Jesse by Cindy Stark

Author:Cindy Stark [Stark, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-08-19T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Scarlett sized up the large, bay horse standing in front of her. The rain had let up by the time she and Jesse had finished chores, and he’d offered to take her riding with him or let her return to the house if she’d had enough of the rancher’s life.

He had to be joking. She wasn’t about to leave him to all this fun.

The beast was magnificent. No other way to describe the glossy coat and proud way she tossed her black mane. Power and pride radiated off her in the most beautiful way.

“Don’t be afraid of her.” Jesse held out the reins, urging Scarlett to take them.

Fear danced with excitement inside her. “She’s so big.” Leading the horses out of the stalls while Jesse cleaned them was one thing. Feeding them? No problem. Climbing on Lady’s back was in a whole other ballpark.

He shook his head and laughed. “Horses are big. They have to be to haul us around.”

She supposed that made sense. Tentatively, she took the reins and stepped closer, running her hand down Lady’s chest. “Hello there,” she murmured.

“If you’d rather ride on my horse with me, you can,” Jesse offered.

The thought of leaning against Jesse’s strong chest for even a minute was more than her fragile resistance could bear. “No. I can do this.”

She needed to, needed to prove she was strong and growing stronger every day. Jesse had valiantly offered to protect her, but she intended to be able to protect herself as well. At some point, she’d be on her own again, and she needed as much knowledge as possible. Like they said, knowledge was power. If she intended to live in a small town, knowing how to ride a horse could come in handy.

She steeled her nerves, crooned to Lady one more time, and then lifted her foot into the stirrup like Jesse had showed her. She grabbed the horn, as he had called it, and hoisted herself upward. She almost had her leg over the saddle when gravity pulled her in the opposite direction.

Out of nowhere, two firm hands on her bottom shoved her upward, and she sailed into the saddle.

She wanted a moment to process the intimate way Jesse had touched her, but the thrill of being on a horse overrode it. She had a thousand pounds of incredible horseflesh beneath her, all there for her to command.

“You good?”

She nodded and tried to control her grin, but it was pointless.

Watching Jesse mount his horse like it was no harder than climbing a step on his front porch left her envious. But he was taller. With more muscles. Of course, he’d have an easier time of it.

He walked Shadow closer to her until his leg brushed hers. “Lady’s a good horse. Spirited, but in a good way. She’s not going to buck you off, so relax.”

An exhale whooshed from her chest, and she laughed. “Okay.”

“If you get scared or feel too nervous, let me know. You can always climb over here with me.

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