Part 7 (2/2)

”You about ready to saddle up?” Chanel said once her grooming was done. She was impressed with the job Maddox had done on Rosalind.

”Sure,” Maddox replied giving the gray horse a pat on the rump and following Chanel to the tack room.

”Grab that saddle right there with the blue pad on top,” Chanel said pointing to the tack atop a wooden stand attached to the wall. She grabbed her own saddle, but instead of snagging her regular hot pink and black Navajo print pad, she reached for a black one from another shelf.

”I've never seen you use that one before,” Maddox said nodding at the pad in her hand.

Impressed with his observation, Chanel smiled and said, ”My regular pad is wet with Vivi's sweat. Pete will appreciate a dry one.”

”Makes sense. We always use fresh base layers under our gear on double practice days.”

Chanel led the way out of the tack room, saddle under her left arm, blanket in her right hand. Maddox positioned his tack the same and stood outside Pete's stall to watch as she flipped the blanket onto Pete's back, pulling it up to where his mane began. Then with an effortless swing, she settled the saddle in place. With a grin his direction, she began outlining what she was doing.

”First, you want to get the cinch hooked around the belly just snug enough so the saddle doesn't fall off. We'll tighten more just before we get on. Then you secure the back cinch. It doesn't have to be too tight. Now for the breast collar.” Chanel pulled a strap free from the saddle horn and stretched the piece of leather around the horse's barrel chest and buckled it through a ring on the opposite side of the saddle. ”And there you go. Now it's your turn.”

She followed Maddox to Rosalind's stall and watched as he approached the mare on the left side. He lifted the pad onto the mare's back and glanced back at Chanel for rea.s.surance on his placement. She nodded with encouragement, so he swung the saddle up. He was a quick study when he wanted to be, and he wasn't resisting tonight. She only had to coach him when it came to fastening the breast collar, which drew her in close. Her senses were overwhelmed with the scent of leather and Maddox's unique blend of detergent and warm male. His thick fingers were a bit clumsy working the tongue of the buckle through the hole in the strap, but he grinned in triumph once it was secure. That smile lit a blaze in Chanel's stomach that almost knocked the air right out of her. With a sharp inhale, she stood and backed out of the stall.

”Nice work,” she mumbled as she started fumbling around on a hook, looking for a couple of bridles. ”Now lead her out of here, and I'll bring you a bridle.”

Without a word, Maddox pulled the end of the lead rope to release the slipknot tethering Rosalind to the manger and exited the barn. Finally locating her own bridle and an extra for Maddox, Chanel grabbed the roan, tucking his lead rope into her waistband. Her nerves were too raw for a lesson on bridling, so she slipped both bits into the horses' mouths. She just wanted to get mounted and go for a ride. The rocking motion of a horse never failed to steady her.

”Before we get on, we need to tighten our cinches. We don't want our saddles slipping around and dumping us on our b.u.t.ts.” Chanel tightened the girth around her gelding, nodding at Maddox to do the same.

He gave the strap a strong tug that made Rosalind fart and leap to the side. ”Hold still!” Maddox hollered at the horse.

”Whoa! I think you overdid it there. She's telling you it's too tight.” Chanel stepped between Maddox and the mare.

”How do you know? I suppose you speak horse too.” His nostrils were flared, face red. This was not going to work until he settled down and conjured some patience.

Eyebrows drawn into a frown, Chanel shot him a look before loosening the cinch a couple of notches.

”Did my horse fart and jump around like I goosed him when I tightened his cinch? Now feel this.” Chanel took Maddox's hand and guided it to the strap circling Rosalind's belly. She knew she should have had him feel hers before turning him loose, but she'd been dis...o...b..bulated at the moment. Her skin p.r.i.c.kled as it touched Maddox's, and he jerked his hand away like he felt it too.

Maddox forked his fingers through his hair. ”Okay, the horse is dressed. Let's ride. Isn't that the point of all this?”

Chanel led Rosalind forward a few steps. ”Don't forget to lead your horse forward a bit to make sure it's comfortable. Some of them will buck if things aren't sitting right. Okay, get on. I'll adjust your stirrups.” Chanel made a mental note to tell her father to designate this saddle as Maddox's for the rest of the season. She didn't want to go through these adjustments again. Forcing herself into autopilot, Chanel pretended she couldn't feel the muscles through Maddox's jeans as she moved his legs out of the way to set the stirrups to the proper length. He was just another dude at the stable where she worked during the school year.

”Can you stand in them?” Chanel asked taking a step back to study his legs.

He stood.

