and started the water. We showered and laughed as he told be about his adventures across the U.S.
When we were done showering, I changed into one of his shirts and a pair of underwear and climbed into bed. David joined me shortly after, cuddling up close and wrapping his arms around me. I finally had my family together again.
"I love you." I whispered.
"I love you too." He whispered back. And with that, we both fell asleep.