Chapter Twenty-Two
Summer
I stalled for as long as I could, but Rue started shooing me out the door the minute my plate was empty. Tom was ahead of me by a few minutes, and by the time I got to the barn and got my helmet strapped on, he had both horses saddled. I took the bridle from him and he paused. “Pretty sure you’re going to want a hat with a brim.”
“I’m fine.”
He frowned. “Seriously. Rain’s going to run straight into your collar.”
I shrugged. “I don’t care,” I answered, not really sure why I was giving him attitude. I just felt uncomfortable—with him, the night before, today, with myself, with everything.
He sighed and shook his head. I unclipped Jenny’s halter and slid the bridle on, then glanced out the big doors. The thunderclouds were still there, but they weren’t nearly as ominous as they had been the day before. “I don’t think it’s going to rain, anyway.”
He snorted and climbed on Breezy, with another glance at my helmet. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
We rode out at a good clip and I posted while Tom just let his kidneys take a beating. As we left the yard and headed into the pasture, both mares stepped up into easy canters. I leaned over and stroked Jenny’s neck. She was so easy to ride, but this type of riding still wasn’t my thing. I wanted to be taking fences and feeling that adrenaline rush. Even though this was different to me, it was also kind of mundane in its simplicity.
We rode to a small creek—or one that looked like it used to be small. Swift water was pulling down the tall grass along the banks and it was fully engorged with rainwater.
“Damn.” Tom pulled Breezy to a halt and stood up in his stirrups, glancing left and right. “There’s no good place to cross this, so this is as good as any. We’re going to have a fine time getting those cows across this water.”
His comment left a trail of goosebumps across my skin. I hoped he was right about me being able to handle it, because if we had a lot more of these obstacles along the way, I wasn’t sure I could. I tensed and Jenny lifted her head, ears working forward and back like she was worried too.
I stroked her neck. “Easy, girl.”
Tom glanced over. “Are you scared?”
I stiffened, making Jenny’s ears shoot backward. “No.”
He scooted Breezy sideways until our knees were touching, then he leaned over and grabbed my shoulder. “Trust that mare. This is the kind of stuff she’s done every day of her life...”
I swallowed and nodded. I knew he was right, and I’d seen the horses out here, not giving a damn about much of anything, but I was still nervous. He squeezed me again gently. “Okay?”
“Okay.” I took a breath and relaxed and Jenny did too, then she walked toward the creek like it was no big deal.
Tom nudged Breezy a little so she eased in front of us. “Just follow me.”
My fingers were tight on the reins, but Jenny didn’t seem too fazed by the water. She willingly followed Breezy as the water began to grow higher and higher up her body. Once it was just below my feet, my heart started to pick up.
“It’s getting deep,” I said to Tom.
“It’s okay. Just trust Jenny.”
So I did. And by the time we climbed out on the other side, I could finally let go of the breath I’d been holding and truly relax. I gave Jenny a healthy pat. “Thanks, girl.”
Tom glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “That’s the only time we’ll have to cross the river, and by the time we get back here, the current should have mellowed out.” He glanced up at the sky. “Unless those let loose again.”
I nudged Jenny and she jogged up next to Breezy, then slowed to a walk. Breezy flattened her ears and nipped the air, but Jenny didn’t care. Tom shook his head. “Quit,” he growled at Breezy, then glanced at me. “They fight like sisters.”
I laughed. The tension finally drained out of me and I started enjoying the ride. We rode up the side of some steep cliffs and I gripped the horn tight and tried not to look down as Jenny skillfully navigated the narrow path. “You’re really bringing cows down this?” I heard the quiver in my voice and wanted to be embarrassed, but I was too scared.
“No,” he yelled back over his shoulder. “We’re going to take a shortcut and then we’ll drive them the long way.”
Oh great, the long way, I thought. But the long way was still better than heading back down this treacherous path. I glanced over the edge of the path and noticed the hillside was thick with pines and undergrowth. But it was also really steep. One false step and we would be tumbling down that thing, probably never to be seen or heard from again. I did my best to keep my weight in the middle of the saddle and not give Jenny anything else to worry about other than keeping us alive.
On one hand, I was really glad that Tom trusted me and thought I was good enough to handle this kind of riding, but I also wasn’t sure if it was validated trust. Because I wasn’t so sure I could handle it.
The trail wound up and up and we finally crested the ridge and the view was insane. All the cows were spread out below us, nestled in a tight grove of trees in the middle of a thick pasture of grass at the base of the mountain.
Tom pulled up and scooted Breezy over so I could come up beside him.
“Wow,” I said, my breath literally taken away by our surroundings.
He smiled. “Right? That’s kind of why I wanted to come up the backside of the mountain. This is the only pasture that butts up to the mountains and I never get enough of the view. Thought maybe you’d think the terror-ride was worth it once you saw this.”
