No wonder she loved this place so much. It was beautiful, almost as beautiful as her. Grass grew tall here, fed by gentle spring rains and the river, which meandered in twists and turns throughout the field. At least thirty horses, some having been born just a few short months ago, judging by their size, others, a spring or two before, grazed alongside their mothers at the river’s edge, and cattle, at least two hundred head, were further in the distance, their constant lowing seeming to echo off the mountains surrounding them.
“I had no idea.” Awestruck, he could only stare.
“It’s magnificent, isn’t it?” She glanced at him, and he could see her pride clearly.
“It is.”
She spread her arms wide. “Having the herd in the summer pasture allows us to save on feed. See how tall the grass is? Once winter comes, we’ll move them closer, but for right now, we can let them graze to their hearts’ content.” She smiled at him. “And it’s tradition. This is what the Silvas have always done, according to both Serafina and Antonio.”
He noticed a tent, a spot of white against all the green in the distance, and finally made the connection as to why not all the ranch hands came in at the end of the day. At least one stayed to protect the herd during the night, except on pay day, when Teddy and his wife, Esteban and Catalina, or Heath and Jenny watched over the herd to allow the cowhands to head into town.
Out in the pasture, Teddy separated from the other horses and rode up to him. “Nice to see you out here, Jake.”
“Nice to be here.”
Teddy, the man he didn’t think would ever become friendly toward him, seemed to be doing just that. Not only had he entrusted him with a young horse to train, but his entire attitudehad changed, for which Jake remained thankful. There seemed to be an acceptance in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.
“I thought it was time for him to see this.” Evie gestured toward the pasture beyond them. “He’s done well with his lessons.”
“I agree.” Teddy nudged Soldier Boy and rode off. “Keep up the good work,” he called over his shoulder.
Pride that Teddy should note his accomplishments brought a feeling of satisfaction deep in his heart.
Oscar rode up beside them then, his big, black stallion coming dangerously close, almost touching Clementine. The mare took a step to the side and snorted, as if warning off the other horse. Oscar maneuvered his mount a little closer, just enough to be intimidating then turned his attention to Evie. He touched the brim of his hat with two fingers. “Good afternoon, Miss Evie.”
“Good afternoon, Oscar.”
Oscar acknowledged the greeting then turned his attention to him. “Shouldn’t you be shoveling shit?” he scoffed, despite the fact such a word should never be said in front of a lady. He glared at Jake, his lips curled into a smirk, before he rode off, no doubt in an effort to show off his skills, skills that Jake was just learning. Horse and rider disappeared from view, and it was just as well.
Jake really didn’t want to look at Oscar’s smug face or hear his whiny voice. Ever since their fight, Oscar had been continually baiting him, egging him on for a rematch. Jake did his best to ignore the man, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. It was just a matter of time before he’d knock the man on his ass again. The day was coming, and in his opinion, it couldn’t come soon enough.
Evie frowned, her shapely brows lowering to form a deep furrow between them as she watched the man ride away thenturned back to him. There were questions in her eyes, questions he wasn’t sure he wanted to answer. “What was that about?”
“We had a disagreement.”
“About what?”
“I’d rather not say.”
Her eyes narrowed as her frown deepened, drawing the corners of her mouth down as well. “If something is happening on the ranch, I need to know.”
“It’s nothing for you to wor?—”
Clementine emitted a high-pitched whinny before he could finish his sentence and reared up on her hind legs. Startled, not quite sure what to do except not fall off, Jake gripped the reins and squeezed the horse’s sides. Clementine came down hard on her front legs and bolted, like someone had set her tail on fire. Jake bit his tongue as his teeth clicked together from the impact and the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. The reverberations of her pounding hooves travelled up his spine as the horse headed toward the river at a dead run, jostling him in the saddle.
He couldn’t stop her. No amount of squeezing his legs or pulling on the reins slowed her headlong rush. Panic gripped him, causing his throat to constrict. He couldn’t yell. Hell, he could hardly breathe. And his heart pounded so hard, he thought it would break through the wall of his chest.
This horse is going to kill me!
Water splashed up as Clementine galloped into the river, blinding him temporarily but somehow, he managed to hang on, squeezing his knees against her sides, praying for her to stop. He could jump, now that he was in the water, but couldn’t bring himself to do it, having no idea if there were boulders beneath the surface—boulders that could surely be his doom.
Salvation came in the form of a slim, gloved hand reaching for the reins. Jake took his eyes off the horizon for just a momentand glanced to his left to see Evie right beside him, Spitfire keeping up with Clementine’s frantic run.
Strange the things he noticed in that split second before he met his maker. There was no panic on her face, just a grim determination. Her hat flew off her head, revealing a wealth of light brown hair, the sun glinting off the strands of white, making them seem even whiter.
She made a grab for the reins and missed. She tried again and managed to seize the reins from his hands. A moment later, Clementine slowed, her sides heaving as she blew hard. She stopped, finally, up to her belly in the water. The horse turned her head to look at him, like she was apologizing for almost killing him.
Jake drew in a deep breath, the first one in what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes. His heartbeat returned to normal…or whatever normal was now. He still felt like it was beating too hard, pounding against his ribcage, echoing in his ears.
