This is turning into âanything you can do, I can do better,â isnât it?â
âNeither of us is that juvenile, Jennifer,â Ryan said, but he didnât take his eyes from Jakeâs.
âYeah, Jennifer,â Jake echoed.
âWait,â Sam said. âI know those horses, Ryan, and you donât have much to choose from. Thereâs Faithâs mother. Sheâs a great horse, but still nursing. Thereâs a sickle-hocked bay, another bay with a ewe neck. They might settle down for you,â Sam said dubiously. âThat little sorrel is beautiful, but her legs.â Sam shook her head at the memory. âThatpermanently cranky black and that tiny paint with the allergic conditionâforget it.â
âActually, youâve forgotten the horse Iâm thinking about.â
âThe liver chestnut who thinks heâs still a stallion,â Jake said.
âIndeed,â Ryan said. âMrs. Allen is calling him Roman because of his rather dramatic nose.â
Sam remembered. The liver chestnut had led the âunadoptableâ mustangs down the hill from Willow Springs adoption center. Heâd stayed up front, too, until they reached Deerpath Ranch. She couldnât remember his conformation well enough to decide whether it was suitable for the race.
âHe has the attitude to win,â Sam allowed. âBut that attitude is going to get you pitched off plenty before he accepts a rider.â
âWell then thereâs a first time for everything, I suppose,â Ryan said.
He wouldnât sound so unconcerned if heâd crashed into the ground face-or seat-or even shoulder-first, Sam thought. That reeling, helpless feeling was nothing to shrug off.
âJen, weâre riding out,â Jed Kenworthy called.
âWhy are we always the first to leave?â Jen whined, but her father continued striding toward the barn corral where Ross had turned out their horses.
While Jake and Ryan stood sizing each other up, Lila pulled the girls aside.
âThe partyâs breaking up,â Lila said, âand weâd like to get across the bridge and on our way before the cars start stampeding out of here.â
It made sense to Sam, but Jen had to try for a little more time.
âRight, Mom,â Jen sighed. âJust when things are getting interesting.â
âFive more minutes,â Lila said. âIâll saddle Silly and have her waiting for you.â
âShe only does that to make me feel guilty,â Jen said as she watched her mother hurry after her father. Then she grabbed Samâs shirt and hauled her close enough to whisper in her ear. âHave you noticed neither of these two jerks has given a thought to the fact that they need a partner?â
âArrogant, bigheaded creeps,â Sam agreed. âThey think they can just whistle and some girls will agree to ride with them.â Before she went on, though, she noticed Jen watching the guys again.
âYouâve never been thrown from a horse?â Jake was asking incredulously.
In a flash of memory, Sam recalled arriving home after two years in San Francisco. Her first glimpse of Jake, after all that time, was his blurred form sailing over a horseâs ears and landing in a swirl of dust.
âNever,â Ryan confirmed, but Jake wasnât buying it.
âNo horse ever stopped before a jump and you kept going? Not one ever took off when you justhad one boot in the stirrup?â
âActually, both of those have happened. Iâve just been fortunate enough not to have fallen.â
Jake rubbed the back of his neck and stared off into the darkness. A slow smile curved his lips as if he was looking into the future and what he saw coming amused him.
âWhat I figure is, you just havenât been challenginâ yourself, pardner,â Jake said with a phony drawl.
Sam wanted to shriek when Jake pulled that fake cowpoke twang, but
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