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Oh, no. He wanted her to try again? Every muscle below her waist rebelled.
But all her life she had hated giving up. For one thing, she hated hearing Teddy laugh at her. They had laughed at her in her village in China, too. And for another, Thad was right. She did need to know how to ride. In fact, she and Ellie had planned to meet at the dressmaker’s on Monday. She could not ask Thad to come in from his fields every time she needed to get to town.
She hauled her aching body to the stump and climbed up onto the flat surface once more. Her legs were shaky, but she had learned something. She did not have to take a flying leap into the saddle; she merely had to plant her rear end on the hard leather seat.
Again she stepped into the stirrup, gripped the saddle horn with her left hand and heaved herself upward. Her stiff body settled neatly in the saddle.
The mare stood quietly for a moment and then bolted.
The reins! Leah had forgotten to grab the reins! In a desperate attempt to stay seated, she bent forward, plunged her fingers into Lady’s coarse mane and hung on.
The animal circled and whinnied and finally bumped to a stop, so abruptly Leah tumbled sideways off the mare’s back. She hit the ground on one hip, but this time landed harder, driving her teeth into her lower lip.
Blood filled her mouth. She spat out the viscous stuff and spat again until her saliva was clear.
This time, Teddy did not laugh. Thad had stood close to his son, gripping his shoulder, but when Lady bolted, he’d let go and sworn. When Leah hit the ground, he sprinted toward her.
She sat with her legs bent, her face pressed against her knees.
“Leah, are you hurt?” She shook her head but didn’t lift it.
“Leah?” Thad dropped beside her and folded her slim form into his arms.
“Don’t try to talk,” he murmured. “Just breathe slow and easy. When you think you can walk, I’ll help you into the house.”
She shook her head.
“You don’t want me to help you?” Another negative shake.
“You don’t think you can walk? I can carry—”
“No.” She let out a whimpery cry. Thad rolled his eyes at the blue sky overhead. Women were puzzling creatures. She was hurt, but he didn’t know how badly or where. Didn’t know whether she could walk, or if she even wanted his help. He rested on his haunches with her trembling body in his arms and felt like a complete fool.
She disengaged herself, wobbled to her feet on her own and started forward. The look on her sweaty, dusty face was so determined it sent a shimmer of alarm into his gut.
“Leah, what are you doing?”
“Trying again,” she muttered through blood-smeared lips.
Thad blinked. “Oh, no, you’re not. You’ve had enough for one day.”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she stalked deliberately back toward the mounting stump.
Thad stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “No,” he said.
“Yes,” she hissed. She marched around him. “Bring the horse.”
Teddy clung to Thad’s leg. “She’s awful stubborn, ain’t she, Pa? Don’t let her do it.”
Hell, yes, she was stubborn. And brave. Against his better judgment, he strode off to lead Lady back into position, and then watched the slim, dirt-smeared figure in blue jeans and a shirt and a pair of Teddy’s old boots scramble again onto the stump. She turned to look at him with fire in her eyes.
Lord, she was beautiful.
Teddy clung to his thigh. “I’m not gonna watch.”
Thad ignored him and the boy’s hands fell to his sides.
This time Leah wound the reins twice about her left wrist, then propelled herself up onto the mare. Thad let out an unsteady breath. At least by now she should know how to control the animal.
Or did she? She sat motionless in the saddle, as if unsure what to do next.
“Lift the reins,” he called. His voice was hoarse.
She raised her hands, and after a hesitation, the mare moved a step forward.
“Kick her!” Teddy yelled.
“No!” Thad thundered. “Just touch your heels to—”
Too late. the horse stepped daintily forward, slowly at first, then broke into a canter. Lord in heaven, the mare would run away with her!
Teddy grabbed Thad’s belt and jerked it. “Pa?”
“Leah! Pull back on the reins. Pull back!”
But she did not. Instead, with a defiant little shake of her head, she rode the mare to the pasture fence, managed to turn the animal in a big, sloppy circle, and then headed back toward them at a fast trot.
Thad swallowed over a lump the size of a pinecone. She had to be completely unnerved. Either that or she’d gone completely loco. Maybe it was the Chinese in her. Whatever it was, it scared him to death.
