Am I Seeing Double 3 (5 page)

“Good habit.”

Jenny stopped and watched me as I put the tack down all except the halter, and went into the stable. The horse started to back away from me as I approached it. “Whoa, boy,” I said, and the horse pricked up its ears.

“It’s a mare,” Jenny corrected and started to giggle.

“Sorry I didn’t look,” I replied. “She also seems a little skittish.”

“That’s because you are a stranger to her and you called her a boy.”

“Whoa, girl,” I said and the mare stopped and stood quietly while I put the halter on her.

“See,” Jenny declared. “Give her the right title and she’s yours, and once she gets used to you, you’ll find she has a gentle nature, just like you.”

“So, you think I have a gentle nature?”

“Sometimes,” Jenny said and gave me a knowing look, then giggled.

She didn’t have to spell it out for me, as sometimes our lovemaking did get a little hectic, to say the least.

I led the mare outside to a hitching rail, brushed her, and saddled her up. When I had finished, Jenny came over and checked my work.

“Well done,” she commented. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“You either,” I replied and grinned at her, as though she was implying something totally different to saddling a horse.

“I have no idea what you mean by that,” Jenny said as though trying to sound a little indignant, but I am positive she knew what I meant, because she had given a little giggle after what she had said.

After Jenny and I had mounted our horses, we walked them for a while, and it brought back memories, of when I was a teenager, and when I lived on a property much smaller than this. My home had only one hundred acres, but Jenny’s was three thousand.

I had a girlfriend then, that was a neighbour, and lived on a similar sized property to mine, and we would go riding together. As we rode, I would put my right foot in her left stirrup, she would put her left foot in my right stirrup, and we would hold hands as we walked our horses.

After about fifteen minutes Jenny said, “Do you see that clump of trees over there at the foot of that mountain, there’s a dam there. I’ll race you to it.” She then took off.

My horse was no match for hers, mine was only a plodder, while she had a thoroughbred. She was well ahead of me when I saw her disappear into the trees on what looked to be a trail.

As I pulled up my horse at the dam, I looked around for Jenny. She had already untied the blanket roll she had behind her saddle, spread it out under a tree, and lay naked on it.

I nudged my horse and headed over to her, dismounted, and stood in front of her.

“What kept you?” Jenny said.

“If I’d known I’d find you like this, I would’ve jumped of my mount and ran.”

She was laughing as I stripped and joined her on the blanket.

How long we stayed there, I have no idea, until Jenny glanced at her watch and said, “Oh my gawd, we better make tracks, Mum will have lunch ready.”

We stayed for a while after lunch and then went back to town. Jenny stayed with me that night, and in the morning after she had left for work I headed off.

Retired carpenter, Professional Photographer. Sales rep for newspaper. Had a bad start to married life finally, but found love years later, then lost that love to cancer. Now single and live alone I find I am much happier that way.

Love to write and take photos and browse the net.