The Bull Rider Meets His Match by Jeannie Watt

thump.
    â€œI’m so sorry I’m late. Rough morning.”
    â€œAh.” Lex gave a quick smile before she continued arranging flowers, although not nearly as artfully as Danielle did it.
    â€œMy blow dryer got shanghaied and pressed into service as a way to dry a spot on the sofa where a pitcher of water got spilled. Burned the motor out.”
    â€œWhere was Grady?” Lex asked.
    â€œThat was Grady.”
    The ice was officially broken.
    She and Annie didn’t talk about Grady after that—although Lex had him on her mind. Instead they cautiously broached other topics—high school, the upcoming Founder’s Day celebration, their observations about various people in town. They didn’t engage in flagrant gossip as Lex and Danielle did, but they edged close enough that Lex decided that she and Annie were on the same page for the most part.
    That evening, Grady brought Katie for another Daphne session. The little girl helped Lex groom the mare again, diving in with more enthusiasm this time and feeling comfortable enough to help tie the ribbon in the mare’s tail while Lex held it for her.
    â€œReady to help me saddle?”
    â€œI guess,” Katie replied tentatively. Saddling was obviously the next step toward riding, and that was Katie’s bugaboo.
    Lex knelt in front of the girl, putting herself at eye level. “Here’s the thing...horses can sense what we’re feeling. If you’re confident, then the horse will feel confident, too.”
    â€œWhat’s conf-dent?”
    â€œBrave.”
    Katie’s forehead knitted. “If I’m brave, then the horse feels brave.”
    â€œYou’re the leader, not the horse. Horses like being told what to do. It’s the way things are when they live wild in herds.”
    â€œI’m the horse boss?”
    â€œYou are—with a good horse, anyway. There are some horses that’ll test you, but with horses like Daphne, yes, you are boss.”
    â€œHuh.” Katie kicked the gravel at her feet as she considered this new information.
    Lex chanced a look at Grady, who was close enough to hear but had remained silent during the exchange. She’d half expected him to chime in, but he didn’t. In fact, his expression bordered on unreadable. She told herself she was fine with that, but in all honesty, she liked knowing what Grady was thinking, where his thoughts were. It allowed her to shore up her defenses where needed and plan strategy.
    â€œShall we saddle?” she asked Katie.
    â€œOkay.”
    Together, they saddled the horse, Katie helping as much as she could, despite her height disadvantage. Once the saddle was cinched, Lex showed Katie how to lead the horse so that she didn’t have to keep looking over her shoulder to make certain she wasn’t about to be trod upon.
    â€œI don’t think Daphne would step on me,” Katie announced, and Grady found himself smiling.
    â€œNot on purpose,” Lex agreed. After unsaddling the horse, she asked Katie if she’d like to sit on Daphne’s bare back.
    Katie looked uncertain at first, but then she nodded.
    â€œI’m the boss,” she whispered to herself as Lex helped her up onto the mare’s back. Katie clutched the beribboned mane as Daphne let out an equine sigh and cocked a hoof.
    â€œUh-oh,” Lex said. “She’s going to sleep.”
    â€œThat’s okay,” Katie assured her.
    â€œOkay, now lean forward and give Daphne’s neck a hug while she’s falling asleep.”
    â€œAll right.” The girl gave the mare a mighty hug.
    â€œNow sit up...” She waited. “...and turn to touch the top of her tail with your right hand...okay, the left hand,” she amended as Katie twisted the wrong way. “Now the other hand.”
    Lex talked the girl through leaning forward to hug the mare’s neck again, turning to touch the tail with either hand, then finally,