The More I See by Lisa Mondello

not to think about how much it must have hurt Lyssa to sit there in that saddle, her behind bouncing up and down, her feet barely in the stirrups.
    "Oh, my God, Cody! Are you all right?" she asked, her words coming out in short bursts.
    She was breathless, scarcely able to speak at all. As if she'd just run the length of the field instead of riding it.
    Another vision, quick as a kick to his gut, hit Cody hard, wiping away the fear he'd felt just moments ago. He could almost see the rise and fall of Lyssa's chest as she drew in each achingly strong breath.
    He pulled off his hat and dragged his hand over his face as another thought bowled him over. Lyssa was still here. Still putting up with him after all these days of him being a horse's behind. The woman had to have a mother lode of gumption. He couldn't help but admire her because of it.
    He suspected there was a bit of untamed wildness about Lyssa. Something she hadn't yet begun to explore. And nothing he could say was going to change that, not now. Not that he wanted to.
    "Good Lord, Lyssa, I was just about to ask you that very same question. What were you thinking, riding across the field that way?"
    "Me?"
    "The way you came flying across the field I figured the cavalry must have been chasing my boot heels."
    "You were the one that took off like a bullet," she challenged.
    "I'm used to that sort of thing. But you aren't. Why didn't you stay back there like I told you to?"
    "You were heading straight for the trees. I thought you were going to kill yourself. I thought you'd..." Her words trailed off as she drew in more breath.
    He couldn't believe how much he was enjoying this. She was actually afraid for him. It was kind of sweet, or would be if it didn't annoy him just a little bit too.
    "This is my turf, Lyssa. If there is one thing you don't have to be afraid of here, it's me being in the saddle. I was born here." He gestured to the length of pasture he just ridden but couldn't see. "This is as much a part of me as my fingerprints. That's never going to change, no matter what the world throws me."
    "You were riding a horse, Cody." She spoke the words as if that made all the difference in the world.
    He asked the obvious. "Your point?"
    She grunted with frustration. In his mind, he conjured up an image of her fists balled by her side and the delicate chin he'd had the delightful opportunity to stroke jutting out just enough to show him she was ticked off.
    A sweet gust of breeze blew past him, bringing with it the scent of vanilla, her scent.
    When he'd been sitting close to her under the cottonwood the perfume had filled his head and made it spin. Just as it had that first day by the pond. Now it was mixed with the smell of pasture and animal sweat. But it was there, and it had the same effect it did when he'd been sitting so close to her.
    Diesel moved closer, and so did the sound of Lyssa's voice. "You mean to tell me you trust Sassy not to go charging into those woods and taking your head off with the first low branch you pass?"
    "That's right."
    She was still on the horse, he realized. He could tell by the direction of her voice, and he sensed by the slight unsteadiness of her tone that she didn't want to be there. The ride across the pasture had shaken her to the core.
    Cody took one step and reached out a hand. He dropped Sassy's reins so he could move in the direction he thought Diesel E was standing without spooking either animal. Moving his fingers up alongside the horse's sweaty shoulder, he met with Lyssa's thigh. His hand connected with her elbow and he gripped it tight. Without a word she slipped down into his arms. Despite the heat, he wrapped both arms around her and crushed her against his body.
    He felt it then. The strong hammer of her heart colliding against the walls of her chest was unmistakable. There was a raging storm inside Lyssa trying to burst free from its barriers. It had to have scared her to death to fly across the field the way she had.