Chapter 256 - Home in Molave 2

"What about me?" Cherry asked with a pout. Then she added, "Poor are the loveless for they shall be lonely." The group erupted into laughter, and Cherry pretended to sulk.

Everyone got tongue-tied, and before Ajie could find a solution, the sound of hooves clicking against the rocks as well as the occasional clinking of the harness dispersed into the air. Jane squealed in excitement, and Cherry slumped back in envy into the chair, exciting a round of laughter again.

"Che, hop in!" hollered a rider covered with a brown bonnet and a hat after he scanned his eyes over the group.

Cherry straightened up and stared at the rider, trying to recall the owner of the voice. The man jumped off the horse and removed his hat and bonnet, revealing himself.

"Richard! You're here, also?" Cherry shrieked in excitement.

"Of course, Andrew invites the whole team," Richard grinned as he approached them. "Ryan knows it's uncle Leo's birthday today and that Andrew and Joanna are going home, so he rewarded us with another short vacation."

"Wow! I love Ryan for that. I can now have a partner to teach me horseback riding!" 

"Sit down and have a coffee first!" Joanna offered, and then she called out the rest of the team for breakfast.

All the members of the band in their horses took off to take their breakfast, and before that, they offered a capella serenade for Leo. Seconds flew off quickly, and soon, the youngster set off for their horseriding adventure.

"Be sure not to go beyond the red marks," Ajie called out, reminding them of the restricted areas marked with red signboards and flags. 

Ajie then turned to the rest of them, who stayed in the table. "Don't worry. I have some fun reserved for the young at hearts and young moms."

Joanna and Allie giggled as they ran their eyes at Mr. Dioko, Mr.& Mrs. Lopez, Miss Perez, Leo, and Issa.

"Where are the oldies going?" Mrs. Lopez asked as she hooked her arm at her husband.

Ajie chuckled and gestured for everyone to stand up and follow him. Once they settled inside the van, he drove them into the resort and brought them to the hot-and-cold spring. Leo and Issa gasped in awe as they saw how this site transformed into an elegant tourist attraction. The spring was already nature's wonder a few years ago. He never expected that the new owner of the property would enhance and convert it into man-made work of art.

"Son, if I knew this site could be this wonderful today, I would have sold it to Mr. Lopez so that this place can remain a legacy," Leo chuckled after he said this. He knew he would never get an appointment to see an important man as Mr. Lopez if his intention was only about selling a property.

Ajie smiled at him and whispered, "Can you secretly call nanay and follow me at that cottage across the spring?"

Leo followed Ajie's eyes and looked at the cottage across the tile-and-granite-enclosed spring. He then turned away from Ajie and went to Issa while Ajie walked slowly towards the cottage. He scanned his eyes over every inch of the spring, his mind wandering to the days of his childhood where he took his bath daily in this place. Ajie no longer noticed as his parents followed him.

"Son, here we are," Leo spoke as soon as they were beside them. Ajie looked at them and smiled.

"Tay, Nay, I repurchased this place ten times the original price because this place means much to you. Aside from that, the price of this place provided my needs during my college days. I wanted to surprise you about this earlier this morning, but I didn't want to compete with Andrew. He might get hurt. Just keep it to yourselves for now."

Leo and Issa hanged their mouths open. Who would expect that this land which they willingly released from their hearts was already back to them through their son? The surprise was too great that they wanted to sob.

Ajie smiled as he watched their reaction. He still had many plans for them, but now that Andrew returned home, he was willing to give way for him.

______

"Like humans, we need to establish a relationship with a horse," Hayri began to give lectures to Jane as they mounted a horse together.

Jane just nodded nervously as she looked beyond the ears of the horse towards the trail before them.

"If it is your first time, it is best to have a horse riding expert to guide you. You should wear long pants and proper footwear. Then, before mounting on a horse, make sure you do a horseman handshake."

Jane giggled at it, imagining herself extending a hand and the horse lifting a leg to touch her hand with his hoof. Never had she thought about going on any vacation with a horseriding spree.

Hayri chuckled as he heard her, he could guess what was in her mind. "Jane, listen first. How could you be so innocent?"

Sitting in front of Hayri, she abruptly raised her head up and sideways as she wanted to glance at him. In doing this, she unintentionally hit her lips close to him, and this earned her an unwarranted halt of her heartbeat, followed by a vigorous one.

Hayri smiled at her abrupt withdrawal and continued, ignoring her obvious reaction. "Extend and arm and offer the back of your hand and wait until he touches it with his nose. It is his way of permitting you to mount into him."

"How cute," she mumbled and giggled again at how foolish her imagination had been.

When Jane stopped giggling, Hayri continued. "Be gentle with the reins. If you want to go left, move the left rein towards the left and so on with the right if you want to steer to the right."

"Got it," Jane answered, extending her hands to touch the reins.

"Now, try it yourself."

"No!" she protested loudly, and the horse swayed, startled by her sudden squeal.

"Relax, Jane. I'm just here at your back," Hayri assured her by placing his chin on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her waist, preparing to support her.

They were very close as childhood friends, but they never got intimate as this except for those moments where she cried on his shoulders. Getting conscious of his arms around her, Jane got more nervous. Her heartbeats were louder than Hayri's further instructions.