“Such kindness,” she murmured, heavy with sarcasm.
He adjusted the stirrups until her feet rested just so. “Don’t press your feet into them. It’ll tire your legs and hurt the horse’s back. Relax. She’ll follow behind me. Use your knees to guide her; squeeze gently on both sides to go straight. Nudge with your knee while gently pulling the rein on the side you want to turn. Got it?”
Ryan’s shoulders stiffened. “Not really, but I’ll try.”
“Here,” he said as he handed her leather work gloves.
“I don’t need those.”
“Yes, you do. They’re for shielding hands from rope burns and prevent cuts from handling equipment.They’ll also protect against cold, wind, sun, and rain, which can make hands slippery or uncomfortable. The gloves can provide a better grip on the reins, allowing for more precise control of a horse.They prevent the formation of blisters and calluses that can occur from repeated friction with reins or ropes.” He stared at her. “You will wear them.”
“Yes, sir,” Ryan snapped as she saluted him.
Seth shook his head and swung up into his own saddle. “You’ll need a hat, too. Cull, could you grab her one of the felt ones?”
Cull ducked back into the tack room and returned with a black Stetson hat. He handed it to Ryan, who perched it on her head just so, eyes still dark with challenge.
“Let’s go.” Seth nudged his horse and looked behind him to see her following him. He knew he was being an ass, but if he didn’t keep it up, he’d do his best to get her into his bed and that would only lead to trouble. For the simple reason, she lived in California, and he lived in Montana. He’d never had a long-distance relationship, and he wasn’t about to start now.Whoa!This shouldn’t even be on his mind. She didn’t like him too much and he’d never done anything to make her feel different.
Right before they reached the gate, he reined to a stop and turned in the saddle to see how she was doing and almost burst out laughing. She looked a little green around the gills.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“We only have a little way to go. We’ll rest when we get there.”
She didn’t say anything, just nodded. Seth nudged the horse. After another ten minutes, they reached one of the fields he planted in for Ash. He stopped the horse, dismounted, then walked to her.
“Do you need help getting down?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay. Take your right foot out of the stirrup, swing it over the back of the horse, keeping your left foot in the stirrup to steady you, then step down. I’m right here.”
“Thank you.” She did as he said, and he placed his hands on her waist to help her. When her feet touched the ground, she plopped down on her butt.
“Would you like some water?”
“I would.”
Seth walked to his horse, opened a saddlebag, took out a bottled water, twisted the cap off, then handed it to her. She putit to her lips and drank. When she moved to get up, Seth put his hand out to her. After a slight hesitation, she put her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet.
“I don’t want to get on that horse again.”
Seth grinned. “You have to get back to the barn.”
“I’d rather walk,” she snapped as she placed her hands on her hips.
Seth looked away, then back to her, trying not to grin.
“You can do that, but you rode for almost twenty minutes, so you’d have a little over a mile to walk back.”
“I walk more than that a day doing my job.”
Seth nodded. “Okay, but you were on a horse, and your knees will not be too cooperative.”
She looked at the horse and back at him. “I suppose I don’t have a choice.”
