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Sheepishly, he told himself he was being ridiculous. Maybe it was best if he and Madison spent a little time apart now, before he made a complete fool out of himself in front of his longtime friends.
A pretty young cowgirl in tight jeans, an embroidered satin shirt and a Western hat and boots stepped to the middle of the arena, twirling a lariat around her as she introduced herself in a slightly exaggerated Texas drawl. “I’m Gayla. It’s great to have you all here today, and we’re going to make sure you have a great time, whether you grew up on a ranch or this is your first visit to one.
“Needless to say, no visit to a ranch would be complete without horses. We’ll have some riding lessons first, then we’ll take a trail ride during which we’ll have an old-fashioned chuck wagon lunch. Those of you who choose not to get on a horse will be treated to a wagon ride,” she added with a glance at Tommy Polanski’s very pregnant wife, who nodded in resignation.
“Okay, then.” Gayla motioned forward three ranch employees who’d been hovering behind her. “Shane and Mickey and Laura are going to help us get started.”
With practiced efficiency, Gayla and her assistants separated the guests into levels of proficiency, from those who’d never sat in a saddle before to the ones who had grown up with horses, and all the levels in between. The least experienced were mounted first to begin instruction on how to sit in the saddle, hold the reins and guide their mounts. Jason noted that the horses assigned to the greenhorns were placid and tolerant, looking more likely to fall asleep in midstride than to misbehave.
The laughter and teasing that ensued were good-natured, and Jason was pleased to see that both the ranch hands and the more experienced guests made a point to put the new riders at ease. While the newbies were having their lesson, the others were assigned mounts according to their preferences.
Jason managed to maneuver himself close enough to Madison to hear her say candidly, “I’ve ridden friends’ horses and I’ve been on a few trail rides, but I wouldn’t call myself an expert rider. I should probably have a horse that’s fairly easy to handle.”
Mickey, a grizzled, middle-aged man with a protruding tummy, nonexistent butt and bowed, stork legs nodded and motioned toward a pretty bay mare. “You should take Sweet Pea. I think the two of you will get along just fine.”
Madison dimpled as she admired the horse. “Oh, I’m sure we will. She’s so pretty.”
“A pretty horse for a pretty rider,” Allen proclaimed loudly, making the others roll their eyes at the blatant flattery.
Jason felt like doing the same, even though he grimly admitted that the very same thought had crossed his mind.
He found an ignominious satisfaction in watching Madison politely rebuff Allen’s assistance in mounting the bay. Instead, after taking a moment to greet the horse with head strokes and murmured compliments, she moved to the left side and swung herself easily into the saddle. She fumbled a bit getting her other foot into the stirrup but recovered quickly, looking rather proud of herself for the easy mount. Oddly enough, Jason was proud of her, too.
“You look like you know your way around a saddle,” Mickey commented, giving Jason a once-over.
“I’d better, or all those years I spent hanging around my uncle Jared’s ranch were wasted,” Jason replied with a chuckle.
Mickey motioned toward young Seth, pointed, then looked back at Jason while Seth led up a sturdy black gelding. “This is Pablo. He likes the trail rides as long as you keep him interested, don’t just sit on his back like a lump.”
Jason laughed. “I’ll do my best. Hey, Pablo.”
He held out his hand for sniffing, then rubbed the horse’s muzzle and forelock, speaking quietly to let Pablo get used to the sound of his voice. The horse blew out a breath, bobbed his head a few times, then nuzzled Jason’s washed-soft denim shirt as if granting his approval.
Mickey nodded in satisfaction. “You’ll do. Pablo don’t care for posers. Won’t let anyone wearing fancy new boots or a shiny fringed shirt get anywhere near him.”
Mickey had spoken in a low voice obviously intended for Jason’s ears only, rather than risk being overheard by one of the other guests in their new boots and shiny shirts. Jason laughed, then was surprised to hear an echoing laugh from close by. He and Mickey both whipped their heads around to see Madison astride her horse, having wandered close enough to have overheard the cowboy’s dry comment.
“Uh, no offense to any of your friends, ma’am,” Mickey said quickly, looking chagrined by his imprudence. Jason suspected the man had been reprimanded a few times for being less than diplomatic with the dude ranch guests.
“None taken,” Madison assured him. “And don’t worry, I won’t repeat what you said.”
He nodded in relief. “Can I help you with something?”
“Gayla said we should ask you for any assistance,” she explained, glancing at Jason as if apologizing for the interruption. “I think my stirrups need to be adjusted a little.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mickey started to move toward her, then hesitated when Gayla called him from a few yards away. “Mickey, can you give me a hand over here?”
“Go ahead,” Jason said, clutching Pablo’s reins loosely in one hand. “I’ll help Madison with her stirrups.”
Trusting that Jason knew what he was doing, Mickey nodded and loped away toward the other side of the arena, where Gayla seemed to be having difficulty pleasing one of the other groomsmen in selecting a mount.
Looping Pablo’s reins around his arm, Jason smiled up at Madison. “Nice horse.”
Madison patted Sweet Pea’s neck. “Yes. She and I have already become friends.”
“What’s the problem with your stirrups?”
