Page 7 of Rowdy St. Nick

I put my foot in a stirrup and swing my other leg over Daisy, then offer her my hand.

“I’ll help you. I’ve done this before.”

“You’ve rescued women on the side of the highway who are clearly not dressed to ride a horse?”

I chuckle. “No, but I’ve rescued plenty of trail riders who got scared after we hit the part of the ride that goes along the riverbank, and we start trotting or cantering.”

“I don’t know what most of that means but seeing as you’re my only option…”

She trails off as she takes my hand, and I pull her onto the horse in front of me, her legs slung over on one side as if she’s riding side saddle. Sans saddle.

“This is really weird,” she says.

“You’ll get used to it.”

I grab the reins, and Daisy starts moving. I keep the pace pretty slow because I don’t want to scare her, but also, she’s not really holding on much, and if I push Daisy into a canter, she’s absolutely going to fall off. Since it’s her first time on a horse, I’d rather let her lead the experience.

“So, you come here often?” She says with a smirk.

“Very funny. But yeah, I ride down the fence over here,” I point. “I need to check and make sure there aren’t any holes or weak spots left open.”

“Why? There’s no one around for miles.”

“Right, but there are animals. Ones that like to kill livestock and get into our grain.”

“Oh.” She hangs her head.

“We also have to make sure none of our own animals can get out. If there’s a storm or some other noise that spooks them, they might try.”

“That’s your job, then? Fence monitor?”

“It’s part of my job, sure, but I’m technically a ranch hand. It means I do all manner of chores and some management tasks with the other hands.”

“Like mucking out stalls? Doesn’t that mean shoveling shit?”

“Yes, that’s what it means, but no that’s not what I do. There are other people for that job.”

“I see. Shoveling shit is beneath the brave cowboy who rescues damsels in distress.”

“You’re a damsel now?”

“Actually, I’m quite the opposite.”

“What does that mean?”

“You see this outfit?”

“How could anyone miss it?”

“Very funny. Anyway, this is my hostess uniform for a special club out in the middle of nowhere.”

“What club requires a uniform like that and is hidden away out here?”

“The Castle.”

“Never heard of it.”

“Yeah, I doubt you would, Mr. Ranch Hand.”

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