Page 43 of The Fire Line

When Harris finally swung the saddle into place, the gelding took one quick step sideways but stopped when asked. Harris didn’t correct him or send him forward again. He rested one hand on the saddle and waited for the tension to leave the horse’s neck.

“He came back,” Jay said.

“Yup.”

Harris eased the cinch beneath the gelding’s belly without tightening it, walked him several steps, stopped, tightened it slightly, then walked him again. By the time the saddle was secure, the horse stood with one hind leg resting and his head considerably lower than when they had begun.

Jay lowered the camera. “Half an hour of meticulous negotiation followed by absolutely no visible triumph. I understand why you two get along.”

The corner of Harris’s mouth shifted before he turned away, but Jay caught it anyway.

Harris led the gelding through several quiet circles, asked him to back and turn, then loosened the cinch. On camera, his confidence read as something more compelling than dominance. He made the correct response easier to find and then removed himself from the accomplishment.

“So what happens when some careless tourist rides him badly tomorrow and ruins all your work?” Jay asked.

“Nobody’s riding him tomorrow.”

“Good. He deserves time to process his emotional journey.”

Harris gave him a flat look.

“Hypothetically, then. What do you do with a rider who has bad habits?”

“Depends how bad.”

“Let’s say he’s extremely handsome but has been accused of pulling too hard on the reins.”

“By who?”

“A hostile local authority.”

Harris looked at him long enough to make clear that subtlety had not been achieved. “How long since Argentina?”

“Seven years.”

“Before that?”

“Iceland.”

“That wasn’t riding.”

“There was a horse involved.”

“What kind?”

“Short. Hairy. Deeply resentful of tourism.”

Harris looked away, but not before Jay caught the edge of a smile.

There it was again. Jay was developing an embarrassing appreciation for those little unauthorized smiles.

He was beginning to collect them. Healthy. Very stable behavior.

“You want to learn something or not?” Harris asked.

“I thought I was being subtle.”

“You weren’t.”