our plates before he sat right in between us with his. Auggie and I shared a smile.
“This is lovely,” Auggie told Dash.
“Thank you,” Dash replied. “It’s our favorite thing. There aren’t a whole lot of horses today, though.”
“They must be pretty lonely,” Auggie said. Dash nodded. “Maybe you should go ride one.”
Dash shook his head wildly at the thought. “I don’t ride the horses,” he said.
“Why not?”
“I’m too little,” Dash replied.
“Too little?” Auggie repeated, incredulous. “Why, I was your age when I rode my first horse.”
Dash looked up at him, eyes wide. “You were?”
“Had to,” Auggie confirmed with a nod. “It was part of my training.”
“To be a prince?” Dash asked, enthralled by the story.
“To be a king,” Auggie clarified, which only fascinated Dash more. “All kings ride horses.”
“They do?”
Auggie nodded. “How can you rule a country if you cannot command your steed?”
Dash mulled it over. “I never thought of it that way,” he replied in his most adult way. I chewed my lip to keep from grinning.
“I can teach you,” Auggie offered as he put his plate down on the blanket, taking both Dash and me by surprise.
“Right now?”
Auggie nodded. “No time like the present, or so they say.”
Dash leaned towards me. “I don’t know…,” he started.
Auggie bent towards him. “The best way to handle something scary is right away. Otherwise you will use fear as an excuse to put things off, and you’ll spend your whole life afraid. At least my way, you learn how to ride a horse.” Auggie ambled easily to his feet before holding out a hand to my brother. “Trust me.”
It was softly spoken, but powerful, nonetheless. There was just something about him that was more than just a title he could take on or off at a whim.
Dash looked from Auggie to me. I wasn’t much help, given I was still trying to figure out if I could trust him myself. What exactly was his agenda here? Finally, I offered a small nod of approval.
He pulled Dash first to his feet, then offered a hand to me. He did not ask me to trust him. He expected nothing less. I took his hand and allowed him to pull me up. I was breathless as I faced him.
He reached for Dash with his free hand, and Dash readily gave it. Auggie led us to his horse, who waited patiently nearby, chewing on some grass.
“Hello, love,” Auggie murmured as he approached from the front, allowing the horse to see him as he released both our hands to stroke him, murmuring gently. “If you treat your horse well, he will treat you well,” Auggie told Dash, who nodded to indicate he understood. Auggie held out a hand to my little brother, who hung back from the massive animal. “You’ve come this far,” Auggie urged. “You can’t stop now.”
Dash took a deep breath of courage before he inched closer to Auggie. Using his free hand, Auggie guided Dash to touch the horse in a gentle caress while he crooned to it softly. “Isn’t he beautiful?” Dash nodded. “You should tell him.”
“You’re so pretty,” Dash said as he gently touched the horse.
Auggie gave me a wink and I hugged myself to hide the shiver.
“Come,” Auggie said, guiding Dash to walk around the horse. “Keep your hand on him. Let him know you’re there.”
Dash kept sweet talking the horse as they completed their circle around the horse.
“You’re friends now,” Auggie declared. “Friends trust each other and take care of each other, right?” Dash nodded, so Auggie handed him the reins. “Walk him down the hill.”
Dash glanced between us, looking either for permission or encouragement. I gave both. “Stand at his shoulder,” Auggie said, positioning Dash where he wanted him to be. “Give him some room. You don’t want him to catch the back of your heel.” Dash acknowledged the instruction with another nod. Auggie clicked his tongue to get the horse to move, and Dash easily picked up the trick, assuming authority over the horse immediately. I didn’t miss how it made Auggie smile. “Stay to his left,” he said, hanging back to fall in step with me.
“You have no idea what kind of miracle you just performed,” I said softly. “The only thing left is turning water into wine. Seriously.”
He chuckled. “It’s no miracle. No one can say no to The Duke.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “No?”
“No,” he confirmed with a smirk. If he did hold such a record, that smirk was probably the reason why. There was nothing