Page 44 of When the Storm Breaks
I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. “Um.... I don’t know.”
“Come on.” Noah waved his hand. “It’s lots of fun. You’ll see.”
“Come here.” Brody jerked his head toward a chestnut horse, and I went to stand by him.
“Just relax. I won’t let anything happen to you.” I nodded, believing him. He told me to stroke the horse so we could get acquainted which I did.
“What’s her name?”
“Hail Mary.”
“Oh Lord. Should I say my prayers?”
He laughed. “Come on. I’ll give you a leg up.” It only dawned on me then that he’d already had the horse saddled and waiting for me as if he knew I’d show up even though I hadn’t texted back to say I’d be here. Maybe I should have been annoyed at his presumption, but I wasn’t.
He gave me a leg up and instructed me to swing my right leg over the saddle. When I was sitting on the horse, he adjusted the length of the stirrups then wrapped his hand around my calf and looked up at me. “You good?”
I nodded then looked at the reins. “How do I hold them?”
He took the reins and positioned my hands to show me how to hold them. “We’re just going to take it nice and easy.” He glanced at Noah then lowered his voice. “Noah’s not ready to do much more than walk and trot and these horses will follow me, okay?”
I nodded. “Okay. What else do I need to know?”
“Relax your hands, sit up straight, and go with the rhythm of the horse. You’ve got nothing to worry about. We’re just taking a nice gentle trail ride. Smile and enjoy the scenery.”
I smiled, and he returned it.
Two minutes later, he led us out of the barn, and I didn’t have to do a thing. My horse followed Noah’s horse. I took a few deep breaths and tried to relax. After about ten minutes, I got used to the rhythm of the horse—mostly—and started to enjoy the ride. Until Brody turned in his saddle and asked if we were ready to trot. No surprise that Noah punched the air, excited about the prospect. I wasn’t the least bit excited.
Had I nodded? Had I given the impression that I was up for it? Looks like I had no choice because my horse broke into a trot and shit, that hurt. What could possibly be relaxing or enjoyable about bouncing around in a hard saddle while I held onto the saddle horn for dear life. Was this just a trot? It felt like my horse was running.
How did guys handle this? Didn’t their dicks and balls take a beating?
Brody’s laughter reached my ears.Shit. Had I said that out loud?
“Roll with it, Shy,” he called back.
“Who’s Shy?” Noah piped up.
Oh God. I hated lying to this little boy. My life was built on lies. “It’s Viv’s nickname,” Brody said, saving me from having to answer.
Noah nodded, accepting it as a fact because his dad had said so and Brody had probably never lied to his son.
Chapter Thirteen
Shiloh
My butt was sore,my thighs were burning, and I nearly fell on the ground at Brody’s feet when he helped me out of the saddle. He caught my arms to steady me, barely suppressing his amusement. “Whoa there, girl.”
“I’m good. Just have to find my sea legs.”
He chuckled. “It’s a good workout. Good practice,” he added.
“Good practice for what?”
He leaned in close and whispered into my ear. “For riding a cowboy.” He winked and gave my sore ass a smack. Great. Now he had me thinking about riding a cowboy. I bet he was good with ropes.
I looked over at Noah, worried that he’d overheard or could read my dirty thoughts. He was playing with Buster, rolling around on the ground with the dog and laughing, not paying any attention to the adults. Brody just grinned and pulled the saddle off my horse then carried it to the tack room.
