Heart and Home(13)

A moment later Knapp walked out of the barn leading another horse. This  one was spotted and every bit as tall as Molly. "So much for my wish for  a short little horse," Jane said, and turned away.

While the horse had gotten only muttered reactions from the crowd, Jane's advance toward it caused an uproar.

"Damn it, Knapp."

"You gotta let Miss Sparks ride Molly."

"You ain't puttin' the lady on the General."

The General. Well, this was what he had been expecting all along. Jane  hadn't moved very far toward the new horse and Adam had only to reach  out to catch her arm. "I think Molly's for you," he whispered.                       
       
           



       

"Do you think there's something wrong with the other one?" Jane asked. "You should take Molly, and I'll stay here."

"No, I think this is something I've got to go through sooner or later. You wait right here."

"Adam." This time she caught his arm. "Be careful."

He flashed her his biggest grin. "I wanted adventure."

Most of the crowd raised their voices in approval when Adam approached  Knapp and the General. He could hear George Pinter's voice above the  others. "Knapp, I told you no tricks."

"Ain't a trick," Knapp said mildly. "I ain't got that big a stable."

"What about Robin?"

"Feelin' poorly."

Knapp seemed just evasive enough for Adam to seriously doubt his  honesty. However, he had a feeling that what was to come was a test of  his acceptability. His riding skill wasn't in question as much as his  ability to be thrown without making a fuss.

Still, the notion of actually staying on the horse, however  unreasonable, had taken, hold, and he was eager to throw his leg over  the saddle and see what the General would do.

The General seemed placid enough as Adam stepped up to his left side.  Attempting to mount from the wrong side was a common mistake of the  tenderfoot, or so his reading had informed him. He was thinking how  invaluable all those dime novels were as he shoved his foot into the  stirrup. As his weight shifted from solid ground to the unstable support  of the saddle, it occurred to him just how chock-full of misinformation  those books might be.

Little-used muscles protested, but he pulled himself upward and settled  into the saddle. He got his right toe in the other stirrup and started  to relax.

Which was, of course, what the General was waiting for. Earth, sky,  buildings and the cheering crowd blurred together in a dizzying blend.  Adam's posterior was inches above the saddle and slammed back against it  in a completely unpredictable rhythm. All he could do was hold on with  his hands and his knees. Even his toes tried to curl around the  stirrups.

As suddenly as it had begun, it ended. The General came to a standstill,  shook his head, ruffled his mane and shifted his weight lazily from one  side to the other.

The crowd, which had grown since it was last clearly visible, was  cheering, but Adam barely noticed. Jane was staring at him, wide-eyed  and pale. He reined the General around, and at the slightest nudge from  his heels, the horse walked sedately toward her.

"Are you ready to go?" Adam asked softly.

She opened her mouth and closed it again.

Knapp walked up beside Adam and gave his leg a slap. "Nice work, boy,"  he said. "You just sit tight. I'll help the little lady aboard."

"Molly isn't going to do the same thing, is she?" Adam asked.

Knapp shook his head as he began shortening the stirrups for Jane.

George joined them as the rest of the crowd gradually dispersed. "I said no tricks, Knapp."

Knapp shrugged. "Couldn't resist once the folks gathered."

"He could have been hurt."

"Simmer down, George," Knapp said, casting Adam a grin over his  shoulder. "Your boy made a fine showin'. The General'll behave himself  the rest of the day."

"I think we'll get along fine." Adam directed his words to George, but  he intended. to reassure Jane as well. "Could you hand my bag up to me?"

George found the medical bag where Adam had left it beside the fence,  and brought it to him while Knapp helped Jane into the saddle. With the  bag slung on the saddle horn, Adam turned the General into the street  and waited for Jane to join him. They waved at George and Knapp, then  walked their horses across the bridge over Elk Creek.

"Do you know the way?" Jane asked, her voice a little shaky.

"George gave me directions. It shouldn't be hard to find." Adam was  dying for her to say something about his brief rodeo ride. He was  actually quite pleased with himself, especially considering the outcome.

Jane was quiet.

The horses plodded down the road at a steady, though rather slow, pace.  Adam would have liked to try a faster gait, but didn't want to push his  luck. Or Jane's.                       
       
           



       

"Having fun?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Actually, no."

"You're not scared, are you?" He moved ahead so he could turn and study  her face. He was aware of just how pretty she was now that she had  caught up on her sleep. In spite of her expression, he couldn't help but  smile.

"Dismayed is more like it," she said, glaring at him.

"You don't have to worry. Molly isn't going to try to throw you."

"It's not that," she said, her big brown eyes softening. "I keep thinking of what might have happened."

He couldn't stop the smile. "You're still worried about me?"

"Don't look so pleased." There was a little of her old sass back in her voice. "How did you manage to stay on, anyway?"

"Seriously?" He waited for her nod. "If I could have thought of a safe  way to get off, I would have." He was very pleased to hear her laugh.





Jane was thoroughly enjoying the ride when they pulled up at the Tallon  farm. Billy was sitting in a chair under a tree, his splinted leg  resting on a pillowed sawhorse. Jane wanted to fling herself off the  horse and run to greet the little boy, but her legs didn't want to  cooperate.

Adam swung down, quite gracefully for a firsttimer, she thought, and  came to her rescue. She had to let him drag her out of the saddle, and  then she had to lean on him because her legs wouldn't hold her. "I guess  I'm not cut out for this," she said.

"Give yourself a minute," he answered.

She felt his breath stir her hair. He was way too close and it did  strange things to her nerves and muscles. She drew herself away even  though she was half-afraid she'd fall flat on her face when she slipped  free of his arms. She forced herself forward on trembling legs and made  it to Billy's side. There she had the perfect excuse to crumble to the  ground.

Adam, of course, was right behind her. He had turned the horses over to  one of Billy's older brothers and greeted Mrs. Tallon on his way to the  tree.

"Whatcha need that for?" Billy asked, eyeing the medical bag.

"I don't need it, I hope," Adam said. "What are you doing?" He indicated  the chunk of wood and pocketknife in Billy's hands. The boy's lap was  covered with wood shavings.

"I'm learnin' myself how to whittle," Billy said.

Adam smiled. "Just don't cut yourself."

The boy groaned in disgust. "That's what Mama said."

Adam examined the boy's leg and asked him several questions. He seemed  satisfied with the answers, and Jane and Billy beamed at each other.

Mrs. Tallon brought them glasses of cold water from the well, and in a  few minutes it was time to ride back to town. Adam offered Jane a hand  to help her rise. There was no polite way to refuse it. He kept one hand  gently on her back as he walked her to the horses. It was such a casual  gesture Jane wondered if he was even aware of it. She certainly was.

She tried her best to swing into the saddle without Adam's help, not as a  show of independence, but to limit his very disturbing touch. She  shouldn't have this reaction to him. Everything she was feeling was  wrong. She had told herself this before. She'd thought she had settled  it. Obviously, she hadn't.

Adam led the General a few feet away before he mounted. Jane was sure it  was to put her at a safe distance in case the horse repeated his  earlier performance. Jane held her breath, but the General stood quietly  while Adam mounted, then obediently followed his commands.

"Maybe he's only cranky first thing in the morning," Adam said softly as they rode away from the farm.

"Maybe you let him know who's boss," Jane suggested.

Adam appeared to think it over. "That's not why," he said, in a perfect imitation of Billy.





That night at supper Adam was the center of conversation, or more  accurately, his ride was. Mr. Knapp brought it up first, with George  providing additional details. The Cartland sisters were quite free with  their admiration and scolded Knapp severely for putting their nice Dr.  Hart in danger.