Free The Sweetest Gift (The Gift) by Pamela Warren Page A

held the bridle while Maggie found the stirrups and swung down.
They led the horse back to its stall. Justin put the saddle and tack away while
Maggie curried the horse. She enjoyed the feel and smell of the horse and could
sense its gentle spirit. Justin put his arm around her so he could retrieve the
curry comb. He left it there a few moments longer than was necessary.
    “I’ll finish grooming the horse, Maggie,” he said as
Tucker and the children entered the barn.
    “I hope you enjoyed your ride, darlin’,” Tucker said.
“Maybe Justin could take you out some more while he’s here.”
    “Maybe you could go for a ride with us, Mama,” said
Gabe. “That would be fun.”
    “We’ll see,” Maggie said. She was surprised to think
that riding with her children might even be a possibility.
    “That mare is very gentle, Maggie. I’m sure you could
handle her. Maybe we could try to go for a ride with the kids before we leave,”
said Justin. He put his hand on her shoulder as she smiled at him.
    “O.k., we can give it a try at some point,” she said
much to her children’s delight.
    The next day was hot and humid, so they decided to spend
the afternoon in the swimming pool. Jake watched his brother and sister racing
each other across the pool and suddenly he went over to Justin and took him by
the hand.
    “Daddy, teach me to swim,” he pleaded.
    Jake was pretty competent at the dog paddle, but he
wasn’t allowed to swim in the deep end of the pool.
    “I think that’s an excellent idea, Jake,” Justin
replied. “Maggie, it would be a good idea if he was a little more comfortable
in the pool.”
    Maggie agreed. Zak had taught Gabe and Belle how to
swim, but due to the divorce, Jake and been overlooked in that regard. So
Justin spent the next week teaching Jake the crawl and the back stroke. He also
taught him how to tread water in case he had some sort of emergency in the
water. By the end of the week, Jake had become a lot more proficient with his
swimming skills. Maggie was relieved that Jake would be a little safer around
the swimming pool.
    Justin had also been working with Maggie so that she
would feel comfortable horseback riding. They went out for an hour or two every
day and by the end of the week, Maggie had gotten to the point where she was
riding Delilah by herself. She found that the horse was so gentle that it would
follow another horse and if Maggie accidentally dropped the reins, she would
just stop moving until Maggie could recover them.
    Maggie started to enjoy these trail rides, Tucker’s
property was extensive and included rolling pastures and woods. Maggie began
looking even healthier than usual with all this exercise and time outdoors.
Tucker wondered if there was another reason that Maggie appeared to be glowing,
but kept his suspicions to himself. The week culminated with Maggie
accompanying Gabe, Belle and Justin on a trail ride. Tucker stayed home with
Jake and played guitar with him. When the other children came home and joined
them in the living room, they were excited by the expedition with their mother.
    “Uncle Justin told Mama that he’s going to teach her to
ride a motorcycle next,” said Gabe approvingly.
    “I’d like to see that,” Tucker said and laughed.
    “Well, that’s probably not going to happen,” said Maggie
as she entered the living room.
    “You never know Maggie,” laughed Justin as he came into
the room after her. “I have a bike out in California that you might like to
try.”
    “Just bring her back in one piece, Justin,” Tucker said
and smiled.

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    Chapter 11
     
    The next day, Maggie and Justin helped the
children pack for the trip to San Francisco. They didn’t want to bring too much
luggage so Maggie and Belle shared a suitcase and so did Jake and Gabe. Justin
loaded the suitcases in the trunk of his rental car and then went back into the
house to say goodbye to Tucker.
    Maggie was sitting with Tucker on the couch with