Since her eyes stayed closed, I took the opportunity to study her. Though her hands clutched the reins and saddle horn like a lifeline, she allowed her body to move lithely with Domino’s. Her hips engaged with each step the gelding took, and her long, lean legs remained steady at his side instead of rocking like out-of-control pendulums. She possessed the natural gracefulness of a horsewoman, even if her mounting ability and the fact her eyes remained shut suggested she’d never ridden before.
“You really should open your eyes.”
“Opening them means looking down, and the distance between me and the ground is something I don’t particularly want to be reminded of.”
I ran my palm across the top of my thigh. “I promise you won’t fall.”
Her chin tilted to the side. “That is a promise outside the realm of your control. Only Domino can make such a guarantee, and he’s yet to utter those words of comfort.”
I added a hint of pressure against Lightning’s flank with my outside calf, sending him a side-step closer to Domino. My skin prickled as the distance that separated us closed, but I couldn’t let my shyness put her in danger. “Maybe he has and you weren’t listening.”
Her plush lips bowed. “And you’re Dr. Doolittle I take it?”
Better animals than people. “Everyone can be, to some extent, if they pay attention to body language.”
A furrow appeared between her brows. “What is Domino’s body saying then? Translate for me.”
Lightning responded to my subtle commands, pressing even closer to Domino. “That’s not how this works. You have to open your eyes to see for yourself.”
Her hands readjusted on the saddle horn. “You’re going to make me come out and say it then, aren’t you? Fine. I’m too scared.”
Despite the risk of startling Jocelyn, I nudged Lightning to close the small gap separating us. My knee pressed against Jocelyn’s as I reached out and covered her hand. “Like I said, I promise I won’t let you fall.”
Her eyes sprang open. “What are you doing?”
I firmed my grip in case her surprise caused her to lose her seat. IthoughtI’d been overcoming my own discomfort to offer reassurance, but the way her spine stiffened at my proximity made me second guess.
“Is this safe? I thought horses liked distance between them. The girl in the video said to make sure you don’t let your horse stick its nose in the butt of the horse in front of you unless you want your horse to get kicked. Is that only front-to-back, and side-to-side is okay?” Her knuckles matched the whites of her eyes as she turned them toward me.
“Breathe.” The command came out of me as if on a breeze. I gently pulled back on Domino’s reins while tucking my seat under me, halting both horses. I met Jocelyn’s fear-filled gaze, her nervousness stabilizing the quake in my own middle and quieting the noise in my skull. “I’m not going to let you get hurt.”
Her honey eyes locked on mine, a silent battle taking place behind the amber flecks.
“No one is going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do while on my property, including horseback riding. If you want, we can walk the horses back now. We aren’t too far out yet.”
She glanced back the way we’d come.
“However, I think you should give me a chance. Er…to show you that riding horses isn’t something to be afraid of, I mean.” Uncomfortable heat ignited the tips of my ears. Too bad the sensation wasn’t from a habanero pepper instead of me stumbling over my words. Again.
I studied Lightning, letting my confidence pool back around me. “There’s nothing quite like the view between a horse’s ears, I assure you, and the rhythm of Domino’s gait will soothe away any misgivings you might have. Being on top of a horse is like nothing else in this world.”
She tilted her head, her riotous curls grazing her shoulder as she studied me. “That sounded a bit like cowboy poetry to me.”
I gave Lightning’s shoulder a pat, ignoring the awkward feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Leather creaked as Jocelyn shifted in the saddle. “All right,vaquero, open up this whole new world to me.”
Those amber flecks sparked in her eyes, a little sass replacing her trepidation.
I folded my fingers around her clenched fists then eased them open. “The first thing you need to do is relax. On any horse besides Domino, your tenseness would make your mount nervous.”
She took a deep breath in, then her muscles relaxed under my palm as she exhaled slowly. “Good. Now, see how one of Domino’s ears is flicking back toward you and the other is forward? He’s relaxed and listening to you as his rider.”
“Hey, Domino.” She reached out and ran a hand down his withers. “Sorry I’ve been such a scaredy cat.” The other ear flicked back toward her.
“As long as his ears are relaxed, you know he’s happy.”
“What happens if they get as stiff as I was before?”
