Page 176 of Conveniently Wed
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The next morning at breakfast, Leah bided her time through the meal, waiting for the right opening to make her request. She’d fixed warm sourdough biscuits with thick gravy and bacon—Gideon’s favorite. Hopefully the food would work its magic. He seemed to be in a decent mood despite the snowfall through the night, so after she refilled his mug for the second time, Leah posed her question. “Gideon, would you mind if I ride along and help with the cattle and the horses today?”
He had just sipped from the mug at his lips, but as soon as she got the question out, he made a loud choking noise. After several coughs, he managed to compose himself, turning red-rimmed eyes to her. “Ride…with me?”
She almost giggled at the shock on his face.
“I’m dying to get out and ride again, and I thought there might be something I can do to help out there. Maybe work with the horses or doctor wounds on the animals?” She turned her most hopeful smile on him, the one that had always worked with the men back in Richmond.
His pinched lips showed he wasn’t convinced, and he looked almost ready to turn her down.
“I promise I’ll stay out of your way. But I can work with the foals on their leading and handling. It’s been so long since I’ve seen little Trojan, I’ll bet he’s growing up.” If Gideon would just look at her, she had a better chance to convince him. But he kept his gaze determinedly pointed at the table.
“You should let her go with you.” Miriam’s interjection succeeded in raising Gideon’s focus from the table.
He studied his sister’s face for a moment, although his thoughts seemed far away. At last, he sighed and turned to Leah. “I guess you can go. But only until we come back for lunch, and you have to do exactly as I say.”
A rush of excitement washed through her. “Thank you, Gideon.” She almost jumped up to give him a hug, but that may not be a proper response. She settled for quickly stacking the dirty dishes on the table. “I’ll wash these quickly and be ready when you are.”
Miriam rose and made a shooing motion. “Leave those alone and get dressed for the snow. You can’t take away all my fun today.”
By the time Leah put on three extra petticoats, two pairs of stockings, and her gloves and coat, Gideon had his horse saddled and was tightening the girth on the chestnut mare Miriam usually rode.
As she approached, he lowered the stirrup and turned to hand her the reins. “This is Annabelle. She’s a good little riding mare, been Miriam’s for about five years now.”
Leah took the leather pieces and reached out to stroke the flat part between the horse’s eyes. “Hey there, Anabelle. You ready for a ride?” She turned back to Gideon with a smile. “All set?”
His eyes skimmed her frame, then shot over to the saddle, brows lowering in question. “You can ride, right?”
“Of course.” She pushed as much assurance into her tone as she could. No need to tell him she’d never ridden astride before,only sidesaddle. Both legs around the horse could only be easier, right?
She draped the reins over the mare’s neck, then turned slightly while Gideon cupped his hands to give her a leg up. Every nerve heightened with his nearness as she placed her boot in his palms and vaulted into the saddle, the mare shifting a bit under her weight.
“Easy, girl,” Leah murmured, trying to keep her befuddled nerves from making a fool of her.
Gideon placed her left foot in the stirrup while she settled her skirts, then he stepped back and glanced up at her. “Everything all right?” The wrinkle between his brows and the seriousness in his tone reflected genuine concern.
She flashed what she hoped was a confident smile. “It feels good to be in the saddle again.” And it did. Many long months had passed since she’d had the chance for a horseback ride. The leather hugging her lower body was comfortable and secure.
Miriam came out on the cabin’s porch to wave them off, and Annabelle fell into step behind Gideon’s bay gelding as they left the yard. The trail he took was slightly downhill and seemed to wrap around the mountain.
A companionable silence settled over them, broken only by the creak of her saddle and the snow-covered nature around them. This world was a mostly-undisturbed blanket of white, with ice covering the branches and evergreen needles.
The ever-faithful Drifter trotted behind, following in the tracks the horses made. The snow came to the knees of Gideon’s horse, so the poor dog would have worn himself out if he’d tried to break his own trail.
After a while, Gideon raised a hand to point at tracks in the snow about thirty feet away. “See that deer trail over there? I’ve gotten more bucks here than any other place on the ranch. It seems to be their main path down the mountain.”
A few minutes later, he showed her long, deep scratch marks in the trunk of a cedar tree. “Those were made by a mountain lion, probably a female from the closeness of the claws.”
Goose flesh rose on Leah’s arms. “Are there a lot of mountain lions around here?”
He shrugged. “They come and go. There’s enough wildlife to feed on in this area that they’ve never bothered us or the stock. You’ll see their signs, though.”
She’d never been this close to the wilder division of God’s creations. Wouldn’t it be amazing to actually see some of the animals he spoke of?
Not five minutes later, her wish came true when they rounded a bend in the brush and found three deer standing in the trail. The animals started when they saw the horses, then leaped into the woods, vanishing as quickly as they’d appeared.
“Oh…” Leah breathed.
