“Of course he is,” Faith said in a disapproving tone, as she cleaned up. “Zane, talk some sense into him, will you?”
“Come on, Faith, you know any common sense the boy had got kicked out of him a long time ago,” Zane said straight-faced.
Emily laughed out loud. Jake turned the scowl he’d been giving Zane on her.
She sobered.
He put his hat on his head and headed for the door.
Emily sat up straighter. “Jake.” When he turned to look at her, she asked, “You’re seriously getting back on?” At his nod she asked, “Can I come watch?”
He grinned. “Wow, that’ll put the pressure on.” He called to Zane, who was almost out the door. “Grab a chair for Emily, will you?”
Emily scooted toward the edge of the couch and reached for her crutches.
“If you’re going out there, I’m carrying you. The ground is much too uneven for you to walk.” Jake came and swept her up in his arms before she could argue.
“You got bucked off a horse. You shouldn’t be carrying me.”
“Exactly, I got bucked off in front of my men and my pride took a big hit. If I return carrying a pretty woman, they won’t dare give me a hard time about being bucked off.”
Emily laughed.
Jake stepped out onto the back porch and waited for his mom to close the door behind him. Then he looked at Emily, his face full of concern.
“You’ve lost weight.”
“What?” Emily laughed self-consciously. She knew she’d lost weight, but had she lost so much that it was noticeable to Jake?
“I can tell you’ve lost weight.”
“I think you’re getting stronger since you’ve been working out with Daniel.” She couldn’t resist squeezing his shoulder where her hand rested.
“Emily, this is serious. You’re hardly eating.”
Emily lowered her eyes.I’m trying.
“I know you’re suffering right now. But you can’t afford to not eat. Your body needs nutrition to heal.”
“Can we talk about this later, please?” she asked, uncomfortable with Jake’s scrutiny. “Your horse is waiting, and I can’t wait to see him buck you off again.” She forced a smile.
He studied her face for a moment. “Fine, we’ll talk about this later. But we will talk about it.”
Jake carried her across the yard and past the stables to a corral where a saddled, young, black stallion waited. He sat her in the lounge chair Zane had carried out. With furrowed brow, he studied her face for a moment before straightening and entering the corral.
Emily looked at the ranch hands gathered to watch Jake ride the freshly broken—or perhaps not-quite-broken colt.
Daniel, who had been leaning against the fence, made his way over to stand beside Emily. “Hey.”
She looked up at him. “I’m nervous for him. Do I need to be? He’s done this before, right?”
“A million times. Jake’s the best at breaking horses. That’s why everyone’s watching.”
“But if the horse is broken, it shouldn’t have bucked him off.”
“Someone slammed a gate right as Jake climbed on, and it startled the horse. This one is more stubborn than most though. Dad calmed him down, but it will probably still take Jake for a ride.”
Emily held her breath as Jake approached the colt. She couldn’t hear what he said as he talked to the horse in a low, soothing voice. He took his time, stroking the horse’s neck, front withers, then hindquarters. Finally, he prepared to lift himself into the saddle.
