Fire Scar: The Untold Story of the 1887 Burning of San Jose’s Chinatown by Lily Lee & Lily Tan

Author:Lily Lee & Lily Tan [Lee, Lily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lily K. Lee
Published: 2021-05-19T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Flirtation

Megan’s horse cantered in front of Ryan’s. “Oops. She’s getting away from me.”

It was later than their usual lesson time on a Friday afternoon. She had been the one to steer their horse riding lesson from the corral to the path along the river. “How else will I know your teaching has done me any good?” She followed his instructions, leaning in, squeezing the mare’s sides with her knees as they sailed forward, instead of bobbing up and down, afraid of sliding off. She was improving, he had to see that. Then, as she turned back to see where he was, her horse broke into a gallop.

She pulled the reins into her chest, and panted. “How do I make her stop?”

He caught up an instant later and, grabbing her hand, maneuvered the horse to slow its pace.

“I’d like to give her a good kick,” she said, after they had both stopped—her heart was still pounding.

“Better not or she’ll take off with you again, so fast I’d never catch up.”

He was smiling at her, one hand on his hip. That was different too. They were on the beach with the sun about to set over the water. She gazed down at her chest and blushed at the sight of her nipples blossoming under the fabric of her cotton blouse. The hair she had tucked under her cap had fallen out and now lay in swirly strands over the shoulder of her riding jacket. It felt like one of Walt Whitman’s poems, about going down to the bank to become naked and undisguised. She lifted her chin and met Ryan’s eyes. He shifted in his saddle, looking past her.

She smiled anyway. “How did I do?”

“Pretty well, until that last part. The mare was taking advantage. You have to pay attention.”

“I thought I was.”

“Not blaming you, just warning.” He turned his horse toward the orchard pathway, the route back to the ranch. “Better go.”

She looked up at the darkening sky. “I guess so. It’s nice with no one else here, doing their laundry and whatnot,” she added as her horse followed his. “We should do this more often.”

His broad shoulders hiked up a little. Her feelings suffered when he didn’t answer. She was having a nice time and forgetting everything else, until this moment. She almost belted out “Did you hear me?” but held back, so he wouldn’t bolt. Give him a chance to like you. Why shouldn’t he? Her father’s friends all said she was pretty. One, a cattle rancher with more money than John Heinlen, even said he’d marry her if he could. He couldn’t. What she wanted was right before her, getting ahead.

She tapped her horse out of its plod and soon rode beside him again. “I know it was irregular, taking the time to come this far. I should thank you.”

“I don’t mind,” he said, without shifting his gaze to her side of the path. It was hard to see his expression in the dusk. “You’ll be free to ride anywhere you like pretty soon, without me now that you’re getting the hang of it.

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