S88

At first, the horse ranch hands are uncertain of our surprise visit, and they politely refuse entry. But when Genni jumps out and starts chattering excitedly about the “beautiful blue roan broodmare” in the nearby pasture, the ranch hands decide maybe they’ll ask the boss.

The boss is a tall woman under a broad hat named Fil, entirely fit in her sixties if I had to guess, and clearly used to sunlight and getting her way. We’re invited in with enthusiasm.

The ranch has plenty of riding horses.

Genni knows her horses—another perk of her private instruction in the Ekard family. She hops up bareback on a horse—I’m a motorstreak lover, so don’t ask me about the kind—and she puts it through the paces.

Here, I see Genni in full force, and what Minister Lev warned me about. She’s a flirt. I don’t mean the sly kind. I mean she talks to men in such a sincere, direct, politely intimate way—it’s pure, organically processed flirtation, and the male ranch hands are gobbling it up.

Mary Beth is enthusiastic about riding a horse, but entirely new to it. Angi is simply ecstatic. Both take to riding immediately.

We end up burning the entire morning and afternoon. Time well spent. I have three happy athletes, and they’ve got shared stories now.

I thank Boss Fil profusely. She grins and says the people who need to be giving thanks are the ranch hands.

I get Genni out of there before someone proposes.

Draw a small circle in Angi Kyang’s Sway box.

Draw a small circle in Genni’s Sway box.

If you include Angi or Genni in this mission, you gain a free insight draw for one of them.