Page 9 of Roping Reba

Johnny was silent beside me, but I could feel his eyes on me, tracking my every movement. After a few more heartbeats, the mare stretched her nose forward, nostrils flaring as she took me in. The trust was barely there, but it was a start.

“You really are somethin’ else,” Johnny said, in a voice so quiet I almost didn’t hear it with the wind blowing around us.

I swallowed, fighting the ridiculous rush of heat that climbed my throat. “It’s just patience.”

He huffed out a breath. “Not just with the horse.”

I turned my head slightly, just enough to see him watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher. There was admiration there, sure, but something else too. Something heavier. For the first time in a long time, I felt dangerously close to letting my grip slip, just a little. I turned back to the mare, pushing the feeling down. Because letting go? That had never been safe. And with Johnny? It felt damn near impossible. I’d made that mistake once in my life. I wasn’t ready to make it again.

I took another step forward, choosing the wild horse over the man next to me, and she scared off. I watched as she turned and ran toward the furthest point of their enclosure with the other three horses close behind her. It was clear they had an established pecking order. If I won her over, I might stand a chance with the others. If I didn’t, there was no way we could tame any of them. I respected that about horses. They required trust before they would allow a human in their space. Some people worked with horses bred to help humans. I preferred the ones who needed it but didn’t know it yet, and the gorgeous beast in front of me was one of those horses. One that needed me but hadn’t yet acknowledged that need.

CHAPTER 4

Johnny

Watching her was like watching the most complicated, beautiful thing in the world. Reba had been part of my life for longer than I could remember. We’d been wild, dumb kids running the rodeo circuit and then everything had gone to shit. But there were times like today when I couldn’t pull my gaze from her. I was happy Jagger and Moira had Jax, because splitting my attention right now seemed impossible.

She held her hand out as the wind changed directions and the mare she was trying to win over took in her scent. The horse was taken by the light floral smell that hit her nose in the same way I was every time I was near Reba. She had a thing with horses that many admired. I followed her in because I couldn’t watch her from afar, but I wasn’t an idiot. She took the lead in here and I was only around in case she needed me. Her level of patience far exceeded mine and when the small herd ran off, she didn’t look disappointed, only more motivated to win them over.

“It’s okay,” she said, turning in my direction. “They just need a little more space.”

“For animals as large as they are, horses always amaze me at how skittish they are.”

“They have no reason not to be. Everything in our world is foreign to them. These four have lived a life of freedom. They need to choose a life with human companionship and they know nothing about it.”

I nodded, but my eyes stayed on her, not the horses. “So, how do you convince them?”

Reba turned back to the mare, watching her with that quiet patience she always had. “I don’t. I show them there’s nothing to fear. That being close to me is safe.”

Her voice was soft but sure, and damn if that didn’t hit me harder than it should have. Because hell, that’s what I’d been trying to do with her for years, show her I wasn’t the same dumb kid who’d hurt her, that I’d changed, that being close to me wouldn’t bring her regret. The mare huffed and took another hesitant step toward her. Reba stood still, letting the horse close the distance on her own terms. I forced myself to do the same. I wanted to step in, to do something, but I knew better. This wasn’t my area of expertise, it was hers. The worst mistake I could make was to interfere. Honestly, I shouldn’t even be in here with her, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that if one of these horses so much as twitched the wrong way, I’d be between them and Reba in a heartbeat. She’d hate me for it, but I couldn’t let her get hurt. Not when there was a chance I could do something to stop it.

“You ever tire of waiting?”

She smirked, eyes still on the mare. “No. You rush them, you lose them. Some things take time.”

Some things. Not all things. I scrubbed a hand over my jaw and exhaled through my nose, trying to shake the frustration I had no right to feel. She wasn’t talking about us, but damn if it didn’t feel like she was.

The wind shifted again, and the mare flicked an ear. Another slow step, closer this time.

Reba barely breathed. Neither did I.

When the mare finally stretched her nose forward and sniffed Reba’s outstretched hand, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly. Just a ghost of a smile, but I caught it. She was beautiful when she smiled. It was something I didn’t get to see often. She had constructed walls around her when it came to me, and the only smile I ever got was when she was with Jax or someone else entirely. I watched like I always do and when the mare suddenly tensed and trotted away, Reba didn’t react with disappointment, just a calmness that I’d always admired. She turned her head, her gaze meeting mine.

“They’ll come around,” she said, like she had no doubts.

My chest tightened. “Yeah,” I murmured, my eyes still locked on hers. “They will.”

Her expression flickered, like maybe she caught the double meaning in my words. Maybe she didn’t. Either way, she looked away first, turning toward the herd as they settled on the far end of the pasture for the second time.

We tried again and again all morning and most of the early afternoon before Reba was finally ready to call it quits.

“We should give them a break. Try again later this afternoon when they’re calmer. They have our scent now. We won’t be strangers next time.”

I exhaled slowly, nodding. “Sounds like a plan.”

I stepped back, giving her space as she climbed over the fence rather than unlatching the gate this time. I followed right behind her, resisting the urge to offer a hand, knowing she wouldn’t take it. But when she landed and brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face, her fingers trembling just a little from the adrenaline, I almost reached for her. Almost.

Instead, I shoved my hands into my pockets and forced a grin. “You always this stubborn?”

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