Free Almost Heaven by Jillian Hart Page B

Colleen to take Cameron around instead of taking over the class.
    Why hadn’t she? It didn’t make any sense. What was the difference if Colleen was paid for an extra hour on the trail or in the arena? Why hadn’t Kendra thought of that at the time?
    Because there was obviously something wrong with her brain whenever the handsome sheriff was around, that’s why. As if her synapses misfired. How else could she explain it? First, she let him repair her trailer tire— not what she’d let any man other than her brother-in-law do. Now she was riding out with Cameron.
    Hadn’t she learned enough lessons from Jerrod?
    Yes. She might be aware of Cameron but that didn’t mean she was interested in him. It was something that could never be. The barricade aroundher heart was impenetrable and was going to stay that way.
    She slipped Jingles a peppermint from her jeans pocket and pressed her forehead to the mare’s sun-warmed neck. The comforting scent of horse eased away the worries knotted in Kendra’s stomach.
    Tension eased from the back of her neck as Jingles cuddled back, leaning against Kendra’s body in unspoken affection. As if the mare was telling her, You’re not alone. I’m here. You can count on me.
    â€œAnd you can count on me, friend,” Kendra whispered, tracing her hand through the mare’s platinum mane. “Let’s go for a ride.”
    Jingles stomped impatiently, and Kendra didn’t look at the man watching her as she hiked up into the saddle and reined the mare around. Why did she feel Cameron’s presence as tangibly as the heat of the sun on her face?
    She demonstrated how to hold the reins in one hand, and leaned over to make sure there was enough slack in the straps he held. “Palouse knows to follow me. Just keep the reins at the saddle horn, easy like this. Don’t jerk them and don’t kick him.”
    â€œSo basically I just sit here.”
    â€œYep. Palouse knows what he’s doing, so you can just enjoy your first ride. Just trust him and enjoy the view.”
    â€œI thought horses could be unpredictable.”
    â€œThey can be, but Palouse is eighteen. That’s pretty old for a horse. This graybeard’s seen just about everything, and he knows his job. He takes it seriously. He’ll take good care of you, if you’re kind to him. That’s the way it works best in the horse world.”
    â€œKnow what? The ground does look a long way down from up here.”
    â€œAnd it’s hard when you hit.”
    â€œYou’re teasing me, right?”
    â€œSure. Yep. Just teasing you.”
    She took off ahead of him, and the big horse lumbered into motion beneath him, scaring him near to death because it just didn’t feel right. He was going to tip out of the saddle. He had some real concerns, the ground did look like it was uncomfortable to land on.
    And was he thinking about falling to his death? No, he was watching Kendra. He was noticing the sparkling warmth within her.
    The horse beneath him picked up speed as they strolled through the stable yard, his gait an unsettling rocking and swaying that was likely to make Cam seasick. Either that, or he was going to lose his balance and fall like a klutz into the gravel.
    He was an athletic man and an outdoorsman, and he liked every outdoor activity he’d ever tried. Except this. This was not like pedaling a bike or zipping down a hillside on a motorcycle. He wasn’t in control, and he didn’t know if he liked it.
    You’ve got two choices, man. Abandon your plan, or go ahead with it.
    Maybe he would learn to love riding horses. Although that probability was growing smaller as time passed. The seasick feeling was getting worse with the way the horse was rocking forward and back, and Cam was sitting up on top like a tiny boat on a rolling ocean. Yep, that’s what this reminded him of. The ground swayed beneath him.
    People called this