Be With Me in Silicon Valley: The Juliette Trilogy (The Princesses of Silicon Valley - Book 3) by Anita Claire Read Free Book Online Page B

give Nate, and which horse I should take.
    “Why don’t you and the girls gallop back to the stable with the extra horses. Nate and I can take our time walking our horses back. By the time we get to the stable, you’ll have the other horses un-tacked, it won’t take long to brush, feed, and blanket these two if we all work together.” I suggest.
    Nodding, Deborah says, “And it gives you some alone time with your cute, new guy.”
    Nate joins us—probably hearing that comment. He’s carrying old winter gloves and a knit ear-warmer.
    He extends his hand introducing himself to Deborah. In her loud straightforward manner, she says “hello”, then turns to me, “Nice, Juliette. This one’s cute and has manners.”
    Nate smirks, while I can’t wipe the goofy smile off my face.
    Deborah always travels with a backpack of extras, including riding helmets. She hands a large helmet to Nate. He fiddles around adjusting it, then looks at the horses, “Which one do I ride?”
    Taking him over to Jackson, a mellow, sweet-tempered bay, I show him how to mount. I then lead Jackson and Velvet, a feisty paint I chose because she and Jackson ride well together, to the other end of the arena. After showing Nate how to hold the reins, turn left, turn right, and stop, I also make him practice an emergency dismount.
    While we’re practicing, Deborah starts to leave with the teenagers.
    “We need to keep Velvet busy, so she doesn’t see them leave.” I warn Nate.
    “It’s now almost four thirty, we have about twenty minutes before sunset, hopefully we’ll get to the barn before it’s completely dark.” I explain as I string battery-operated lights over the horses’ necks, and hand Nate a safety vest with a battery powered light bar. Taking Jackson’s lead, I guide both horses out of the arena, closing the gate behind us. Mounting Velvet I tell Nate, “You need to be on my left side,” as I move the lead rope to my right hand and double it up. Jackson’s head is at the level of my saddle, making it easy for me to hear Nate, but much harder for him to hear me. We only have a short amount of time on the road before we reach one of the public paths that intersect Los Altos Hills. The air is cold, but the sky is amazingly blue, and the sunset should be beautiful. Luckily, Velvet is in a mellow mood. She likes to run along the trails; that’s why I wanted the others to go ahead.
    “How long will this take?” Nate asks.
    “About forty-five minutes, these guys walk about four miles an hour.” Pointing, I say, “The trail head for the path is right ahead. I hate riding on the street. People in this town like to drive real fast.” As we ride, I can feel the air getting colder. The lots in Los Altos Hills are a minimum of an acre, and there aren’t any streetlights, which make it great for stargazing and sunset watching, but bad for walking horses back to their stables safely. The only illumination comes from lights inside private homes.
    “Are you sure you know the way back?” Nate asks.
    Chuckling, I respond, “These guys take this path almost every day. They know dinner’s at the other end of the trail. I guarantee they know the way home.”
    As we ride, I watch the light from the setting sun turn the mountains pink, the sky purple, and the ground gray. The lights around the horses’ necks cast an eerie glow.
    Nate says, “Blauschimmer. Wasn’t that the word your German friend had for the pink hills at dawn and dusk?”
    Nodding, I say, “Yeah, I’m glad I get to share one of my favorite places—and times of day—with you.”
    The pink starts fading until the trees are backlit against the sky; my favorite part of the sunset. We both ride in comfortable silence. Thankfully, nothing spooks either horse. Soon our only illumination is the blue and green lights strung around the horses’ necks, and the light from our vests. Finally, I see the lights of the barn; they look like a beacon calling us home. The horses