Page 149 of Giddy Up, Daddy

Clenching my jaw in determination, I tightened my grip on her. The movies made it look simple. Rope the horse. Grab the girl. Ride off into the sunset. The reality was much more complicated. Digging my fingers into her side, I steeled mynerves and plucked her from the saddle. Kennedy landed hard in front of me, her legs and thighs banging into the edges of my saddle until she seated herself more firmly. She was going to be sore tomorrow. Hopefully she didn’t have any serious injuries.

Unhooking my reins from the saddle horn, I glanced across to Wyatt. He gave me a thumbs up, riding parallel to Topaz. The horse would only run for so long. The biggest danger had been to Kennedy. I rubbed her shoulder and draped the blanket over her. I trusted Wyatt to get himself and Topaz back in one piece.

Circling Tinkerbell, I praised her for a job well done. I leaned into Kennedy’s ear so she could hear me better. “Are you hurt?”

“Everything aches, even my hair.”

“Aw, sweetheart. Your adrenaline is fading fast. Let’s get back so I can check you over.”

“Everything is fine. Probably lots of bruises in fun places.”

“I’m going to look anyway.”

“Didn’t get enough of my boobs, huh?”

“Don’t get smart, darlin’.”

“I bet you got an eyeful,” she said sarcastically.

“It was more important to get you off Topaz in one piece.”

She grunted and rubbed her thigh. “Yeah, I know. My legs are absolutely killing me. I don’t get it. They were okay a minute ago.”

“Grabbing someone off a horse looks daring in the movies, sweetheart. But it hurts like a bitch in real life. You need to take it easy and rest.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “Since when do I listen?”

“You will if you know what’s good for ya’.”

Kennedy relaxed against my chest. I loved the way she trusted me. Tension knotted my shoulders as I thought about how badly she could have been hurt.

“Your knuckles are turning white,” she said, resting her hand on top of mine.

“I want to get home. Tinkerbell can’t fly but she acts like she can.”

Kennedy praised the horse, gently rubbing her. It seemed to be soothing her as much as the horse. “She’s a good girl. It’s not easy carrying the two of us around. Now, tell me why you’re on edge.”

“You might be injured.”

“I’m okay, Alden. Really. You prevented anything bad from happening to me.”

“That’s not the point.”

It seemed to take an eternity to get back to the barn. We stayed quiet, seemingly lost in our thoughts. Dismounting first, I held my arms up to Kennedy and assisted her to the ground. My hands rested on her hips. She wiped something off my face, dirt or sweat, while her gorgeous gray eyes studied mine.

“I knew you’d save me, Alden.”

“Glad you had that much faith, darlin’. My rescuing skills are rusty.”

She kissed my cheek. “I wasn’t worried. At least not too much.”

Spinning on her heels, she took one step toward the barn door before her knees buckled. Sweeping her close to me, I cradled her to my chest. “If you wanted a lift to the house, you could have asked.”

“Very funny. I thought it wasn’t that bad, but my legs feel like jello that’s been lit on fire.”

“The crash after adrenaline pulses through your system is a bitch. Sometimes Wyatt would get off his horse in the arena and his knees would buckle like yours just did.”

“Did you carry him like this too?” Kennedy leaned her head on my shoulder.

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