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A classic country song filled the cab and a tangible sense of peace settled on both of them.
* * *
Dax groaned.“No. Not like that. We’ve been through this, Sarah. You can’t expect your horse to listen to you if you don’t show her who’s boss.”
Sarah threw her arms up in the air in frustration. “I’m bossing her around as much as I can.”
He shook his head, then dropped it. His forearms rested on the corral railing, dangling over the side. “I hate to break it to you, little lady. But the horse can tell your heart isn’t in it. Even I can tell, and I’m all the way over here.”
Her face turned that hilarious shade of red she was known for whenever he used that term of endearment. Sarah’s hands curled into fists at her sides. “This stupid horse won’t do what I’m telling her to do because she likes you better than me, and she can tell you’re watching.”
He dropped his hands and slipped through the rails. “That may be. But you’re the one in charge, and if she gets even a hint that you don’t have any confidence in yourself, she’s not going to do a dang thing that you tell her to. She’s a yearling, Sarah. That means she’s stubborn as all get-out. You have to actually work at this if you want to get anywhere.”
“I don’t understand why I can’t just improve my riding skills. Why are you making me learn how to train these horses? It’s not like I’m going to make this my career.”
He took a deep breath to remain calm. “We’ve been through this. If you learn the basics of horse communication and how their minds operate, then you’ll be able to ride anything. Now, run the drill again.” Dax folded his arms tight across his chest, itching to step in each time he saw her misstep.
Zeke knew what he was doing when he’d saddled Dax with Sarah. He wanted someone to keep an eye on her. And he needed someone he trusted. Well, if that old man needed something out of this arrangement, then the least he could do was tell Dax what that was.
At this moment, a full week into their training, she wasn’t making any improvements. She was still just as skittish as any of those yearlings they were working with. At this point in starting a colt, he would have been in the saddle. The trust would have been developed, and they would be making progress.
Instead, that yearling wasn’t even willing to make the rounds in the corral, much less listen to her. Sarah’s less-than-smooth movements were setting the animal on edge.
He strode toward them. “No, not like that.” There was a bite to his voice he hadn’t meant to let out, but it got her attention. He reached for the lead rope and placed his other hand on the horse’s nose. Sarah stumbled back a few steps, putting distance between them. Dax ignored her frantic movements as he ran his hand down the yearling’s head. “We’re going nice and slow. No need to get restless. Nice and slow. I’m in charge.” His murmured, low words had the exact effect they usually did.
The horse settled, only pawing at the dirt once more. Dax kept his hand firmly on the lead, close to the animal. They took a step forward, then another. Resistance seemed to seep from the horse into Dax’s hold on her. The trust wasn’t there. That much was clear. But he continued to murmur his soft, firm words and eventually they made it around the corral three times.
Dax released the lead rope and patted the horse on her neck. Almost immediately the spunky animal kicked up her hind legs and trotted to the other side of the corral. Dax turned to face Sarah. “That’s how you do it.”
Her glower was the only indication of her attitude. Sarah folded her arms and huffed, “Well, you’ve been doing this for a long time. You can’t expect me to—”
“I can expect whatever I want. I’m training you, aren’t I? You have the best teacher you could hope to have. So why aren’t you doing what I tell you to?”
She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. The combination of a groan and a growl left her lips and she charged toward the gate.
“I’m not done with you yet.”
“Well, I’m done with you!” she hollered back.
He sighed. If Sarah wasn’t willing to humble herself and accept that not everything was going to go the way she wanted it to, she wasn’t going to get anywhere.
“You know, if you taught her the way you taught me, you might get somewhere.”
Dax spun, finding Brielle perched on the corral. “You really shouldn’t eavesdrop, Bri.”
She shrugged, a smile on her lips. “I wasn’t. Sarah saw me. Maybe you should be more aware of your surroundings.”
He took off his hat, hitting it against his leg as he strode toward her.
Brielle nodded in the direction that Sarah had left. “I mean it. You need to go easier on her. She didn’t grow up on a ranch. She’s literally a fish out of water.”
He peeked at her. “Not literally.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. And if you’d be a little nicer—”
“Iamnice.” A smile tugged at his lips. “You like me. The animals like me. Even yourdadlikes me.”
“Okay, a little less condescending. You’re not telling her what she’s doingright. You realize she talks about how you’re treating her, don’t you?”
