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Chapter Five
Kaylee twisted the hem of her shirt between her hands, not sure how much of the story she should tell Luke. She could already feel the heat warming her body as the shame of that day returned.
“I had a chance to ride a horse once,” she told him, keeping her eyes trained on a small reddish rock next to his boot. “We were on vacation in Wyoming, and my stepdad took my younger sister and me out to a dude ranch. You know, one of those pay-for-an-hour horseback rides?”
“Sure. The horses have usually done the trails so many times they just follow in a line. Not much of an “authentic” experience.”
“No,” she said again, shaking her head. “But it was a memorable one. They assigned me this horse named Thunder. They said he was a littlespirited, and I don’t know, something about that word just freaked me out. When it was my turn, I kind of panicked and was afraid to get on. So, my little sister…” Half-sister, to be exact; aperfecthalf-sister who must have inherited all the good stuff from their mother, while Kaylee had only inherited the bad. “Well, she wasn’t afraid of anything. So, she offered to switch horses with me and jumped right on Thunder like it was no big deal. But then something must have spooked him because he reared up then took off, racing across the field. One of the ranch guys had to go racing after her, and she ended up falling off and breaking her arm.”
“Wow. Thatisa traumatic way to be introduced to horseback riding.”
“Or horsebackwatchingin my case. We ended up leaving the dude ranch and heading straight to the emergency room. Juliette, my sister, wasn’t mad at me, but I always blamed myself for her getting hurt.”
“So it was your fault the horse just happened to get spooked, and then you made your sister fall off in just the certain way that would break her arm?”
“Well, no, of course not. But if I would have just gotten on the horse…if I wouldn’t have been so afraid…”
“Then you might have been the one who ended up with the broken arm?”
She finally looked up at him. “Exactly.”
“And that would have been better?”
She nodded. “Oh yes, so much better. Because of the fracture, my sister couldn’t finish her last few softball games that summer, and her team went to the finals. She was their star pitcher, but without her, they lost.”
“And that was your fault too?”
“Of course. I spent most of my summer with my nose in a book. A broken arm wouldn’t have effected anything if it had happened to me.”
“That’s a lot of liability to take on for a kid. How old were you?”
She let out a sigh. It had been the summer before she’d lost her mom. “Fifteen or sixteen. Too old to be afraid of a dumb horse.” The big horse huffed again, and Kaylee held up her hand. “No offense intended. I don’t mean you.”
“I’m truly sorry that happened to you. But it sounds like an isolated incident. Like you said, something must have spooked him. Most trail horses are pretty docile.” Luke patted the horse’s neck. “But they’re just like people. They have their own personalities, and every one of them is different. And just like people, they can be sweet or cantankerous, but most of themaregood. This horse here is probably the best friend I have. I can’t imagine my life without him.”
“But that’s just it. You’ve spent your whole life around horses. You’re used to them.”
“True. But still, a lot of them are very gentle. I’ve got a couple of really sweet mares that you could easily ride. I’d be happy to teach you if you want to try again. We could saddle one up right now.”
She chewed on her bottom lip as indecision roiled through her belly. She wanted to be brave, to channel Sassy, who would never back down from a scary situation, but…she just couldn’t. The fear of horses was just too deep in Kaylee, and she couldn’t make herself get on one.
“Not this time.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
She wiped her sweaty palms on the sides of her legs, thankful he hadn’t pushed her harder. “How about those fences?”
“Sure. Let me put Max up and then we can go. Will you be okay on the back of the four-wheeler?”
She swallowed, just now realizing she’d be riding the ATVwithLuke. “Yes, I’ll be fine.” She wasn’t fine. Just the thought of being so close to the good-looking cowboy was sending her pulse racing, but she’d already flaked out on horseback riding. She wasn’t a total wimp. Well, she was. But he didn’t need to know that.
“Back in a few,” he called over his shoulder as he led the horse into the barn.
She sank onto the porch step and was flanked by the eager Gladys and Cooper. Scratching the dog’s necks, she tried to put the memories of her sister out of her mind. There was enough to focus on today.
Ten minutes later, Luke had the horse put up and his tools assembled and placed in the corner of the steel mesh box on the back of the ATV. He patted the seat. “Climb on.”
Kaylee eyed the four-wheeler. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
