Riding the River by Jeanne Harrell Read Free Book Online Page B

nervous and spoke to the front of his shirt.
    “Your hair’s different.”
    “…Um… Yes…”
    “Weren’t you wearing a lacy blouse and long
blue skirt?”
    She looked up at him and blinked. “You
noticed my clothes?”
    He cleared his throat and looked away. “Well…
I’m pretty good with details.” An answer that left her confused…
But his deep voice was so nice.
    “Wasn’t that man awful to his wife?”
    “Yeah, he seemed nuts to me.”
    She continued to study his hand, instead of
his face, as they swayed to the music.
    “That was brave of you to do what you
did.”
    “… Nah…”
    “Not many would have gotten involved.”
    “You don’t think so?”
    She finally met his eyes. “I know so. Not
where I come from anyway… ”
    He was so surprised that he stopped dancing…
She bumped into him. “Where do you come from? Some other
planet?”
    “Nearly,” she laughed. “Baltimore...”
    He laughed. “Well, I was hoping you weren’t a
Martian. And coming from the East coast explains the clothes.” She
smiled. “What do you call your hairdo?”
    “…a ponytail…”
    He laughed again. “No, I mean from
yesterday.”
    “Oh, that was a French twist…” Her lips
suddenly went dry.
    “It was pretty… but I like this better.” He
pulled her ponytail around to her shoulder. Her eyes widened… He
smiled at her.
    The music stopped and he had to release her.
And for some unfathomable reason, he didn’t want to. Matt just
stood there, looking at the pretty girl still in his arms. I
want to dance with her again … She stood there looking at him… I hope he doesn’t leave … Another cowboy came up then and
tapped him on the shoulder. Matt thanked her for the dance, tipped
his cowboy hat and left the dance area.
    Sarah began dancing with Kyle, but watched
Matt leave. Long after he had left, she stole glances towards the
door to see if he’d come back. Dale, the cook, watched the whole
scene and thought he might say hi to Sarah tomorrow during the
activities. Matt hadn’t danced with a guest, or shown any interest
in any woman, in the two years he’d been with the guest ranch. He
wanted to know why she was special… Matt obviously thought so,
which made Dale very curious.
     
     

 
    CHAPTER NINE
     
    The next day after breakfast, Mr. Walker had
all the activities posted in the community room for guests to see.
Sarah was reading over the list when another woman joined her,
looking over her shoulder.
    “’Horseback riding lesson -- Meet at the
corral’. That sounds good to me, what do you think?”
    Sarah looked back and smiled. “Yep. It
does.”
    She turned around as the woman stuck out her
hand. She had shoulder length auburn hair and a big smile.
    “Tess.”
    “Sarah.” They shook hands. “Want to walk over
now, Tess?”
    “… I’m game if you are.”
    They walked out of the ranch house with other
guests going here and there. It seemed like a busy morning.
    “Where are you from?”
    “Phoenix, Arizona. How about you, Sarah?”
    “Baltimore, Maryland.”
    “Wow… You get the prize for coming the
longest distance. Trying to escape, were you?”
    Tess’s smile faded as she watched Sarah’s
face fall. She reached out to touch her arm.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
    Sarah shook her head. “… It’s okay. This is
just all so new to me. I haven’t processed anything yet.”
    “…Well, we have all day to goof around and
find our footing. Ready?”
    Sarah laughed at her attempts to jolly her.
“You bet…”
    They had reached the corral and a few of the
cowboys were there to help with instruction. Sarah didn’t
consciously mean to, but she looked around for Matt – He wasn’t
there. Richie and Tyler were, however, and eagerly walked over to
see if they could be of some help to two lovely ladies.
    “Mornin’,” said Richie tipping his hat at
them. Tyler did likewise.
    “Good morning,” said Tess. “We’re ready for
our riding lesson, aren’t we,