Page 44 of Texas Daze (Texas Montgomery Mavericks)

But he must have done something to send a different message to Bikini. She picked up her pace to full trot. He landed hard on his left hip. The saddle moved a little to the left. He shifted his weight to his right trying to adjust the saddle. With each hard step from Bikini, the more he felt his saddle move left. His left leg was closer to the ground now than hisright.

Crap. His saddle wasshifting.

Marti was riding back toward him in at full speed. “Hang on, Eli. Pull on the reins to stopBikini.”

Bikini, seeing Ransom’s racing back, sped up, jarring Eli even more off to the left. Then he felt it. Knew what Marti wasyelling.

He was a pat of soft butter on top of a stack of pancakes, slowing melting and ready to run downtheside.

Marti grabbed Bikini’s reins and jerked her to a stop. Eli’s left leg was curled under the horse’s abdomen, his ass almost totally offherback.

“Are you okay?” she saidbreathlessly.

“I assume this isn’t what is meant by the termsidesaddle.”

She burst out into a loud laugh. “Hang on. Letmehelp.”

A quick look confirmed that Bikini had indeed been holding her breath while Eli had been saddling her. Once she started walking, she let it out, leaving the girth strap with inches of extramaterial.

Once Marti got it fixed and sweet talked him into getting back on, the rest of the afternoon went without a hitch. Every once in a while, she would look at Eli and chuckle. Their ride into the pasture and back to the barn took about an hour. By now, his thighs screamed. His ass ached. His neck muscles wanted to give up and let his head roll fromhisbody.

“You did great. Really great,” Marti said as she swung down from her horse. “You’ll have no trouble getting really good at this. Joe will think you lied to him.” She tossed her reins over a fence rail. She looked at him. “Why are you still up there? Waiting to golonger?”

He cleared his throat and confessed, “I don’t know that Icanmove.”

She laughed, assuming he was joking. “Get down. I’ll go grab some brushes so we can get these guys undressed, so tospeak.”

“So to speak,” herepeated.

He waited for her to walk away before he pulled his right boot from the stirrup. With immense effort, he got it over Bikini’s flanks, freed his left foot, and dropped to the ground. His legs wobbled and he held on to the saddle tosupport.

“Here ya go,” Marti said, tossing a brush toward him. “Just take everything off and give her a brush down. She’ll love youforever.”

The brush hit the dirt with a thud. He looked at it but didn’t move. The thud make Marti turn and lookathim.

“Areyouokay?”

“A little stiff,” headmitted.

The corners of her mouth tweaked up and he suspected she was fighting a smile. “Let me give you a hand. And don’t argue with me,” she added with he started to do just that. “I can unsaddle faster, and with as much ease, as I brush my teeth. Scoot and letmework.”

She bent over to unbuckle the girth strip, her tight little ass arched in the air. Yeah, that was nice. His argument died in histhroat.

“How about I make you dinner tonight? As a thank you for today,”hesaid.

“You don’t owe meanything.”

“I didn’t say I did. I just thought you’d enjoy a nice dinner with some fine wine, a little conversation, and maybe throw in some stargazing.”

She lifted the heavy saddle off Bikini. “Sound wonderful.Whattime?”

He checked his watch for the time. Four. It would take him an hour to get home, another hour to stop and get the supplies for dinner, some time to clean up, so, he needed at least two-and-a-halfhours.

“Six-thirty?”

“Can we make it seven or seven-thirty?” she asked. “I’m the only one here today and there are a few things I need to dobeforethen.”

“Let me have that saddle,” he said, and took a painful stepforward.

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