Romance: First Time and Pregnant With The Navy Seal (Stepbrother, Military, Romance) (6 page)

“Here you are Dianna, please met our very own Lady Di,” Jackson said quietly, holding on to the bridle.

Dianna laughed, reaching out tentatively petting the mare on the velvety nose.  He helped her mount, his hand on her back as she pulled herself up.  His fingers brushed against her leg as she got settled in the saddle.  She could feel her skin tingling through the fabric where he touched her.  She breathed in sharply, and watched as he walked away.  He quickly mounted his own horse, and expertly moved up to the front of the group, giving them all simple instructions on how to manage their horses.  When everyone nodded their understanding, they set off.  The group was small, only ten people with a guide in the front and back.  Dianna was near the middle; every now and then she could see Jackson in the front, his back straight and tall as he rode.  She felt nervous about the horses, still unsure about what to do with it, unsure if she would be able to stop it, if it decided to go somewhere else.  The area was just as beautiful as Jackson had said it would be.  The leaves of the trees whispered gently in the breeze, and the little creek they followed made her wish she could stop and dangle her feet in.  She tried to fix the image in her head, wondering how she could reproduce the way the water sparkled as it moved with her threads.  Probably something white, with a bit of shimmer.  Perhaps some kind of silk.

Dianna was feeling better about everything by the time the stables came back into view.  The ride had been easy, lasting only about an hour.  Thinking about the threads as she rode, seemed to make the time fly by.  And the Lady Di, had been a wonderfully pleasant horse, perfectly willing to go wherever Dianna wanted her to.  But just as willing to simply follow the horse in front of her.  They got back with just a few minutes left of Leslie’s lesson, just enough time to talk to Jackson some more, and then meet Leslie to go home. When they got back to the stables, Dianna climbed down carefully off the horse, and looked around, but there was no sign of Jackson.  Someone came and took the reins from her, leading the horse back to her spot in the stable, but she still didn’t see Jackson.  She shrugged to herself, and pulled the strap of the helmet, he must have had to take care of something.  Or perhaps his own horse was kept somewhere else.  Slowly Dianna walked back to the tack house to return her helmet, keeping an eye out for Jackson.  She handed back the helmet, and thanked the girl at the window.

“Where have you been?  I’ve been waiting forever.”

A voice behind her caused Dianna to jump in surprise.  She whirled around, her eyes wide and stared at Leslie.

“You’re supposed to be here to pick me up,” the girl continued, her hands on her hips, and her eyes angry.  “You weren’t here.”

“Well, I’m here now.  Let’s go.”

Dianna followed Leslie into the other room, and almost crashed into her when the girl stopped.  She took a step back, and sighed.

“What now?”

“Where is my helmet?”

Dianna turned to look at her, “I don't know.  It isn't my helmet to keep track of.”

“I was keeping track of it.  I put it down where I always do.  Then I went out to talk to Lindsay, and see if I could find you.  And when I came back it was gone,” the teenager shouted.

Dianna motioned with her hands for the girl to calm down.  The helmet was pretty big, there was no way it could have rolled off and hidden in a corner.

“I had it right here!”

“Are you sure Les?”

“Yes, I'm very sure.  100 per cent sure.  And don't call me Les.”

Dianna sighed, “perhaps someone thought it belonged to them.  I'm sure it will turn up.”

Leslie snorted, and picked up her bag, stalking towards the door.  “Probably someone stole it.”

Dianna made a face at her, “no one stole it.  Why would anyone want to steal just yours?  There are so many more around here.”

Leslie spun around, “why don’t you ever listen to me?  I bet you took it, so you don’t have to come here anymore.   You’re trying to wreck everything.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.  I didn’t take anything.”

Leslie scowled at her, “then what were you doing in here?  You never come in here.”

“I was bringing something back.  And it wasn’t your helmet.  I haven’t seen your helmet since we got here.”

“I bet you took it.  I bet you took it so that you don’t have to come here any more.”

Leslie’s voice got louder and louder as she spoke.   She tried to shush the girl, but that only seemed to make it worse.  Finally, Leslie stomped out of the tack house.  Dianna just looked at her for a few seconds, watching her niece stalk out to the parking lot.

They drove home in silence.  Leslie sulking about her helmet, Dianna unsure of what to say to the teenager.  But if Dianna was worried she would sulk all night, Leslie answered that question when they got home. She stormed into the house, slamming the door behind her, and dropping her things on the floor.

“Whoa, what’s all this about?” her dad asked, holding up his hands.

“Aunt Dianna lost my riding helmet.”

“I did nothing of the sort,” Dianna argued, coming up behind Leslie.  She could feel her voice rising.

“I had to go looking for you, so I had to leave everything sitting there without watching it.”

“Which you do all the time anyway.  Who watches your things while you’re out with lessons?  Who watches those things while you’re out looking at horses, forcing me to go looking for you?”  Dianna pointed out.  “You are very rarely waiting where we are supposed to meet, and I have to go looking for you.”

Leslie growled in frustration.  “You ruin everything.  I wish you weren’t even here.  I hate you.”

Leslie stormed up to her room, and slammed her door.  Her brother shrugged at Dianna, who just shook her head.  She didn’t understand Leslie’s sudden mood changes any more than he did.

