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She placed a hand on her hip as it popped to the side and made her look even more alluring. “You’re notafraid,are you? If you’re going to make Dahlia give you a second look, you’re gonna have to get past that.”
Oh,right. Dahlia. That’s what this was about. One riding lesson and one car session, and already he’d shifted his sights to the girl who stood in front of him rather than the one who he’d pined over for the past several weeks.
Faye’s soft laugh broke past his defenses. It managed to invade where others had failed. How could something so small and simple cause so many sensations? She brushed past him, leading a different horse he hadn’t seen before. It was almost completely white and could have passed for a knight’s faithful steed in any number of fairytales.
When she reached the edge of the barn, she paused and glanced over her shoulder. “Are you coming or not? I’ve got something to show you.”
For a moment he froze. It was as if his feet didn’t have any idea of what to do next. They remained glued to the spot until he heard that laughter again. It echoed off the walls, wrapping around him and making him lurch forward so as not to get left behind.
Adam’s long stride had him easily catching up to Faye, and just when he got to her side, she lifted herself up into the saddle. Behind her a flicker of light caught his attention. He nodded toward the lightning. “Are you sure we should be riding? It looks like it’s gonna rain again.”
She followed his gesture and then swung her attention back to him. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of rain, too.”
“I’m notscared,” he muttered indignantly. “I just don’t know that we should be taking the horses out in it. Isn’t it bad for them?”
“First of all, that storm is a far way off. Second,ifwe get rained on, we can dry them up just fine when we get back. This is important. We won’t go riding for another two weeks. Come on. Get in the saddle like you did last time.” She pulled her reins around and moved her horse forward without even waiting for him.
Adam scrambled around to Blaze’s left side and mounted with little effort. There was only a faint ache in his legs, but that could have been from anything. He was just about to dig his heels into Blaze’s sides when he recalled how that worked out for him last time. Instead, he carefully squeezed his legs and the horse moved forward.
Much better.
Blaze was far more sensitive than Adam had realized. The horse could move in one direction or the other with a simple shift in the saddle. He appeared to be able to sense where Adam wanted to go before he was prompted. And it was absolutely amazing.
Growing a little more confident with every step, Adam nudged Blaze into a quicker pace.
Big mistake.
Blaze moved into a trot that was a decent speed, but the way Adam was seated, his backside bore the brunt of every clip-clop Blaze took. The pain returned with a vengeance, reminding Adam he wasn’t a young teenager anymore.
He was just about to pull on the reins to slow down when Faye’s laughter pulled his attention. She shook her head but didn’t say anything.
“Are you going to do your job or what?” Wasn’t she supposed to give him advice or tips on how to stay in the saddle without losing all feeling in his rump? This didn’t feel right. And if it was, the folks in all those movies and television shows made it seem so much easier.
Faye eyed him. “But it’s so entertaining watching your process.”
“What process? The ‘I’ll do it wrong until I get knocked to the ground’ process?”
She laughed again and he couldn’t help but join in with her. He tugged briefly on the reins, and Blaze slowed to a walk so they were riding side by side. Faye shifted in her saddle and stared straight ahead. “What is it you want me to teach you exactly?”
“How to ride without getting hurt would be nice.”
A grin tugged at her lips. “Seems you’re catching on just fine. You got Blaze to slow down without finding his eject button.”
“Funny,” he drawled.
“Ithought so.” She peeked at him so briefly he wasn’t sure she’d actually done it.
His hands gripped the leather reins tighter. “Let’s start with riding faster and not bruising my tailbone in the process. Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong?” He turned toward her, allowing himself to study her a little more. When he’d first met her, he would have considered her average. But that was before he’d heard her laugh and before he’d started to get to know her.
Faye had managed to catch his attention in more ways than one. She wasn’t conventionally attractive like he’d found Dahlia. He hadn’t been immediately drawn to her. But she was pretty. She had freckles across her nose, and her blonde hair seemed to change hue based on the kind of sunlight that shone on it. She was strong as was proven by her ability to handle horses and their saddles. She talked a little too much and laughed even more, though he couldn’t help but love the latter.
“You okay?”
He jumped. “What?”
Faye’s hand was in front of her, palm outward as if she’d been waving at him. She dropped it and let it dangle at her side as her eyes narrowed. “I said you’re not sitting in the saddle right.”
“There’s a wrong way to sit in the saddle?”
