Patricia Johns - Her Cowboy's Twin Blessings

“That’s not me,” she agreed. “Can’t we drive?”

“Drive?” Casey turned toward her again, his eyebrows raised. “Not where I’m headed. Why—you scared of horses or something?”

“No, I just thought—” She didn’t know what she was thinking. She’d rather feel more in control.

“You don’t have to come along, you know,” Casey said. “I’m going to check a gate latch out toward Milk River. You said you were interested in that area—”

“No, I want to come along,” she interrupted. “I’m fine. Let’s do this.”

“I’ll let you ride Patience here. She’s gentle.”

That sounded a little better, and Ember watched as Casey led a brown mare from her stall and stroked her glossy neck.

“Good morning, girl,” Casey murmured. “You up for a ride today?”

Ember leaned against a rail as she watched Casey saddle the horse. He worked quickly, all the while talking softly to the animal.

“Mr. Vern mentioned that five of the horses would be suited for trail rides with clients,” Ember said.

“Patience isn’t included in the sale. She’s mine,” Casey said when he’d finished. “I bought her myself about ten years ago.”

“Oh.” Ember nodded quickly. “Of course. Sorry, I didn’t mean to be presumptuous.”

“Never mind. Come around front. You can pet her and introduce yourself.”

Ember circled around to the front of the horse and looked up into those gentle, liquid eyes.

“Hello,” Ember said softly.

“Now, let me help you mount,” Casey said. “Here. Foot in this stirrup. Can you reach? Hold on.” He grabbed a wooden box and put it down next to the horse. “Stand on this. Now, foot in the stirrup.”

Ember did as he instructed.

“Hand on the pommel—There,” Casey coached. “Now, up and swing that leg over.”

It wasn’t exactly graceful, but a moment later, Ember was settled in the saddle, and Casey gave her a quick look over.

“Good. We’re ready,” he said, walking over to the far, rolling door. He pushed it open and whistled sharply. A tall, proud horse trotted up, already saddled, and Casey caught the reins. He took a rifle from a corner and slung the strap for it over his back, then put his boot in the stirrup.

Ember gave her horse a little kick in the sides, and nothing happened, save a slightly annoyed shuffle from the horse. Was she supposed to kick harder?

Casey swung up into his saddle effortlessly, and he turned to shoot her a smile. “You ready?”

“How do I get the horse to start moving?” she asked, heat rising in her cheeks. At least she’d warned him that she had no experience.

“Oh, you don’t,” Casey said with a low laugh. “Patience is my horse, and she’ll do what I tell her. You just hold on.”

So Ember was literally just along for the ride here... Great.

Casey made a clucking sound with his mouth, and Patience plodded forward toward him. The sensation was a strange one—feeling the movement of the muscles of this empathetic animal, and Ember sucked in a breath.

“I told you that I’d be giving you an honest tour of this ranch,” Casey said over his shoulder. “And I’m making good on that.”

* * *

She’s most definitely a city slicker , Casey thought as he stole one last look over his shoulder. A dose of reality might go a long way into showing her exactly what she was getting into here. This was a functioning ranch—a thing of beauty, in Casey’s humble opinion. But also rugged, wild and not so easily tamed for her purposes. Shutting down the cattle operation wouldn’t change that.

Wolves and coyotes didn’t respect lines on a map. Those boundaries had to be patrolled by men who know how to shoot. There were a hundred things she hadn’t even thought of yet, he was sure.

And yet, while she might be clueless, that woman was beautiful, too. He could tell that he was softening toward her. There was something about the way her emotions played out in her sparkling blue eyes... He tried to push the thought back. If he met her in any other situation, he’d want to talk to her, get to know her better...figure out if there was a boyfriend in the mix.

Casey leaned down and pulled on the latch to the gate, swinging it open. Ember rode through first—or maybe he should say Patience did, carrying Ember with her—and then Casey rode out, slamming the gate shut behind him. The latch dropped back into place with a satisfying rattle.

“I’m going to take you through the trails,” Casey said. “On the other side is pasture, and that’s the fence I need to take a look at.”

“Where’s the river?” she asked.

“You’ll see it from the fence.” Far down below—but it would give her an idea, at least. “This way.” He clucked his tongue, and Patience picked up her pace, catching up with him.

They rode along the gravel road for several minutes, a chilled breeze slipping comfortably past. Casey had always enjoyed this ride—he came out and fixed damaged parts of the fence each spring. But this year was different than the others. Wyatt and Will had brought a certain grounding to his life that he hadn’t had before. Everything seemed to matter more in the light of his responsibility toward them.

“You’re doing okay,” Casey said, glancing over at Ember next to him. She was still sitting rather tensely in the saddle, and she looked over at him.

“Relax,” he said. “Let your joints move. You’re not going to fall off. You’re fine.”

“Easier said than done,” she observed with a breathy laugh, but he could see her attempt at relaxing her position. “Oh, that is better.”

“You’ve got to trust the horse,” he said. “She’s not going to listen to you anyway.”

Ember smiled ruefully. “You should know that I don’t go with the flow very well.”

“Yeah, I guessed that,” he replied.

“I like things planned. I like to know what’s coming.”

“Then a ranch isn’t good for you,” he cautioned.

“Trying to talk me out of this again?” she retorted.

“Maybe,” he agreed. “But mostly, I’m just pointing out the obvious. You say you want to take advantage of the great outdoors, but you can’t plan so much when it comes to land and weather. Storms come, seasons change. You can’t sweat it. You just...wait.”

“But you’re still prepared,” she countered.

“I’ll give you that,” he agreed, then nodded ahead. “Up there—that’s where we enter the trails.”

It was nothing more than an opening in a tree line, and Casey pulled the reins, guiding his mount toward it.

“That’s it?” Ember sounded less sure of herself now, and when Casey looked over at her, he caught the uncertainty in those blue eyes, too. “How wide are these trails?”

“Wide?” Casey laughed. “Wide enough for a horse, but watch the branches. They can slap you in the face if you don’t pay attention.”

This would be a lot easier if Miss Ember Reed was a little less attractive. There was something about her that made him want to act the protector. The male side of him wanted to guide her through all of this and make it easy for her. Except she wasn’t just a woman out of her depth, and she certainly wasn’t a romantic option—she was his direct competition. So he’d better tamp down those chivalrous instincts if he knew what was good for him.

Casey plunged into the foliage first, and he glanced back to see Patience and Ember coming up behind. He ducked his head under a twig and dug his heels into his horse’s sides. The woods were cooler than out in the direct sunlight, and the twitter of birds silenced for a moment, and then started up again in a hesitant chatter.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he said.