Six Years Ago
Charlie canters into the yard, her movement as smooth and graceful as that of her rider. Despite the frost, both are sweating, the horse snorting and the rider flushed and smiling. Jenny dismounts easily, leading the horse back to her stall.
The top half of the stable doors are open during the day, and Dancer nickers a greeting as they pass, reaching out to nuzzle for one of the small apples he knows Jenny always carries. She laughs as the velvet nose prods at her pocket. Small and wizened from winter storage, still the fruit is sound and sweet, and Dancer snorts with pleasure as she offers him his prize. Stallion though he is, Jenny is not afraid of him. She is not permitted to ride him, but she and Dancer are friends, albeit a friendship purchased with apples.
By the sta
