Nikki Worrell - The Enforcer (NHL Scorpions)

Lacey came back down with her sneakers in hand. Smiling at Jody, she told him she was ready. While Lacey was upstairs, Zoe had suggested that Jody feed Lacey one of the chocolates when she came back down. She let him and sighed in pure ecstasy. He felt like he’d just hung the moon for her. He even got a kiss on the cheek for his effort. What a great way to start a date.

Jody grabbed Lacey’s sneakers and the box of chocolates and said goodnight to Zoe. “You kids have fun,” she replied.

“Lace. I have something I need to say.” Lacey wondered if she wanted to hear it. Was he going to make her day even worse than it was? What did he do? Oh God, was he going to tell her that he thought they wouldn’t work? She was just starting to warm up to the idea of throwing caution to the wind and giving love another chance. Or at least like. Really, truly like.

“Okay …”

“Well, I’ve spent a lot of hours planning this, and I want it to be perfect. The thing is, as you’ve pointed out before, I tend to steamroll over people. So I want you to tell me if I move too fast or you don’t like something or …” He knew he was rambling. “Oh hell, Lace. I’m not good with words. Too many hits to the head I guess. I just need to know if anything displeases you. I’ll fix it.”

Lacey hated it when Jody insinuated that he was damaged in the head. He was a great guy, and his actions showed his feelings. She didn’t need flowery speeches. Why did men always think they had to be eloquent speakers to be smart and good and loved? Err … liked. Yes, liked. She certainly wasn’t in love with him.

“Jody, just relax, and have a good time. I don’t need perfect, in fact I prefer imperfect. Perfect scares me. Nothing is perfect. I’m just happy to spend time with you. Now, take me away.” She finished her commentary by spinning around in a circle with her hands held up at her sides, with the sun shining on her face. She was such a sweet thing. He wanted to sweep her off her feet.

They pulled into the parking lot at the end of the beach, and Lacey saw the horse trailer. She didn’t know they let horses on the beach. Jody told her to sit tight and got out of the truck. After talking to the older gentleman who drove the trailer, he ran back to her door. He opened the back door and grabbed her sneakers. “Put these on, please.” She did as he requested and got out of the truck.

Jody led her over to the trailer, which now had two horses tethered to it. “Lacey, this is Jim. He owns the horses that we’ll be riding on the beach.”

Lacey looked uncomfortable. “Nice to meet you Jim, could you excuse us for just a second?” Pulling Jody over to the side she said, “Jody, I think it is so sweet and romantic that you thought of this. But here’s the thing. And remember – you told me you wanted my honesty.” Jody was a bit bewildered, but didn’t interrupt. “I don’t believe in those horse rental places. Horses shouldn’t be rented out to a hundred different people every day and made to work. It’s just not fair. I’m sorry.”

Jim couldn’t help overhearing. “Excuse me, little lady. Thank you for feeling the way you do about horses. I couldn’t agree with you more. I guess Jody didn’t have a chance to tell you yet, but I’m a friend of Ian’s. I don’t rent out horses. These two beauties are my own, and I agreed to let Jody borrow them. I purposely didn’t exercise them this evening, but if you don’t want to ride them, I can have a couple of my ranch hands exercise them when I get home. I can assure you, however, that my animals are all treated with respect.” With a slightly guilty smile, he added, “My wife says I treat them better than her. She thinks they’re spoiled.”

Lacey decided right then that she loved this man. “Well, in that case, thank you Jim. I can assure you that we’ll take great care of them. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“Not at all. I wish everyone had that kind of respect for animals. Now, come on over, and I’ll introduce you.”

Jody could tell that it was love at first sight for Lacey. He decided right then and there that when they were married, he’d buy her a ranch, and horses, and any other critters that came along who needed a home. Maybe he was jumping the gun, but like Ian said, ‘Go big or go home.’

Lacey’s mare was named Daisy. She was a paint; mostly brown in color with a couple of white spots on her. One eye had a white spot around it, and the other had a brown spot around it. As soon as Lacey ran her fingers through her forelock, Daisy put her whole head against her chest. She was absolutely in love.

Jody’s horse was a bit more spirited, but sweet all the same. He had a gelding named Chester. He took a nip at Jody, but followed it up with an affectionate head butt to his shoulder. Jim told him that Chester liked to pretend he was a tough guy, even though he was really a big old softy. Sounded like someone else Lacey knew. It was an ideal pairing.

Jody stood by Lacey’s horse to help her up. He didn’t do it by offering his interlocked hands to boost her up by her foot. Oh no. When she put her foot in the stirrup, he put his hands on her bottom and gave her a little push. He’d use any excuse to put his hands on her.

It was a perfect time for a ride on the beach. The sun was just starting to set, and they watched it slip into the ocean from atop their horses. There were a couple of low lying clouds, and when the sun hit them, streaks of light and shadow appeared. As it sunk even lower, the sky turned several different hues of red. Yes, Jody thought, I couldn’t have asked for a better sunset.

Right before the last rays of sunshine were gone, Jody looked at Lacey and sighed heavily. “I wish you could see how beautiful you look right now, Lace. With the last bit of sunshine still shining on your hair, you look like you could be an angel.” For Christ’s sake, what an ass. Did he really just sigh and tell her she looked like an angel? He was going to have to turn in his man card.

Shaking her head with a smile, she said, “I thought you said you weren’t good with words. That might be the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.” Lacey couldn’t dream up a better first date. Jody had put a lot of thought into what she would enjoy. Men didn’t always do that. Most of her first dates had been the typical dinner and a movie. Who wanted to go to a movie on a first date? Speaking was frowned upon, and wasn’t the point of dating to get to know someone?

While Daisy and Chester moseyed along at a leisurely pace, Lacey and Jody chatted about their days and made other small talk. There were several stretches of silence, but they weren’t uncomfortable at all. After about an hour, they led the horses back to the trailer. Jim was already waiting for them.

“How were Daisy and Chester?”

Lacey answered for them. “They were wonderful. Thank you so much for trusting us with them.” Lacey figured Ian must be a pretty good friend to Jim, because she could tell how much he loved those horses.

“You’re welcome. It wasn’t so hard after you questioned my care of them.” There was entirely too much animal abuse going on, and too many people who turned a blind eye to it. Jim did a lot of work with horse rescue organizations to find homes for abused horses. “You’re welcome to exercise them anytime.”

Jody walked over and shook his hand. “Thanks Jim, I appreciate it. We enjoyed the horses. Can I help you load them back onto the trailer?” Jim was getting on in years, and even though Jody knew he could handle them as easily as breathing, he was taught to respect his elders and offer help when he could.