Read Online Riding the River by Jeanne Harrell - Free Book Online Page A

you
agree?”
    “… No, I don’t. Just because Betsy burned
you, it doesn’t mean someone else will. She was just the wrong girl
for you…”
    Matt looked up at him astonished. “I thought
we’d agreed not to say that name out loud.”
    “You’ve got to get past this, man…” Matt gave
him a look. “Okay, okay, I’m shutting up. But you’re making a
mistake if you let Sarah go by without even trying. She’s seems
really nice.”
    Matt sighed. “I know. That’s what I’m afraid
of…”
     
    ####
     
    After lunch, Sarah and Tess headed down to
the gun range on the side of the property to learn gun safety.
Sarah figured she might as well learn how to handle a pistol or
rifle while she was in the West. Why not?
    Cowboys, Frank and Aaron, were instructing
this time. Targets had been set up some thirty yards away. They
were starting off with rifles – How to hold them, how to load and
use the sights. It was more complicated than Sarah thought, but
that was all right. She was there to learn and she took it
seriously. She couldn’t even imagine what her father would think of
her out on a shooting range. She glanced at Tess sizing up yet
another cowboy and grinned.
    There were ten guests who had signed up for a
lesson and Frank had them all spaced out. He and Aaron went down
the line working individually with each guest on holding the rifle,
the proper stance and how to fire. It was interesting stuff and
when they were allowed to shoot, Sarah started hitting the target
pretty regularly. They would each fire ten rounds and then the
cowboys would come along to give each some advice. Frank was
becoming impressed with Sarah’s shooting. She seemed to have
natural ability and wasn’t afraid to try anything. They changed to
different targets and she could hit those too. Many women guests
didn’t even sign up for gun safety and here was a woman who could
be Annie Oakley with a little practice. Well, maybe not Annie
Oakley, but close.
    Matt had ridden by with a couple of guests,
showing them the range as he was giving a riding lesson. He set his
Appaloosa as comfortably as if it were the easy chair in his living
room. The horse was a natural extension.
    He and his guests were a ways back, so as not
to spook the horses. But he could see Sarah just fine from where
they stood. At first, he wasn’t sure who it was – Then she turned
to lift her protective earmuffs to speak to Frank and he recognized
her. He couldn’t believe it as she started firing. She hit the
target consistently again and again around the center for all ten
shots that he watched. He was stunned… She was an unbelievably good
shot… Maybe she had practiced in Baltimore…
    He thought again – That seemed unlikely. Dan
had mentioned to him, although he hadn’t asked, that she was a
computer consultant, whatever that meant. It probably didn’t have
much to do with shooting a gun, however. Matt grudgingly rode away
with his guest, but continued thinking about Sarah. He was thinking
of her far too much, for his liking.
    Sarah and Tess congratulated themselves on
the way back to the ranch house for the good scores they posted on
the gun range. Tess wasn’t half bad either. She kidded Sarah about
starting a new profession – gunslinger…
    It was a few hours before dinner. Tess wanted
to go find Tyler, and Sarah wanted to ride alone for a while. She
went back to the barn to see if she could get a horse. She bumped
into the trail boss, looking over the horses and checking how many
there were.
    “Hello…”
    “Hi. I hope I’m not bothering you.”
    “… Not even close. Just checking the horses
for the drive, day after tomorrow. You a guest here?”
    “…Sarah…” She extended her hand, which he
shook.
    “Cooper…”
    “Nice to meet you.”
    “Same here.”
    “Did you sign up for the horse drive?”
    “… I did.”
    “Good. I think you’ll enjoy it.” She tilted
her head at him.
    “What exactly is a horse drive, Mr. Cooper?”
He