Page 47 of Touch the Sky

“Okay.” I reach to grab Nana’s reins from Tess. “I’ll tie these two up, and then I’ll sit down for a minute. You’re okay to get the rest done? The lead ropes are in my saddlebags. To make a quick release knot, you just have to?—”

“Jacinthe, I am a farrier, you know,” Tess says with a grin that’s somewhere between amused and exasperated. “I can hitch a horse to a post.”

My face gets hot. Of course she knows how to do that.

“Right. Yeah. Okay.”

I keep my ears trained to Tess’s instructions as she walks all the riders through how to get down one by one. She’s patient and thorough, using the same steadying voice she’s been bossing me around with all night.

Once the horses are secured, the guests head over to start snapping photos by the edge of the ridge.

Ridge is an overstatement; it’s more like a gentle slope, but the rocky terrain means there’s a spectacular view of the Laurentians. The sun is a blazing ruby semi-circle still hovering just above the peaks of the mountains. Pink rays streak the sky and turn the autumn leaves into brilliant jewel tones so vibrant it almost hurts to look at them.

“That’s really something, isn’t it?” Tess says.

I’m sitting on a boulder taking sips from my water bottle. I stare at the back of her head as she takes in the view. She’s wearing one of the derpy-looking fluorescent helmets for theguests, since her own riding helmet is still buried in one of her moving boxes.

“I’ll have to get Shel out here,” she adds.

I told Tess her daughter should come along tonight, but Shel turned down the invitation to do some reading instead. My mom is keeping an eye on her.

“Any time,” I tell Tess.

She’s still watching the horizon.

“The sky isn’t like this back where I grew up,” she says. “I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. I noticed it right away when Shel and I came out here to visit in the summer. It feels…bigger, but also closer, like all that space is just waiting for me to grab it. Out here, I feel like I could reach up and touch the sky.”

She rises onto her tiptoes, stretching her fingertips up as high as she can.

When she turns to face me, the glow of the sunset illuminates her profile in shimmering gold.

My breath catches.

She shouldn’t be able to look that good with a neon orange helmet plastering her hair to her forehead.

She laughs to herself and shakes her head. “I’m not making any sense, am I?”

She walks over to claim a spot beside me on the rock. I’m still too stunned by the sight of her sun-kissed face to speak.

“How you feeling?” she asks once she’s settled next to me.

“Better,” I answer. It’s easier to talk about something practical. “Sitting helped. I just really need a good night’s sleep. That’s all. Thanks for helping with the horses.”

“You should let me help more.”

There’s a threatening note to her voice that makes me laugh.

“You’re bossy tonight,hein?”

She glares. “I’m serious. Let me take on some of the barn chores. You and your mom are already going above and beyond for us. It’s the least I could do.”

I stare into the sunset instead of answering. All that’s left is a glinting sliver of fiery light sitting like a tiara on the crest of the mountain. The tourists were laughing and posing for photos a few seconds ago, but now they’ve all fallen into a hush, eyes trained on the horizon like they’re listening to a sermon at church.

The sun sinks faster and faster towards the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it-moment when it disappears behind the trees, leaving nothing but a candy pink sky in its wake.

The tourists cheer.

“Okay,” I tell Tess.