Without thinking, I leaned into him, and he pulled me into his arms. But just as he prepared to kiss me, Buster interrupted our moment with a loud snort.
“I think this Buster guy may be a little jealous,” Ricky said, his eyes still locked on mine.
“Then, let’s remedy that by getting you on his back.”
With a resigned sigh, he nodded and pulled back.
“The stirrups are a little high,” I said.
With my foot I nudged a short stool close to him, and he got on it.
“Your left foot here,” I said. “Your right up and over.”
He did as instructed and sat tall and proud atop Buster.
“There you go.”
“How do I look?”
“Like a true horseman,” I said.
He gave the reins a quick and sudden jiggle, and Buster responded by shuffling his hindquarters back and forth.
“Yeah,” I said. “You might not want to do that just yet. He doesn’t understand what you want.”
Grabbing the bridle, I opened the door to the stall and guided Buster out. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Aren’t you going to ride with me?”
“I don’t have a horse ready.”
“I mean, up here...with me.”
“That saddle is pretty small.”
“You could ride up here,” he said, patting Buster right in front of the small saddle.
“That wouldn’t be wise.”
“Just for a minute. Just until I get the hang of it.”
I looked Buster in the eye. “What do you say, old boy. Can you handle the both of us?”
He whinnied, almost an invitation
“All right,” I said. “Just for a minute. Just to ride out of the stable.”
Ricky held his hand out and helped me up onto Buster’s back. Settled uncomfortably at the base of Buster’s neck, I leaned back into Ricky’s chest as he wound his arm around my waist.
I swallowed the sudden sense of alarm that spread over me. His chest was warm and inviting, his hand respectfully at my waist with no attempt at anything untoward.
“You need to take control of Buster,” I said after clearing my throat. I removed his hand from my waist and put the rein in it.
Buster exited the open stable doors and out to the paddock.
“Now what?”Ricky whispered into my ear.
“Just let him walk,” I said, disturbed by the huskiness of his voice.
