My Forbidden Mentor by Laura Mills

time when she indulged her father she was beyond exhilaration and at the same time her admission served to prepare him, however she had not anticipated her father requesting another private conversation with Lord Blackburn. If she had known that was going to happen she would have waited, but now it seems she had overcompensated, going from telling lies, which was out of character, to telling more truth than be known. She hadn’t meant to break their agreement. “Forgive me I never expected him to react that way. In the end he seemed agreeable.”
    John glared some more before tipping his head back to peer into a ceiling of blue sky and white clouds. After a moment of silence his head shifted forward. “Melissa, we have got to trust each other. If I cannot trust you, I cannot teach you.” He saw a forgiving reaction in her, which he appreciated.
    She stood with hands clasped in front of her, her eyes worried, the edge of her teeth biting into her bottom lip. “I promise it will not happen again. I’ve made a terrible mistake and I feel awful about it,” she told him and fell silent, waiting for his response, but when he did not speak she became desperate. “I promise you can trust me,” she pleaded.
    His arms unfolded and his hands went to her shoulders in a light grasp. “No more chances after this. Are you sure you understand?” he questioned as his features softened while clarifying his point.
    She couldn’t blame him. He’d done nothing so far to cause her to question him, yet time after time she’d done just the opposite to him. She gave him a generous smile, “I understand, and I don’t blame you for being upset with me.”
    He squeezed her shoulders tighter, smiling in response. “I’m not upset anymore, what’s done is done. I will meet your father again, and without your intrusion this time?”
    “You have another promise on that. I assure you,” she told him with confidence.
    “Good. Now let me show you around the track and we’ll discuss a time to meet with your father.”
    As they toured the track John explained his start involving horses, how he had traveled to Catterick Village to observe the horses and study the trainers, deciding that one day he would train his own horses and have champion racers. As John told his childhood story the words seemed to flow out of him. It was rare that he talked about himself and now, with Melissa, he was feeling free to do so. He went on explaining his increasing involvement as he became older.
    By age nineteen he had helped finance a new racecourse to be built for Catterick and within the next few years he acquired his first stallion, Monarch. After Monarch became a champion John purchased a couple of high dollar mares for breeding. The breeding of Monarch and his favorite mare, Clara, resulted in his present upcoming champion, his stallion Chief. Chief was born with the chestnut coloring of his father but the balanced temperament of his mother. He was John’s masterpiece and he had molded him from birth until the present.
    Melissa seemed intrigued. She would ask question after endless question about every process he’d endured. Her solid interest in his livelihood struck him with an unusual sense of comfort and ease. Never before had a woman listened to him with such depth. Never had his attention been so set on a woman and her reactions, for with Melissa he was learning to expect the unexpected.
     
    Side by side John and Melissa rode toward John’s home. They continued their chat about John’s race course experience until reaching his manor. While John checked his messages from his service man Charles, Melissa took in the magnificent surroundings of his thoroughbred heaven. Before Melissa had a chance to explore the many glorious beasts John resumed his task of escorting her home.
    After arriving at her home a short time later, they stood leaning against the wooden posts of the corral sharing horse stories while waiting for Mr. Howard to arrive home.