“Definitely. I think my spine may be compressed,” Jake replied, and winced. “This saddle will take some getting used to.”
Brady chuckled and gestured at Sandy. “She’s a good, safe girl. She’s built like a barn, but she’s never been lame in her entire life. Not sure how, since she’s got the conformation of a camel, but we don’t mind. Liz would breed her, if we weren’t so sure the foal would come out looking like more of a camel than her mama.”
Jake only understood about half of what Brady had spewed out, but he nodded all the same. “I don’t mind. Safe is good. I haven’t ridden in a long time.”
“You’re gonna hurt tomorrow, New York,” was all Brady said, still smiling. “But I’m glad you rose to the challenge. Maybe that West blood will kick in, and we’ll make a cowboy out of you yet.”
That made Jake laugh, and Brady joined him, earning a peevish look back from Tanner.
“Coming around,” Liz called, and spurred ahead of them, catching up to Tanner and pulling abreast. Jake watched her as she gestured to the west, and Tanner nodded, pointing in the same direction.Regret and want for a life he could have lived stole over him. His brothers and Liz were comfortable and easy in the saddle, proving they belonged here.
Liz held up a hand, and he was prevented from diving into that train of thought as they eased into a walk, the horses snorting and jostling. Jake barely had to do anything, Sandy automatically slowing down as soon as Brady’s horse did.
“We’ll skirt up over there, check the fence lines on the south pasture while we’re here. I have fifty head of yearling cattle in that field that haven’t had eyes on ’em yet this week,” Tanner called back. “Up for it?”
“Sure thing,” Jake lied, and shifted in his saddle. Brady echoed with a “Yep!” and gathered his reins in.
Tanner whistled and they took off, this time at a gallop. Jake grappled for the horn and held on until Sandy picked her pace, and then he let go and enjoyed the speed. Liz was leaned over in her saddle, churning up dirt behind her as her horse and Tanner’s bumped each other, Liz’s laughter echoing back to him, the two of them obviously racing. Brady was still smiling ear to ear but keeping pace with him. They followed along, and Jake leaned forward like his brother beside him, shortening his reins as Sandy tossed her head, her mane bouncing over her neck. She was also happy to get moving.
As they rounded a bend in the road, dirt flying everywhere, hoofbeats rattling on the packed dirt of the road, Jake’s breath caught in the wind whipping into his face. The adrenaline rush stole over him, along with a hum of recognition in his body that whispered,You are where you are supposed to be. He liked it, because the only other time he ever felt like this was when he was in the kitchen, cooking.
* * *
“Doin’ okay?” Liz asked him later on.
“Yes. I may need to be carried back to my room when we get back, might need a full-body massage,” he murmured, hoping it would make Liz blush. He loved making her blush. Something about that, in complete odds with the unflappable woman, was so intriguing, and he wanted to explore that as much as possible. Plus, when she got flustered, he knew he was affecting her, which gave his ego a kick.
“Fat chance, City Boy,” she sassed back, one eyebrow raised, but then laughed, her cheeks pink.
They had stopped by a gate, and Tanner, having dismounted, was opening the lock. He was scanning the field, squinting into the sun.
“Don’t see ’em. Do you, Brady?”
“No. Could be over the rise,” Brady replied, fishing something out of his saddlebag. He uttered a, “Heads up,” and threw a granola bar at Tanner, who caught it without looking, stuffing it back in the pocket with his keys, and then levering the gate open, the hinges squealing.
“In we go,” Tanner said as he led his horse through.
Brady made to throw a granola bar at Jake, but Jake shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”
“I’ll take one,” Liz said, and kicked her horse over to Brady, grabbed the bar, and tore into it. Her cheek full of food like a chipmunk, she muttered something to her horse and filed through the gate behind Brady.
Jake followed Liz through and pulled up beside her as they waited for Tanner to mount back up.
“You three work well together,” Jake remarked, thinking that the camaraderie they had was so easy.
“We’ve worked together a long time,” Liz answered. “Soon as I arrived, Brett gave me a job for the summer. Kept me out of mischief, I suppose. I followed Tan around on the cattle side until he got tired of me and gave me over to Keith, who used to run the stables. Worked alongside Brady for a few years, he was more interested in the horses as a kid, then later on he picked up a wrench and that was that.”
“Brady was into horses?” Jake asked. “Huh. He’s the mechanic and manages the crops end of things now. What happened?”
“He lost a horse he loved more than anything. It devastated him,” she answered quietly. The sadness in her voice made Jake turn his head to look over at the ever-smiling Brady, not believing anything could get him down.
“Ah,” he replied.
Lizuh-huhed and shrugged. “He stopped riding for a while and fell into fixin’ the machinery. He was good at that too. Brady is good at anything he picks up, really—he’s ridiculously smart, like Mensa level. Brett noticed he could do math calculations in his head and could estimate seed and yield like it was breathing, so he put him to work on the crops as well. He liked it, and things ran well so he stayed put. Still rides and competes at the local rodeo, but for fun now.”
Tanner walked past towing Chip behind him, eyeballing the ground, looking at the patches of clipped-down grass, kicking at the round plops of cow manure, his face a mask of concentration.
“What is he doing?” Jake asked.
