Page 6 of The Rancher’s Ecstasy

Daisy smiled. “No. Not at all.” She turned and headed back toward the house and raised a hand. “See you later.”

Emily hurried to change and get to the barn just in time. When she strolled up, Neil was leading another animal out.

“Hey, Emily.”

“Hi, Neil.”

“Are you going on the ride?”

“Yes.”

Neil smiled at the excitement in Emily’s tone.

“Cool. How experienced are you at riding? I want to get the horse you’ll be comfortable with. On a scale of one to ten?”

Emily laughed. “I would say six or seven, although it’s been a couple of years.”

Neil laughed and patted her on the shoulder. “Once you learn, you never forget how to ride. I think I have the perfect horse. I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks, Neil.” Emily pushed her hands into her jeans, looked around, and tried hard not to look for a particular man. Her sleep had frequently been disrupted the night before with images of Cole. The things Cole did to her were things she’d only heard of or read about and never experienced. She awoke several times achy with need. That man was already driving her crazy, and she hadn’t talked to him again since that first day.

A woman’s startled cry caught her attention and made her turn. A nervous horse was side-stepping and pulling on the reins as a terrified woman held onto them while her young son sat in the saddle, clutching the saddle horn in fear and crying.

Emily took a few quick steps and put one hand on the mother’s shoulder. She took control of the reins. Emily pulled the horse’s head down and whispered into his ear, being careful to watch for the horse’s hooves so as not to have it step on her own feet.

“Shh. You’re okay, boy. Shh.” The horse quieted instantly. Emily ran her hand down the horse’s muzzle and kissed the side of his face.

Emily smiled reassuringly at the scared young woman.

“It’s all right, honey. Let go. I’ve got it.” Without waiting for the mother to release the reins, she turned to the boy and placed a hand on his knee.

She talked in a calm, soft voice.

“You’re okay, sweetie. Don’t be afraid of this guy.” Emily smiled reassuringly. “He just wanted to dance a little.”

A giggle burst from the boy’s mouth even as tears still slid down his face. “Dance? Horses don’t dance.”

Emily laughed. “Sure, they do.”

“You’re silly.”

Emily grinned, patted his knee, and turned toward the woman, concerned about how pale she was. “Are you okay?”

The woman had her hands clasped tightly as color started to return to her face. “Yes. Thank you so much. As you can tell, I don’t have a lot of experience. The horse beside us got startled and then had this one nervous, and I panicked because of Timmy.”

“Carmen. I’m so sorry.” Neil said as he stepped toward them, a horse trailing behind him. “If you still want to go, I’ll put you both on lead.” Carmen looked confused.

“What does that mean?” the woman asked.

Neil handed Emily the reins of the horse he’d brought out.

“Can you take him?”

“Sure.” Emily reached for the other reins. She murmured to both horses as she stood between them.

“It means both of your horses will be tethered to my horse and another ranch hand. That way you don’t even have to hold the reins. You can just relax and look at the scenery.”

The woman looked up at her son. “What do you think? Do you still want to try the trail ride?”