Page 33 of Moonlight Over Montana

Now he had her full attention.

“I’m listening.”

“We’ll talk to Tate Dunn. I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to get to know him yet, but he used to ride the circuit and his sister was a good barrel racer and he worked with her. I’m sure if you talk to him, Tate will agree to help out and we might even have a suitable mount to get her started. He’ll know that too.”

“Then all I’d need to get is the saddle?” She wasn’t talking to Jed but more like walking through what her next steps needed to be. “Will you introduce us tomorrow after I get back from taking Susie to school? I don’t want her to know in case he says he can’t do it. Then if she gets real serious about it, we can talk about buying her a horse down the road.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. “You know, you’re pretty good at the parent thing. Why didn’t you ever have any kids?”

“Missing one little part of the equation.” He arched his brow as his mouth went dry. “The right woman to have some with.” And for Jed Steele, the only woman who had ever came close to giving him those kinds of ideas was standing next to him.

“Jed.” Susie came out of the barn leading Nahla at a steady pace. “Ready for inspection.”

He stepped off the fence and crossed to where the girl and mare had come to a halt. Rubbing the velvety softness of the mare’s nose he said, “Are you ready to take Susie out for her next lesson?”

She nickered softly as if she understood the question.

He ran his fingers over the bridal and gave Susie an encouraging smile. “Good job. How did you do with the blanket and saddle?”

“I did it just like you showed me, and I took my time too. I used the same saddle as before; I hope that’s okay.”

“Fine.” He stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me the steps you took.”

She draped the reins over her shoulder and held up her index finger. “I brushed her down and the underside of the pad, then I placed that on her back, making sure there weren’t any bumps. I was gentle when I put the saddle on her.” She popped up another finger. “Then I made sure the girth strap was tight in the ring along with the other one.”

“The tie strap?” He was impressed so far, but he was not about to let on.

“Right. I made sure the strap was tight and saddle straight. Then I double-checked to make sure the strap was secured since I don’t want that coming loose as we’re trotting the length of the paddock.” She flashed him a wide grin that warmed her sable-brown eyes.

He checked all aspects of the saddle and said, “Good job. Go ahead and mount, and I’ll open the gate for you.”

“Thanks a lot. This is so totally cool.” Putting her left boot-clad foot in the stirrup, she vaulted to the saddle with the grace of an experienced and confident horsewoman. He glanced at Maggie who lifted one shoulder. In his opinion, this young woman was born to ride.

“Have fun and don’t push yourself or Nahla. Work together. That’s what a good barrel racer does with her mount. It’s teamwork.”

She tapped the brim of her cowboy hat and said, “Got it.” She pressed her knees into Nahla’s side, and they entered the paddock. He secured the gate behind them and watched as Susie and Nahla made their way at a slow walk halfway down the space before breaking into a gentle trot and then canter. They circled the paddock a couple of times at varying rates. Maggie stood quietly beside him.

“She’s a natural, just like you said.”

He was not surprised at her statement. “To ride yes, I have no comment on barrel racing. People usually start much younger, but that’s not to say she can’t if she sets her mind to it.”

“She blames me, you know.”

“For her father taking off?”

“Yeah, in a small way.”

“You shouldn’t carry that guilt. If Cash had wanted to be a part of her life, he would have. He’s the one who should feel guilt, not you.”

She glanced his way. It has been an interesting conversation so far and he had the feeling she was about to make it even more so.

“Guilt is a funny thing. Have you given any thought to the burden you’ve been carrying around about Polly?”

Not being able to help her had eaten at him like a festerin’ wound. Maggie had been right; he needed to talk about it and let it go. “I have given what happened a lot of thought, replayed it in my mind over the last few days. Even when I examine every detail, I just can’t see what I could have done differently.”

She placed her hand on his. “But did you talk to Polly? Does she blame you for what happened?”

“I went up to the greenhouse earlier today and we had a good talk. Basically, she said that I more than likely saved her life by jumping in the way I did. He had to figure out how to dispose of us both and that gave her time to get free and disable him until help arrived.”

“And…” Maggie prodded.

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