I smiled, a little surprised that he wanted me to experience this for myself. “It’s beautiful,” I admitted.
“Worth the trip?”
I got caught up in those long eyelashes and the way they framed his eyes for a second before I pulled my gaze away and enjoyed the scenery. My blood was pumping fast and as much as I wanted to blame it on my fear of the climb, the truth was that Tom was the one responsible. “Totally.”
He grinned and pointed to a trail off to our left. “This takes us back down. There are a couple of pullouts and overhangs along the way, so watch your head.”
I knocked a fist against my helmet. “Covered.”
His laughter echoed across the high walls of the mountains and I liked the way it made me feel. “You want to lead the way?”
My eyes widened and I shook my head vehemently. “Are you kidding? No way.”
“It’s impossible to get lost. Just head straight down.”
“Ha. No thanks.” He may have thought I couldn’t get lost, but I could barely find my way out of my driveway half the time. The fact that I’d traveled halfway across the country with only a handful of mistakes still boggled my mind. Of course, I had had GPS there to guide me…
“Alright, I’ll lead.”
Breezy took another swipe at Jenny as she passed by and Jenny responded by dragging her nose across Breezy’s flank and butt. I tensed for Breezy’s reaction, but she didn’t kick out, just lifted her head and squealed. Tom pressed his calves against the mare’s sides quickly and she focused on him. I was impressed. The mare was so totally in-tune with him.
We barely rode two minutes off the backside of the mountain when the first raindrop hit the pommel. I stared at it and squeezed my eyes closed. The trail was bad enough on its own; I was terrified to think of what kind of slip-n-slide we would be looking at in the rain.
Another drop joined the first and Tom urged Breezy into a faster walk. Jenny followed without any urging on my part and my eyes were glued to Tom’s back. I didn’t know how long it was going to take us to get down, but it must have been at least an hour to ascend. Jenny’s hoof caught on a rock and she faltered. I yelped, but she quickly regained her balance. Tom spun around in the saddle. “You okay?”
I clutched the reins and the horn and tried to get my breathing under control. “Yeah.”
He turned around and we started back down the mountain again. The rain increased and quickly became a downpour. The mares bowed their heads, but they remained steadfast in their plodding. This was nothing like going over fences. It was real and it was terrifying. Rain poured off my helmet and straight down my back but I didn’t care. I just wanted off the damn mountain.
By the time we reached the first thing that looked even remotely like an overhang, water was pouring off Jenny and me in mini waterfalls. I tipped the short brim of my helmet up and blinked through the drops. The water was racing down the sheer face of the rock and falling in a straight sheet directly onto our path. From what I could see, there was no way around it. I closed my eyes and inhaled. Tom slowed.
“We’ll hang out here for a second.”
I could barely make out his words beneath the pounding of the water, but as he moved through the waterfall, a tremor of fear snaked down my back as he disappeared. Jenny followed and as we moved underneath the waterfall, all I could hear was the incredibly loud sound of the water rushing overhead and slamming into the rocks below. A few minutes later, we were safely on the other side. I gasped as the overhang spanned out around us, leaving only enough room for us and our horses.
“Let’s wait this out and see if it mellows.”
Tom slid off and draped Breezy’s rein over a tree branch that had grown under the rock. She immediately stuck her nose out in the rain and grabbed a mouthful of grass off the mountainside. I dismounted and searched the opposite side for a similar branch and found one about a foot over my head. I glanced over my shoulder and Tom was there, pressing close and taking the rein from me.
“I’ll loop it over twice. Pretty sure she won’t go anywhere, but I don’t trust her fully.” I took a step back while he secured her rein and she stood there like she was cross-tied, sweet as could be. I petted her neck.
“She’s such a good mare.”
He stroked her neck in a path above my hand and our fingers almost brushed. I yanked mine away and wiped the rain off my neck. I didn’t know why but Tom just made me completely uncomfortable. It wasn’t that he was being rude or unfriendly or anything. He was totally acting like himself but maybe that was the problem. After last night, it felt like we should have been different—that things shouldn’t have just returned to normal, like we’d both just brushed whatever had happened underneath the rug.
“You’re soaked,” he scolded.
I shrugged and try to play it off like it was nothing even though my entire backside all the way to the tops of my thighs was, indeed, soaked. “Nothing I haven’t experienced before.”
He shook his head and pointed to the ledge. “Now do you see why I wanted you to wear a better hat?”
I took my helmet off and hung it over Jenny’s horn. “I’d take a wet shirt over a dented skull any day.”
“I’d take you in a wet shirt over anything any day,” he answered with a smirk as I shook my head, wondering what the hell was going on with us.