Learning to Ride by Erin Knightley

Author:Erin Knightley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2016-07-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

He wished she had left well enough alone.

Tanner pressed his lips together as he watched Madeline’s reaction to the news. It was always the same. The same widening of eyes, the same jaw drop, the same realization. By the time she hit that last part, he’d already steeled himself for the inevitable response.

Gaping at him as though he were ten cents short of a dollar, she said, “How on earth did you get back on a horse, let alone start a career where you’re regularly thrown from them?”

Even though he expected the reaction, disappointment washed through him. Why did people always feel the need to throw judgment on him and his choices?

He pushed his plate away and seized his beer. “I chose to grab life by the horns. If I had walked away from riding horses, I’d have been giving up something I love. For all the wrong reasons.”

It was plain to see she didn’t understand his reasoning at all. “Yeah, but you don’t just ride well-trained horses. You put yourself in harm’s way by getting on animals that want nothing more than to throw you off.”

“Well, the point is to not get thrown off,” he said drily before taking a long pull of his beer. Did she really think he hadn’t heard this argument a hundred times before?

She shook her head and set her wineglass on the table with a clipped clink. “I can’t believe you can be so flippant about your well-being. If I were you, I wouldn’t go anywhere near the back of a horse.”

“And if your loved one was killed in a car accident, would you avoid driving in a car?”

She made a face. “That’s not the same at all. Driving is a necessity in our society. Riding the back of a bucking bronco is not.”

Scoffing, he said, “Maybe not for you. But I refuse to live life in fear. Nothing makes me feel more alive than taking a risk, so as far as I’m concerned, riding a ‘bucking bronco’ is a necessity in my life.”

“That’s insane,” she said, coming to her feet. “You shouldn’t have to risk your life in order to feel alive.”

He stood as well and stalked to the railing. “How would you know? You live a life so dry that you could give it all up in a snap to follow a job you don’t even care about.”

“I care about my career,” she said indignantly. “And yes, I’m willing to make sacrifices to get ahead in it. I plan to live a long and productive life. That’s more than I can say for you.”

“Oh, really? You’re so bored with your own job you don’t even want to talk about it. Where’s the passion in that?”

Her brow lowered over her golden eyes as she sent him a sour look. “Oh, come on. Who really loves their job? It’s a means to an end. What I want is corporate success, to be respected, and to retire with enough money to live well for the rest of my days.

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