Rachel's Cowboy by Judy Christenberry Page B

going to ride around in circles for an hour? That doesn’t sound like much fun to me.”
    “I don’t remember saying it was going to be fun. I said I would teach you to ride.”
    She glared at him and waited silently for directions.
    He climbed the fence and dropped down into the corral. “Are you going to stay out there, or are you going to join me and Mandy?”
    Without a word, Rachel followed him.
    “Mandy? Come here, girl.” J.D. had half an apple in his hand, holding it out to the horse, who ambled over to take it into her mouth. He petted her, slapping her shoulder affectionately.
    Rachel coughed when a cloud of dust rose from the animal’s hide.
    “Mandy likes to roll in the mud. Here, give her this when she finishes chewing.” He held out another piece of apple.
    “But she might bite me,” Rachel protested.
    “She won’t if you leave it lying in your palm with your hand straight. Let her take it when she’s ready.”
    Rachel swallowed a lump in her throat and decided to trust J.D. She didn’t want him to know she was frightened.
    But he obviously knew. “Relax. A horse can sense if you’re scared.”
    “Then I’m in trouble,” she muttered as the animal moved toward her. She held her hand out as J.D. had told her. Much to her surprise, Mandy’s soft lips snuffled up the apple, barely touching Rachel’s hand. She stared at the horse in amazement.
    “Rub her nose,” J.D. ordered.
    “Won’t she object?”
    “Nope. Talk to her like you talked to that danged calf and you’ll have a friend for life.”
    So Rachel rubbed the horse’s velvety nose and cooed to her, and suddenly, she wasn’t frightened anymore.
    Until Mandy tried to find more apple.
    Rachel shrieked and jumped back.
    J.D. stepped forward and pushed the mare’s head away. “Stop that, you rascal.”
    “What was she doing?” Rachel asked, keeping a wary eye on the animal.
    “I used to hide pieces of apple in my coat pocket and she’d take ’em out. It was a game we played. She was looking for more.”
    “Oh.”
    J.D. pulled a piece of equipment from the corral fence. “Now, this is a bridle, Rachel. Here’s the bit and we’re going to put it between Mandy’s teeth.”
    “We?” Rachel didn’t sound enthusiastic.
    “I’ll do it today, but you have to watch, because soon I’ll expect you to saddle and bridle your own horse.”
    Rachel watched as he went through the steps of doing so. When he had her pick up the saddle to feel its weight, she almost fell to the ground. “How am I supposed to put it on Mandy’s back if I can’t even lift it?”
    “We may have to work out with weights,” he said casually, and Rachel stared at him as if he were crazy.
    He grinned at her. “I can help you most times, but you have to know how in case you ever have to do it by yourself.”
    “Okay.”
    “Now, see how the reins are dragging on the ground? All the horses on this ranch are trained to stop when the reins hit the ground. They’ll wait for a long time. So if you get thrown from the saddle, your horse will wait for you.”
    “That’s good, I guess.”
    “Sure is. You don’t want to have to walk back to the barn in pouring rain in cowboy boots.”
    “Have you had to do that?”
    “Once.”
    “But I thought you said all the horses—”
    “That’s when I made that rule, sweetheart. I didn’t want it to happen to me again.”
    She giggled. “Did all the cowboys tease you about it?”
    “Yes, they did.”
    “We laughed for months about that,” Bluey announced from the other side of the fence, surprising both of them.
    “Need any help, boss?” the old cowboy asked.
    “No, I think we’re about ready for Rachel to get on Mandy and ride around the corral.”
    “We are?” Rachel asked, her voice rising in surprise. “But I don’t know how to drive— I mean, ride a horse. How do I get her to stop?”
    “I’ll show you once I get you in the saddle.”
    “What if Mandy doesn’t wait for you to show