Page 78 of Say the Words
“Yes, but I did very well. Your Gram named me Least Likely to Get Kicked in the Chest.”
“That’s low.”
I grinned up at him. “I could handle Miss Kitty. She was so patient and good all evening, she deserves a reward. She’s a real sweetheart.”
“That she is, but I can’t ride out with you.” His mouth pulled at one corner like he wished he hadn’t admitted it. At least he’d come to accept that he wasn’t doing his recuperation any favors by pushing himself so hard day in and day out.
“I wouldn’t be gone long. I just want to ride out in the back forty for a little while.”
“Oh, the back forty?” he said with a short laugh.
“You know what I mean.”
I didn’t know what to call the part of his land not used for his training business. The large, fenced pastures closest to the barn were covered in thick grass for the horses to graze on, with a few trees and shade shelters, but past that, the land was still in its natural state. Ashes and oaks towered over sages and laurels, and the creek that supplied the horses’ watering pond shone gold in the sun. I had only caught glimpses of that wilderness since I’d been out here, but exploring it on horseback sounded perfect.
He gazed down at me as though assessing every inch of my horse-riding abilities. “You haven’t been on a horse in eighteen years, and you’re asking me to let you go for a ride all alone.”
I stood straighter. “Seventeen years.”
“That’s not as reassuring as you think.”
“I have earned it, you know.” I laid on an entirely fake air of casualness. “The bet, and all.”
“I figured we’d hold off on paying up until I was better.”
“Then I’ll just have to ride twice.”
He laughed at that, even if the effort caused him noticeable pain. “All right. You win.”
“Really?”
His pride seemed to want to disagree, but he nodded. “The bet, the ride. You won fair and square. You’ve done nearly two weeks of work and didn’t run for the hills.”
I must have grinned like a maniac. This many compliments from Ty Hardy taken all at once would go straight to my head.
“Let’s get you saddled up before I change my mind.”
I went back into the round pen with Miss Kitty to adjust the saddle’s stirrups. Ty gave instructions over my shoulder as he helped me get everything ready for my ride.
When I first started working on his ranch, I took his color commentary on my efforts as not-so constructive criticism, but the thought hit home that he liked showing me around his horses. As much as he had fought with me at the beginning, I think he enjoyed sharing this side of his life with someone. I liked being that someone more than was sensible.
I reminded myself my time out here had always been on strictly a temporary basis, and he’d just conceded our little bet. Technically, I didn’t have to come out here anymore. Fine, technically, I never had needed to. But winning the challenge I’d foolishly thrown down lost some of its thrill when it meant I wouldn’t come back to his ranch tomorrow. I wasn’t prepared to give up my place out here so quickly. Maybe not for a long time.
And how would that be, side by side with Ty for the long-term? Sharing just a small part of the work out here, sharing ourselves, sharinglife? What if, instead of going back to Austin, I came home to Ty? Want blazed through me like a forest fire, scorching and all-consuming.
I finished securing the stirrup, my fingers trembling as I adjusted the leather straps.
See what I mean? Not at all sensible.
From the round pen, he led me to the lane that divided the pastures, one hand gripped tight on Miss Kitty’s bridle. “Keep going this way, and you’ll find a walking trail. She’ll know what to do and isn’t likely to pick her own path. Whole property is fenced if you try to wander off.”
“I’m not stealing your horse, you know.”
“I wouldn’t put anything past you.” The mischievous light in his eyes turned serious. “I want you back in thirty minutes.”
“Half an hour? I might as well stay in the round pen for that.” I’d pictured a leisurely walk among the shade trees, not an in-and-out sort of thing.
“It’s enough for a greenhorn like you.”
