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She placed both hands on her hips. “Well, would you like it if someone yanked on a piece of metal in your mouth?”
Adam groaned as he sat up. “I suppose not.”
“That’s exactly what you did. You have to remember to treat these horses with respect. What you did could have made him skittish around not only you but other people, too. You’re lucky he didn’t continue bucking when he got you off.” A smile touched her lips. “But you know there’s one good thing about what just happened?”
“And what’s that?”
“Now you know what you’re up against if you decide to compete in the rodeo. Only next time you won’t have a helmet.” She still couldn’t believe he was sticking to his guns on this. It didn’t matter how many times she told him it wasn’t a good idea; this guy just wasn’t getting it.
Adam rolled his eyes and held his hand out to her.
She helped to pull him to his feet. “Okay, now get back in the saddle.”
“What? Don’t you want me to get onmyhorse?”
Faye shook her head. “When it comes to riding, my father always insisted on one thing. When you fall out of the saddle, you get back on the horse.”
“Everyone says that,” he muttered. “Only no one knows what it’s like to do it literally.”
4
Adam
Adam still couldn’t seem to catch his breath. The impact he’d made on the hard dirt had managed to lodge his lungs into places they didn’t belong. The worst part was that Faye had been completely right and now he had egg on his face, not to mention a bruised tailbone. His head pounded, pulsating with each beat his heart took.
He scowled at her from his perch on the saddle. “I thought that the helmet was supposed to prevent me from getting hurt.”
She smirked at him, and as much as he thought he’d hate that knowing smile, he couldn’t help but think she looked absolutely adorable. Faye moved closer to him and ran her hand down the horse’s shoulder. “Well, your head didn’t break open, did it? You didn’t die, did you?” Then before he had a chance to realize what she was doing, she slapped her hand on her horse’s rump.
The horse took off like it had before, and this time his heart raced but not from exhilaration. It pounded like nothing he’d ever felt before. His breath caught in his lungs and it took every ounce of control not to shut his eyes against what was happening.
The rhythm of the horse’s hooves thundered against the ground but with a more even tempo. The longer he let the horse go, the less terrified he became. This was okay. He could do this. The only problem at this point was figuring out how to stop without pulling too hard on the reins. Oh…andtrying to prevent the damage that the saddle hitting his backside would cause.
He caught sight of Faye standing in the center of the corral with the horse he now wished he’d stuck with. The smile she sported was a combination of excitement and wicked intent. The way she looked in that moment, he could see her being cast as an evil queen in some child’s fairytale.
Faye cupped her hand next to her mouth. Her voice sounded distant even though they were close enough that she could have spoken at a regular level. “Now, when you want to slow down, you have to be gentle. You can’t just yank on the reins. Don’t pull them too close or too tight. You need to give him some breathing room.”
“Easy for you to say,” he called back. “My lungs still haven’t gotten back to normal capacity.”
She laughed, and it was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. Adam nearly lost his focus when he glanced toward her to see if she, indeed, was the source of that laughter. Faye gestured with her hands as if he could see what she was doing.
“You need to tug gently, then release and tell him ‘whoa.’ He knows what that means.”
Adam gripped the saddle with one hand and the reins with the other. He tugged on the rope a little. “Whoa.”
The horse slowed rather than coming to a complete halt. He tossed his head and shifted around in a circle, probably still antsy from the last time he’d tried something similar.
Adam’s head snapped up and he grinned at Faye. “I did it.”
She wandered toward him, her smile matching his. “You’re a quick learner—though you need to trust me a little more.” One brow lifted and she gave him a pointed look. “You should trust your horse, too. The ones you’ll be riding here have had extensive training. They only need the barest touch to know what they’re expected to do. We can’t have horses that have minds of their own.”
Faye’s soft smile returned to her face and she traced her hand down the horse’s neck again. “Blaze here has been with the family since he was a baby. He can do everything from rounding up animals to barrel racing and dressage competitions.” Her gaze flitted to his. “But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an attitude every so often. He doesn’t like it when people are rough with him. Treat him with respect, and he’ll do the same to you.”
“Blaze, huh?”
She nodded. “I picked him out when I was younger. I got to help with his training. He’s super smart, but times like today he can be a real pain in the…” Her cheeks colored. “Well, you know.”
Adam rubbed his backside. “Yeah. I think I get what you’re saying.”
