Justin had called me. He wanted to stop by to bring me something. Josh caught him at the driveway.

Josh: “What are you doing here, Justin? Don’t you think you should find a girlfriend your own age?”

Justin: “Not now. I’m here to see Gillian. She’s expecting me.”

Josh followed him to the house.

Josh: “You know, Gillian means a lot to me. When you’re young, you don’t always think about your actions, but—”

Gillian: “Hey Justin, come in. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Justin: “Sorry, Josh. There she is.”

Inside, Justin handed me a small package.

Justin: “Your gloves. You forgot them. And… Josh was kind of strange. I don’t even know what he was trying to tell me.”

Gillian: “Thank you for bringing them all this way. Yes, Josh is a bit unsettled at the moment. Come on, I’ll make us some tea.”

I had no idea what exactly Josh had said to Justin — but I could imagine the direction it had taken. Poor, clueless Justin had unwillingly become the rival in Josh’s imaginary love drama. I had to clear this up. But first, I calmly drank tea with Justin. I tried several times to talk to Josh, but he avoided me. If I wanted to explain the Justin situation, I would need a plan. During a trail ride, I had an idea. I called Josh.

Gillian: “Josh, I’m near the big fallen tree with Foxy. I fell and I can’t get up. Can you please come?”

I lay down in the snow and waited.

Josh: “Oh my God, Gillian! Is it bad? Are you in pain? What happened?”

Gillian: “My leg hurts terribly. Please help me, I can’t walk.”

He picked me up and carried me for a while.

Gillian: “Josh, about Justin—”

Josh: “Wow, you’re heavier than I thought. Did you gain weight? We’ll have to do this differently.”

Before I could react, he placed me face-down over Foxy’s saddle, mounted his own horse, and led us back to the ranch. On the way, I tried to explain everything.

Gillian: “Justin… just showed me around… far too young… nice boy… I forgot my gloves… I don’t understand how you even got that absurd idea.”

Josh: “Everything okay back there?”

At the stable, he lifted me down.

Gillian: “I’m glad we cleared that up. I hope we can go back to being friends.”

Josh: “Friends? Gillian, I’m crazy about you. Seeing you with Justin drove me crazy. You’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. But I’ve been gone for a long time. I understand if you want to take things slowly.”

Take things slowly?! I stormed into the stable.

Gillian: “Aaaahhh! They’re all driving me insane! What am I doing wrong? As soon as one problem is solved, the next one appears. I don’t understand men — no, they don’t understand me!”