Page 62 of Mountain Rescue
Bella returned with Blue in her mouth and dropped the kitten next to Dallas’s head.
“You sweet, sweet girl.” Rachel was touched and surprised by Bella’s gift to Dallas. Blue made Bella happy, so she believed the kitten would make Dallas happy.
The kitten blinked sleepy eyes, yawned, and then curled up where he was and went back to sleep. Seemingly satisfied that all was well now, Bella lowered her body down next to Blue and Dallas.
Rachel couldn’t help smiling at the pile of bodies surrounding Dallas, wanting to comfort him while he slept, unaware that he was covered in love. Or maybe he was, even if only subconsciously, as his sleep was peaceful now.
It was no wonder after what he’d lived through that he had shut down to the point that she hadn’t been able to feel his emotions. But a person couldn’t stay locked down forever before their demons surfaced and demanded attention, no matter how hard a person tried to pretend they were okay.
She was pretty sure that was what was going on with Dallas and why she was starting to sense his emotions now. Should she tell him what she suspected? That he wasn’t okay? That he couldn’t keep pretending he was hunky-dory when he wasn’t? She didn’t have answers to those questions, so she’d just hold him, be there for him tonight and the rest of the nights they’d be together.
After that... Well, she didn’t know what came after that. But she was pretty sure there would be heartbreak involved. Since she’d never had a broken heart, she wasn’t sure how worried she should be. Was it something that could be cured with enough wine and ice cream like in romance novels? Or was it something she’d never get over?
“What makes a good therapy horse?” Rachel asked as she rode along a trail next to Dallas. She filled her lungs with fir-scented air. Even though it was spring, mornings in the mountains were...she first thought chilly, but refreshing was a better word. Purple rhododendrons in full bloom dotted the trail, and she remembered how June loved to take springtime car rides on the Parkway. All of it—the invigorating mountain air, the scent of the trees, and the flowering shrubs—reminded her how much she loved the place she thought of as home.
Dallas had woken her early, telling her they were going to check out some horses that were for sale. Honey, the mare she was riding, and Dallas’s gelding, Thunder, seemed pretty docile. She was sure Dallas was used to livelier horses.
“I’ve been reading up on that, and a good age for one is around eight years or older. Definitely a calm temperament. You want horses that don’t tend to spook, although any horse will spook if something scares them. Some breeds are more high-strung than others.”
“What are these?”
“Quarter horses, a good breed for therapy horses. They tend to be average in size and have a good temperament. I’m liking these two for Jack’s equine therapy program.”
“Can we run them?” The trail was wide and flat, and she was a little bored with just plodding along.
“Yeah, I want to see how they do. Race you to that dead tree.” He winked at her, then kicked his heels into Thunder’s flanks.
“Hey, you didn’t say go!”
He laughed, and his laughter was music to her ears.
She spurred Honey. “Come on, Honey. You going to let him win?” The horse nickered, then took off.
As she raced behind Dallas, she decided she liked being behind him where she could admire him. He rode as if he were part of the horse, as if he were born riding one. They raced until they reached the dead tree, and he slowed Thunder to a trot. She hated trotting. It was a bouncy gait, and she could never catch the rhythm of the horse in a trot, so she looked ridiculous as she bounced along.
Dallas, on the other hand, was still doing his one-with-the-horse thing. He halted Thunder and turned the horse toward her. As he watched her bobble in the saddle, his lips twitched.
“Are you laughing at me?” she asked as she stopped Honey in front of him.
“Trying hard not to.”
“Okay, Mr. Born in the Saddle, what am I doing wrong?”
“First, you’re squeezing her sides with your legs. Don’t do that.”
“I feel like I’m going to fall off if I don’t. It’s weird, but I have a good seat on a galloping horse, but let it trot, and I turn into one of those bobblehead dolls.”
“You’re trying to stay in the saddle, and that’s why you’re bouncing around. In a trot, you don’t want to do that. Try this. Lift with the horse, but don’t sit all the way back down. Imagine that the saddle is too hot to sit on, so you can only touch it as you lower. Like barely touch it. Go ahead and try it.”
He trotted Thunder beside her and Honey. “Ouch, that’s hot,” he said when her entire butt landed on the saddle.
Laughing, she jerked up.
“Stop trying to squeeze her to death with your legs.”
That habit was even harder to break, which she didn’t understand since she didn’t do it in a gallop. It took a few minutes, but she finally caught the rhythm of the horse, and couldn’t believe how much easier it was when she didn’t try to keep her bottom glued to the saddle and hold on with her legs. When she finally caught on, she was exhilarated.
“Oh, man, that’s awesome.” She grinned at him. “I had a riding instructor when I was learning, but she was never able to get through to me how to ride a trotting horse. Yet you did in only a few minutes.”
