Bette smiled at Peggy, "It would be my pleasure, Peggy.  But won’t Joe be helping with the fox hunt?"

Peggy shook her head, "No … and if you take Gold out for a ride, I would imagine it would be a nice break for him, not having any horses to look after for a spell.  He says you tend to take long rides, hours even."

"It’s only because Gold and I get along," Bette said.  Peggy responded, "Well I think that horse a special spot in his heart for you, Bette.  He doesn’t ride as hard for anyone else, I think.  Not even Helena, who actually picked him out during a horse fair!"

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Early the next morning, a limousine sent over by Peggy came by to get Bette to take her out to the stables where Gold was kept.  Upon arriving there, Bette hopped out, and arranged with the driver that she or Joe would get in touch with him about an hour before she expected to need him to drive her back to her place. 

She turned to head towards the horses, and saw a horse trailer parked near the barn.  She guessed it would have been for Gold, had he been part of the fox hunt.

But as she entered the stables, she was surprised to see Lauren fixing the stirrups of the saddle on a new horse. "Lauren?,’ Bette asked, in surprise.

"Hi," Lauren replied.  "I thought I would join you on your ride.  Hope you don’t mind?"  

Bette looked at her quizzically, "But I thought you were joining the fox hunt?"

Lauren waived hand dismissively, "Oh, I don’t have to.  It’s my dad and my brothers who are more into it.  I do it more for the socializing…. and I would much rather socialize with you."

Bette was scrunching her eyebrows together, feeling uncertain about how to react, when Joe re-entered the stable.

"Oh, hi Bette!," he called out to her.  "Gold is ready to rock and roll!"

"Good morning, Joe.  I hope it won’t be a problem if we ride with Lauren and…."

"Baker," he interjected.  "No… won’t be a problem at all.  They’ve ridden together several times before without any complications.  Helena and Lauren have taken several rides together, right?"

Lauren nodded, then smiled back at Bette as she mounted Baker.  She motioned that she would lead her horse out slowly.