Page 2 of Before You Can Blink
Pop’s chest rumbled. “I’m here on a job, son. Can’t have you bothering these men while they’re tryin’ to do theirs.”
“It’s no bother if he wants to sizzle in the sun with us,” one of the cowboys called out from behind me.
Though he shot me a look of disapproval that told me I was in for one hell of a lecture on the ride home, my father dipped his chin. “Stay out of trouble, you hear?”
“Yes, sir,” I vowed.
Without another word, he turned and was led toward where the job he’d been summoned for lay waiting.
The cowboy who’d spoken up to let me stay slung an arm over my shoulders. “Know how to ride, kid?”
I offered him a half-shrug. “My ma’s folks had horses.”
He pursed his lips. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Next, he jerked his head in the direction of the filly inside the corral. “You wanna have a go?”
My eyes bugged out of my head. “Me?”
“Sure, why not? At your age, you’re practically rubber. You’ll bounce right back up if you hit the dirt.”
I wasn’t dumb enough to believe that, but the prospect of getting on horseback had me peeking over my shoulder to make sure my pop was out of sight.
The cowboy could sense I was tiptoeing on the edge of agreeing and decided to throw me over. “And take it from me, you’ll never get a rush quite like it. Feels like flying.”
Now I was more intrigued than apprehensive.
Cocking an eyebrow, I asked, “You sure no one’s gonna mind?”
He waved off my concern. “Worst that can happen is you manage to tame the beast. No one’s gonna be upset about that. Faster we can get her working, the better.”
The way he made it sound, like I was doing them a favor by giving it a go, was enough to convince me. “All right. What do I do?”
A grin stretched across his face so wide I could count every one of his crooked teeth. “Hop on and hold on for dear life.”
Sounded simple enough.
The filly was restlessly walking circles around the pen, and while she might not like having a rider, she wasn’t bothered by the cowboy hopping inside and leading her toward the fence.
“What’s your name, kid?”
I brought my hand to the horse’s muzzle, letting her get a whiff of my scent. “Jett.”
“All right, Jett. Here’s what I want you to do.” My eyes lifted to meet his, and he continued. “You’re gonna climb up to the top rung and bring your left leg inside while getting a firm grip on the pommel. When I say go, quick as you can, swing your right leg over and jump onto the saddle. Fair warning though, the second your ass hits, she’s gonna go nuts, so don’t let go for nothing, you hear?”
As I swallowed down the nerves, my voice grew gruff. “Yes, sir.”
The cowboy chuckled. “Sir is my father. I’m just Murphy.”
“Murphy. Got it.”
Keeping ahold of the bridle, Murphy climbed the vertical slats of the corral to straddle the top. “Last chance to back out,” he warned with a smirk.
The guy was taunting me. He probably thought I was full of shit for even considering it. But what he didn’t know was that I never backed down from a challenge, and I wasn’t about to let today be the first exception.
Shit, Wade was going to lose his mind when I told him about this.
If you happen to survive, that is.
Shoving that thought to the back of my mind, I climbed onto the fence exactly as Murphy had instructed and wiped my sweaty palm on my jeans before white-knuckling the pommel.