“Why did she have to go looking for you?” he asked, frowning.

Dianna pulled her lips into a tight line, “I had been asked to go on the trail ride.  It ended only a few minutes after Leslie’s lessons.”

He nodded, relieved and stood up.  He went upstairs after Leslie, and knocked on her door.  After a few minutes, he came back down, sighing.

“Sorry about that,” he said making a face.  “Teenage girls are hard to figure out.”

He sat down next to her at the kitchen table, rubbing his head.

“I’ll take the kids out tonight, give everyone a little break, and we’ll see what’s up with Leslie.”

Dianna smiled weakly and nodded, “that might be a good idea.”

“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” she asked him, as they were getting ready to go.

Her brother shrugged, “I don’t know.  Probably a while. Don’t have any wild parties.”
 

She laughed, and waved at them as they went down the driveway, only Leslie not waving back.  Since Dianna still had no friends here, a wild party seemed like a far-fetched idea, even though she had been known for it in high school.  Many neighbours were pleased when she finally moved out of her parent’s small home in Manchester.  She shut the door, and padded softly into the kitchen, making herself a small sandwich for dinner.  She sat on the couch, wondering what to do with herself.  It wasn’t often everyone else went out without her; she would have to take advantage of that while she could.

Her brother had said they would be gone a while.  That meant she would finally be able to get some dying done.  She took take up as much room as she wanted, and most of the noxious fumes would be gone by the time they came home.  She quickly changed into a large shirt, and plain black leggings, not wanting to accidentally dye her clothes.  Carefully she tied up her hair in a bandanna, making sure none of the long strands could get free to dip into the dye.  The only way to reverse that mistake would be to cut the hair off, something she had learned once the hard way.

Carefully she pulled her dyes and tools from the storage cupboard, and set them up.  She filled up her big bowl with water, leaving it to sit in the sink, and dropped her threads and yarn in.  She turned on the stove, and set her pot on the burner.  Suddenly the doorbell rang.  She growled in annoyance.  She decided not to answer it, the person couldn’t see the kitchen from the door, and they would never know she was there.  She measured out the dye into small cups, carefully adding and mixing colours.  The doorbell rang again.  She put down her dye, and snapped off the stove burner.  Obviously they weren’t going to take the hint.  She stomped to the front door, and pulled it open.  Jackson stood on the doorstep, blinking at her, shifting back and forth on his feet.

“Oh.  Ah.  Hello,” she said, looking embarrassed.  She reached up to touch her hair, and remembered the bandanna, her face going red slightly.  This was really not how she wanted to be dressed when she saw him again. Looking embarrassed, Jackson brought his hands out from behind his back, holding the missing riding helmet.  Dianna's face brightened.

“Oh you found it!  Where was it?”

He turned red slightly, “I had it.”

“What?”

“I had it,” he said again.

Dianna frowned, “perhaps you had better come in and explain.”

She stepped away from the door, leaving him space to come through.  She directed him to the living room, where they both sat down on the couch facing each other.  Dianna pulled the bandanna off her head, letting her dark hair tumble around her face. When they were both sitting, she looked at him, and raised an eyebrow.

“I saw it sitting on the bench.  And I thought I would hang on to it, say she lost it, and then bring it to you.  Then I heard you fighting.”

“I’m sure everyone heard us fighting,” she interrupted.

“Yup, I’m pretty sure they did,” Jackson chuckled.  “And I felt bad, causing that problem.”  He picked up the helmet, and handed it to her.

Her fingers brushed against his, as she took the helmet, it felt like a jolt of electricity to her heart.  She turned the helmet around in her hands, looking at it instead of at Jackson.

“But why?  I don’t understand.  Why did you take it?”

He flushed red, and coughed.  He said something quietly, but she didn’t hear all of it.  She frowned at him, and he blushed even harder.  He looked down at his hands and said it again, “I took it so I could see you.”

Now Dianna blushed.

“I thought I could hold on to it, and then I’d ‘find’ it later, and bring it over.  That way I would get to see you,” he continued.

He ran his fingers through his hair, and then tried to pat it down.  It wasn’t very often that she saw him without his cowboy hat.  Without it he seemed younger.

“I know it sounds like a teenage thing to do.  And I would understand if you’re really mad at me,” his voice trailed off.

Dianna sat up straighter on the couch, “yes, it was a very teenage thing to do.  And I should be furious at you…”

Her voice trailed off.  She stood up, and picked up the helmet.  She walked around the room, put the helmet on the coffee table, and sat down again.  She felt restless and nervous, like before a big gallery show. Her emotions were all fighting with each other inside.  It was his fault she had fought with Leslie. But he had done it especially to have time with her, and that was very sweet.  She wasn’t sure what to think, or what to say.  This time when she sat, she sat closer to Jackson.

“I'm not really sure what to say about this,” she told him laughing softly.

“Is Leslie here?  I could just give this back to her, and go.  Save everyone the embarrassment.”

Dianna shook her head, “No, she isn’t here.  Everyone else has gone out.”

Jackson looked down at his fingers, “oh.  Then I guess it really will save the embarrassment.  I could just leave it here, and no one would ever have to know.”