Free August (Prairie Grooms, #1) by Kit Morgan Page A

hands on what she assumed would be her leg made her insides go all funny on her.
    She moved Juliet into position, stepped on the crate, and with a grunt, mounted. Juliet stood as still as a statue, and Penelope sighed in relief. “Good girl,” she whispered.
    “Well, I’ll be,” August remarked. “That doesn’t look like someone who’s afraid of horses, does it, Jefferson?”
    “Nope, sure doesn’t,” he agreed.
    Penelope gave Juliet a nudge, and the horse headed for the open barn door. She rode past August with a smirk, but without a word, and into the barnyard where the others were waiting. Constance and Eloise smiled as she guided the horse to the back of the wagon next to August’s.
    He came out of the barn with Jefferson, still gaping at her, before he stomped over to his horse, a beautiful Appaloosa, and mounted – astride. “Are you ready?”
    She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Are you?”
    He squinted against the morning sun. “Yep. Let’s ride.” With that he spurred his horse ahead of the wagon. Jefferson came out of the barn and waved as they set off.
    Logan gave the horses a slap of the reins and got the wagon moving. Constance and Eloise both let loose a giggle as the wagon lurched forward. Edith and Belle rode in the back and watched as Penelope kicked Juliet into a trot to catch up with August. Too bad Sadie decided to stay home with the baby – the upcoming battle of the wills was going to be a good one, they guessed. They hoped Logan didn’t let the wagon lag too far behind the couple, as they wanted to be able to hear them.
    Unfortunately, it just wasn’t a good day for eavesdropping. August kicked his horse into a canter and rode on ahead of them. Penelope followed suit.
    Juliet was a dream to ride, and sensitive to Penelope’s every movement. She enjoyed the mare, and her usual fear of the large animals dissipated as she urged Juliet into a trot. Now as she cantered after August, she found the cool morning air invigorating. She hoped it felt as good on the return ride. Though cool now, Belle told her the afternoons could grow quite warm.
    “You don’t do so bad, Miss Red,” August commented as she rode up alongside him.
    He slowed his horse to a walk, as did she. “I told you I could ride.”
    “How come your sister said you were afraid of horses, then?”
    She took a deep breath. “Because, Mr. Bennett, I am.”
    He looked at her. “Why?”
    “I suffered a riding accident when I was a little girl. It broke my leg.”
    He stared at her open-mouthed. “You did? That must’ve hurt something awful.”
    “Indeed,” she said flatly. “More than you know.”
    “I broke my arm once,” he offered.
    Now it was her turn to look at him. “How?”
    “Got bucked off. I took a job breaking horses back in Texas. I truly didn’t know what I was doing, and everyone but me knew it. Those boys let me take a licking and get all banged up just to prove it.”
    “That’s horrible!” she gasped. “Who would do such a thing to another person? Did you quit after that?”
    “Of course not! I had to prove I was as tough as the rest of them.”
    “But your injury, how did you work around that?”
    “Practice. Soon I could ride just as well with one arm as I could with two.”
    She faced front, her mouth open, but snapped it shut as a big bug of some sort flew past them. Juliet flicked her ears in response.
    “I still can,” he said. “It comes in handy once in a while.”
    “You can ride with one arm?” she asked without looking at him.
    “Yes, ma’am. Would you like to see?”
    She gave him her attention. He grinned ear to ear, stuck one hand behind his back, and then whistled. His horse took off like a shot.
    Penelope had to bring Juliet to a stop to keep her from taking off after him. Now she was scared, scared that her horse would run off ... but she soon realized August was galloping and turning so fast she could barely see him through the dust. Still, she had to admit that as