As Molly showered and then got behind the computer to prep, Jake cooked dinner. Occasionally he would come over to see how she was getting on, kissing her neck or hair before getting back into the kitchen. Every now and then he got distracted watching her. He could watch her all day, thinking she looked particularly cute already in her pjs, with her damp hair and rosy cheeks.
"Thanks for cookin' honey," Molly smiled as she joined him at the table once dinner was ready.
"Yer welcome," her boyfriend smiled back, thinking it was such a small thing for him to do for her.
As they ate, he asked her questions that might come up so she could have some answers prepared. After they finished eating and had cleaned up together, Jake begrudgingly said good night and headed home to work on his final project for the year.
Molly researched the school and thought of what her administration skills were. She prepared some answers and practiced them as she paced through the living room. That was how her sister found her when she came home.
"Hey Molls, surprised you're still up," Jennifer said, thought she meant she was surprised to see her by herself.
"Yeah I had to prepare," her sister answered.
"Prepare?"
"I've got a job interview tomorrow, at the high school," Molly told her.
"That's great," Jennifer smiled happily. "Good luck. Let me know how it goes," she encouraged her. "I need to get to bed for work tomorrow, but I'm sure you'll do great."
"Thanks," her sister smiled.
"Don't stay up too late," the older girl reminded her before she headed up to bed.
"I won't, night," Molly said as she got back to the computer to check something.
Once she finished on the computer she went into her bedroom to find an outfit and was so glad she hadn't gotten rid of all her city clothes yet. While she didn't want to go all the way back to looking like a city girl, they were smarter than some of her country outfits. She ended up with her darker jeans and one of her smarter shirts from Phoenix. She decided to keep her cowboy boots as part of the outfit, as she'd be wearing them most days and she wanted to know if they were okay. Given where they lived, they probably would be.
Molly felt the interview went quite well, but wouldn't hear back until after the weekend. So rather than spend her time fretting, she went riding with Jake on the Saturday. It felt like ages since they'd done that, so they were gone for quite a while.
"I missed doin' this," Molly told him once they'd slowed down from cantering for a bit.
"Me too," Jake said as he looked at her with a smile. Riding Bullet complete with her cowboy hat really suited her and he wished they could do it more often. But, he supposed, if she got this full-time job, she'd only be able to on the weekends. "Ye look really good over there, proper country girl," he told her now, seeing her blush with a laugh.
"Thanks cowboy," she winked now, spurring her horse on a little faster. Bullet didn't need to be told twice.
"Ye won't get away from me that easy," Jake responded and spurred Maximus on to follow them, making her laugh. He caught up with her quite quickly, but when he reached out to slow her down, she steered Bullet away from him. This was actually quite fun, having him case her. But he did eventually catch up with her, slowing her and Bullet down enough to lean over and kiss her. "Now who's the tease?" he asked her, kissing her neck and sending shivers down her back.
"Still just you," Molly told him, laughing when he grabbed onto her to tickle her and continued kissing her neck. She was saved by Bullet nervously moving away from Maximus, forcing Jake to let go of her. "Thanks boy," she told the horse as she rubbed his neck, giving her boyfriend a wink when she looked up.
"Temporary reprieve," he promised her, satisfied to see her blush as she realized the possible meanings behind his words. "Ready to go back?"
"Nuh huh, I've not done this in so long I wanna keep goin'. How much further can we go?" she asked enthusiastically. They'd never done any proper long rides before because she'd always had to make sure she was back before her sister came home. Now that was no longer an issue, she'd like to try it out.
"Quite a way, but we'd probably need to head back before then. We can go for a little bit longer though," Jake said realistically. The kind of ride she was talking about needed proper preparation and they should've brought food. There was no way they could stay away that long either without his father knowing, as he would expect him back to do other chores.
"Yeah okay, let's just do what we can then 'n head back," Molly said with a shrug. She'd take anything right now.
"Well then, let's go," he smiled and spurred on his horse. She did the same with Bullet and followed him.
They went back after another hour, getting back later than Duncan and Jennifer had expected. She'd actually come round to their neighbors to see if Molly was there when they came trotting back onto the yard. The younger girl could see that her sister looked confused at seeing her confidence and ability on a horse.
"You comin' home for dinner?" Jennifer asked instead of what she wanted to.
"Yeah, I just need to brush Bullet down first," she nodded, feeling a little nervous. She was expecting some form of comment.
"Sure, I'll see ye in a bit then," she nodded. "Sorry Duncan for botherin' ye," Jennifer added, before she headed back round the ranch to the front drive to head home.
"No problem," the older rancher called, giving the two youngsters a stern look. Duncan knew they'd be fine, and Jake knew the land well enough for them both to be okay. But Jennifer didn't seem to have known her sister could even ride, so had gotten worried when they'd been gone for ages and he'd told her they were out riding. "Ye didn't tell her ye could ride?" he aimed at Molly, and she could feel his disapproval radiating even from where she was sat up high on Bullet.
"When I first told her Jake was teachin' me, she said she didn't want me to ride. Our mama never wanted us to coz that's what my daddy liked doin'," she explained, feeling a little ashamed of herself. She'd not told her that Jake had taught her anyway, because that would've meant actually admitting they'd continued seeing each other and doing something she'd told her not to.
Duncan gave a slightly frustrated sigh. He was clearly conflicted about something. "See, that's not right. Yer a rancher's daughter, ye should be able to ride. But ye should'a told her," he still managed to lecture her.
"I know..." she assured him.
"Come on, we'd better get these two back in the stable," Jake saved her now and, after dismounting, led Maximus in. She quickly followed suit, not realizing her progress impressed Duncan.
"Jen, I'm sorry I..." Molly started as soon as she walked in an hour later, stopping surprised when her sister held her hand up to stop her.
"Just to be clear, I am angry ye learned to ride despite me tellin' ye not to," Jennifer started, making sure she knew. "But seein' ye like that, so confident... daddy would've been so proud," she continued. Keith had taught, or had started to teach, them before he died and, while Jennifer had been old enough to continue if she'd wanted to without her mother's consent, Molly was too young and too dependent on their mother's willingness to take her to lessons and pay. Seeing how determined Jackie was for them not to do anything that reminded her of her husband, that was never going to happen. Molly had complained and begged her to change her mind, but she'd never wavered. And Jennifer had, blinded by her pain over Blake, continued to hold onto that stubbornness all those years later.
"Ye think so?" Molly asked a little nervously. It was harder for her to imagine what her father would or wouldn't have been proud of, as she'd been so young when he'd passed away.
"Definitely," her sister nodded. "There's a lot of things he would've liked us to have done, that mama never let us." Jennifer sighed as she sat down at the dining table. "He would be proud of us, don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. I mean, we've not turned out so bad and we moved back here," she added, making her sister laugh.
"Kickin' 'n screamin', but ever so glad now," Molly said, giving her a hug. "Now if I can only get that job..." she said as she sat down next to her.
"You will, I can feel it," Jennifer reassured her.
"I hope so."