The More I See by Lisa Mondello Page B

cowboy hangouts like Kim seemed to do since she moved away to college.
    So she'd never ridden a horse before today. So what? Lots of people had never been on horses. She'd never sky dived either, but that didn't mean one day she wouldn't. Although she had to admit taking a running leap out of a plane wasn't high on her to-do list, and probably wouldn't be for a very long time. But just because she hadn't, it didn't mean she wasn't living.
    There was a first time for everything. This was Lyssa's first day riding. She wasn't sure there'd be a second time, but at least she had tried.
    Maybe it was unfair to be annoyed with Cody. After all, their lives were so totally different. They shared a common bond of blindness, but that's pretty much where their similarities ended.
    What annoyed Lyssa most was that beneath it all, there was a grain of truth to what Cody had said. As petrified as she had been flying through that field, it had been thrilling. And that wasn't a feeling she felt very often at all.
    Okay, never. She could at least admit it to herself if she didn't have the guts to admit it to Cody. She'd never felt that rush he spoke of.
    Except with him, she realized with startling realization. Lately, it seemed that's all she felt when she was with Cody.
    Beau was in the arena when they returned. As they passed by the open door, she could hear the sounds of riled cattle moving inside and heavy hoof beats pounding on dirt.
    Cody's head turned and paused for a fraction of a second with the sound, a bittersweet smile tugging at his cheeks.
    "What is he doing?"
    "Working one of the cutting horses," said Cody.
    "Do you want to go in and watch for a while?"
    He shook his head, stiffening his posture as if he'd been unaware he'd done anything at all for her to notice.
    "I've never seen a cutting horse in action. I'm curious."
    He nodded once, coolly. "Then be my guest. I can find my way back to the house."
    "Oh, no. You are not going to hide in that room. We had a deal."
    His shoulders sagged just a little, then straightened as he nodded. "Yes, we did. And I intend to keep my word. But I didn't say anything about cuttin'."
    Okay, she'd give him that. But as soon as she showed Cody how to leash Otis and they began their first journey together in the yard, Lyssa was determined to make sure the arena was high on the list of places they explored.
    Otis and Cody were a good match, Lyssa realized immediately. She'd worried initially because everything about this situation proved different than the usual circumstances she worked under. Normally, when a student applied for a guide dog and was accepted into the program, they attended a twenty-five day training session at the school with their chosen guide dog. At that point, the dog was with the student 24/7 while a trainer watched to make sure both dog and new handler worked well together.
    Mike Gentry's insistence that Cody needed one-on-one attention had skewed things a little. The fact that he'd failed to reveal Cody's lack of interest in working with a guide dog was disturbing, but something had changed. At least for the moment, to Lyssa's great relief.
    It wasn't unheard of to train a handler in their own environment, but for Lyssa it was a first.
    A first for many things, it seemed.
    For now, she was content to watch Cody and Otis begin their bonding as handler and guide dog. Cody was a natural. And Otis, a consummate professional. It was going to work out.
    Even if it killed her .

    * * *

    "It wouldn't kill you to walk beside me," Cody said, his voice dripping with the first bit of annoyance she'd heard in days.
    The last three days had proved less irritating than the first few she'd experienced on the ranch. She and Cody would have a morning ride and then spend the afternoon working with Otis.
    It was a nice compromise, and Lyssa found she was not only getting used to riding, she even found herself looking forward to it.
    There had been a major transformation in Cody since the first