”Good. Now, think of the reins as your steering wheel. If you want to go right, press the left rein onto her neck, like this.” Chanel gathered the reins in her hand in front of the saddle horn and guided the horse from the ground. Just as the leather touched her neck, Rosalind began to turn her head. ”If you want her to do more than look that way, you need to squeeze your legs to tell her to go.”

Maddox took the reins and squeezed. Rosalind walked in a slow circle.

”Now gently pull back on the reins and sit heavy in your saddle. That's your brakes. Make sure to stop squeezing.”

Maddox did as she said, and the horse stopped.

”Great. Let me get on, and we'll take a short ride in the meadow.”

Turning her back to him, Chanel swung onto the red horse. She swore she could feel Maddox undressing her with his eyes but told herself to stop daydreaming. Signaling her horse to move out, Chanel took deep breaths and focused on where they were headed.

A loud, ”Whoa!” drew her attention back to her student. Chanel spun Pete around in time to see Rosalind trotting toward the barn door with Maddox bouncing helplessly on her back.

”Pull back on the reins and sit down!” Chanel called, but it was too late. Rosalind continued into the barn. Thankfully Maddox had the good sense to duck at the last minute so as not to smack his head on the doorframe.

Snickering to herself, Chanel cantered back to the barn and jumped off Pete. She found Rosalind in her stall, her face buried in the grain box, and Maddox sitting astride her cussing at the top of his lungs.

”Okay, calm down,” Chanel said when he took a breath. She led Pete into his stall and tied him to the rail. ”I'm sorry, I put too much on you too soon.”

She strode into the stall with Rosalind and Maddox and tugged on the horse's bridle. ”Not cool, Ros.” Chanel backed the mare out of the stall and slipped the reins over her head so she could lead her. ”You better duck,” she said to Maddox. ”We're going for a walk.”

”No. Way.” Maddox swung his leg over the saddle horn and made to jump down, but his left foot got hung up in the stirrup. He fell from Rosalind's back and crashed onto the packed dirt barn floor, his foot still in the stirrup.

Rosalind turned her head and calmly stared at the man lying beside her.

Chanel gaped at him for a moment before collecting herself. She'd never seen anyone nose dive from a horse quite like that before. At a loss for the right words, she went for the wrong ones, ”And that's why we wear cowboy boots.”

CHAPTER NINE.

Late Sat.u.r.day afternoon found Maddox restless. His work done for the day, he prowled around the bunkhouse. There was no way he could spend another weekend sitting around this place. He hadn't left the ranch since that trip to the grocery store, which reminded him, he needed to give Christine his list. He'd sweet-talked her into grabbing a few things for him when she made her weekly trip to town. It would tick Chanel off to know that, and for some sick reason it gave him a hint of satisfaction.

Jerry, when he was around, wasn't much of a conversationalist, so they spent their evenings watching sports or NASCAR. Accustomed to having people around all the time, he was starting to feel like he was going crazy. Sometimes during the week he'd shoot the s.h.i.+t with David on the porch, but when the weekend came, the other man split for town to see his girlfriend. Fritz was nice, but Maddox had noticed he slipped away a lot when the day was done. He couldn't figure out where the mustached man disappeared to-his truck never left the drive-and normally wouldn't care, but he didn't have much else to think about. Except Chanel. And thoughts of her just put him in a bad mood.

They'd tried one more riding lesson the night after he hit the dirt, but he'd walked out before attempting to mount the cranky mare. It seemed Chanel and the stupid horse were in cahoots. When he entered Rosalind's stall, she'd pinned back her ears and took a snap at him with big yellow teeth. Chanel had let out one of those irritating snorts she always had when she thought something was especially funny, and he was done. He told her he didn't care that Mitch expected him to help trail yearlings in a few weeks. They'd have to do it without him.

The sound of boots on the porch next door brought Maddox to the front window. He saw David disappearing into his own bunkhouse. Maybe he could b.u.m a ride to town with him. He'd figure out how to get home on his own. Right now, all that mattered was getting out.

”Why do you stay out here?” Maddox asked as David's dented red pickup b.u.mped over the slim track leading them toward the slightly more maintained main road. Maddox longed to sink into his Miata and tear down a smooth freeway.

David gave him a sideways glance, the corner of his mouth twitched up when he said, ”Whaddya mean?”

Maddox tried to sit a little heavier in his seat, so he didn't bounce so much. David drove faster than Mitch or Chanel, making the ride even rougher. ”I don't know. You don't seem to love living out here, and you run to town as soon as you have some extra time.”

David was silent for a minute, chewing on a toothpick, one hand lazily draped on the steering wheel. Maddox started to think he wasn't going to answer.

”For one, my girlfriend, Faith, is in town.”

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