Passion for horses or not, she was anything but confident.
She couldn’t tell him that, not after the exchange they’d just had. He would no doubt laugh or make some cutting remark, or both, and her pride smarted at the very idea.
Besides, she wouldn’t be holding the reins, handling the huge gelding; Drake would. And there was no denying the difficulties the weather presented, in terms of trailing the stallion and his mares from place to place.
She’d gotten some great footage during the afternoon, though, and made some useful notes, which meant the day wasn’t a total loss.
“My backpack’s heavy,” she pointed out, her drummed-up courage already faltering a little. The top of that horse was pretty far off the ground. She could climb mountains, for Pete’s sake, but that was small consolation; she’d been standing on her own two feet the whole time.
At last, Drake smiled, and the impact of that smile was palpable. He was still leaning toward her, still holding out his hand. “Starburst’s knees won’t buckle under the weight of a backpack,” he told her. “Or yours, either.”
The logic was sound, if not particularly comforting.
Drake slipped his booted foot out from the stirrup to make room for hers. “Come on. I’ll haul you up behind me.”
She handed up the backpack, sighed heavily. “Okay,” she said. Then, gamely, she took Drake’s hand. His grip was strong, and he swung her up behind him with no apparent effort.
It was easy to imagine this man working with horses, delivering breach calves and digging postholes for fences.
Settled on the animal’s broad back, Luce had no choice but to put her arms around Drake’s cowboy-lean waist and grip him like the jaws of life.
The rain was coming down harder, and conversation was impossible.
Gradually, Luce relaxed enough to loosen her hold on Drake’s middle.
A little, anyway.
Now that she was fairly sure she wasn’t facing certain death, Luce allowed herself to enjoy the ride. Intrepid hiker though she was, the thought of trudging back in the driving rain made her wince.
She hadn’t missed the irony of the situation, either. She wanted to study wild horses, but she was a rank greenhorn with a slew of sweaty-palmed phobias. Drake had surely noticed, skilled as he was, and he would have been well within his rights to comment.
He didn’t, though.
When they finally reached the ranch house, he was considerate enough not to grin when she slid clumsily off the horse and almost landed on her rear in a giant puddle. No, he simply tugged at the brim of his hat, suppressing a smile, and rode away without looking back.
Copyright © 2016 by Hometown Girl Makes Good, Inc.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Marie Ferrarella for her contribution to the Montana Mavericks: The Baby Bonanza continuity.
ISBN-13: 9781488002649
A Maverick and a Half
Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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