of old Max and held him for me,” David told Emily.
“It was nothing. I was just so worried that he might be hurt, I forgot about being afraid of horses,” she admitted.
At that moment David decided there was something very real about Emily, something that made him want to protect and comfort her. He grinned to himself; she sure wasn’t his usual type, but then maybe it was time for a change. Maybe it was time to look past a woman’s appearance and into her character. In spite of her shy demeanor and underlying sadness there was an air of humor and kindness about her, and a gentle side to her nature.
After five or six more riders had gone, the very pretty blond woman rode up to David and handed him the reins to a large black horse she was leading around. She was covered with dust, her face devoid of make-up, and under her hat her hair was hanging in a long straight ponytail. She had on a western shirt, jeans and a pair of sunglasses that hid her eyes. Emily felt like there was something familiar about her but she couldn’t place it. She also couldn’t help feeling a little resentful that this woman could look so good even under dusty, dirty conditions when she herself didn’t look that good on any given day in her life. Some girls have all the luck, she thought ruefully.
“Dave, you’d better get going, I’m after the next rider and you’re after me,” the blond said, then she turned to Emily and smiled. “I’m sorry, was I interrupting?”
“Emily meet Nicole, Nicole this is Emily.” He made the introductions.
“Hi,” Emily said softly, slightly intimidated by Nicole’s looks.
“Hi Emily, nice meeting you.” Nicole looked Emily over and then looked from Emily to David, openly curious.
David turned to Emily and asked, “Are you all right now?”
“Sure, I’m fine. Good luck.” Regretfully she watched David swing up onto the massive black horse and ride away.
The rider in the arena came out and Nicole rode in. Her horse was like David’s, very calm and well-trained. Nicole had a good ride. David was next and his horse was also well mannered. In fact, watching David ride his horse in, it was still hard to believe the horse could or would run at all. It was even hard to believe the massive animal was awake. David sat there, relaxed, barely holding the reins loosely in one hand, waiting for the arena judge to signal him that he could begin his ride. Just like the last event, when he received the signal, he took up the reins with both hands. As soon as he gathered the reins his horse visibly tensed, his powerful muscles bunched up, bursting with pent up energy. At David’s signal he exploded through the course, running down to the end and winding a figure eight around the poles before running back to the timing poles and coming to a stop at the gate. David waited for Emily to open the gate and rode out, exiting quietly with his reins loosely held and his seat on the horse relaxed. Target was prancing a bit but he was very well-behaved. David gave his reins to Nicole who walked her horse and Target around, and he stayed near Emily while the next few riders rode and then went into the arena as the awards were announced.
They set up for quadrangle. The poles were set in a large square, with the timing poles in the center.
That event was much more fun for Emily. She had David’s comments to help her understand the action taking place in the arena, and even better, she had David’s attention. She soaked up his attention like a dried up plant soaks up water. She realized that she hadn’t even talked to a man in a long, long time except for her father’s doctor, and he was in his sixties.
David only left her when it was his turn to ride in the event. Disaster hit when he came to the first sharp turn. Target lost his footing in the arena’s soft dirt. The horse fell and of course, David went down too. Emily was shocked! The horse got up quickly but David laid there for a moment, dazed not only by the fall but because his horse had brushed his head with one of his sharp hooves as he scrambled to his feet. Emily left the gate to run to David, but she was only part way there when Target got up and trotted over to her. She grabbed Target’s reins out of instinct and continued running over to David.
He was standing up, laughing ruefully, and he looked fine. He met her eyes and a spark seemed to flow between them. She ignored Target as she gently reached out a hand to the cut on David’s forehead.
“Are you all right?” she asked with genuine concern in her voice.
“I’m fine.” David smiled into Emily’s eyes.
“You really had me worried.” She looked up at him.
David looked down at the worry in her eyes and felt a slight tightening in his gut.
“I’m okay.” He slid his arms around her waist in a quick hug.
Emily reveled in the brief, warm strength of his arms, hardly aware of the soft rubbing on her shoulder.
“Emily,” David said with a laugh in his voice, “you caught Target!”
“Actually, he caught me. He just came over to me.” She stroked the horse’s nose unconsciously and said, “So I brought him back to you.”
“Still, I think you’re not nearly as afraid of horses as you think you are.” He seemed to be fighting a laugh.
“What?” Emily gradually realized that both of David’s hands were on her waist. The rubbing on her shoulder was Target.
“What’s he doing?” she asked, with her eyes going wide.
“Using you as a scratching post,” David told her.
“Why is he doing that?”
“Two reasons: He likes you,” Emily smiled softly at that news, “and he has an itch he wants scratched. Just slap his nose and say NO if he’s bothering you.”
“I kind of like it.” She turned and scratched the velvet nose gently but firmly.
David made no move to take the horse’s reins from her, instead he gently said, “Hold him still for a moment, would you Emily?”
He bent down and ran his hands over each of the horse’s legs in turn, feeling for any sign of injury or tenderness.
Then he straightened and looked at Emily. “Emily, do me a favor. Walk him straight away from me, about thirty feet or so. Then bring him back. I want to watch him walk to see if he’s limping. I want to make sure he’s okay.”
She led the big horse away, with David watching for any sign of lameness.
When she led the horse back, David said, “Now jog with him the same way.”
She took off at a trot, surprised to realize that Target was jogging right beside her. She turned and came back.
“Is he all right?” she asked with concern in her voice. “Is he limping? And how are you?”
“No, it looks like he’s fine. He just slipped.” David grinned then continued, “And I’m fine, now that you ask, but I might have a bruise in a real interesting spot and I’ll probably be a little stiff in the morning.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“I’m okay, Emily, the dirt’s soft and Target managed to avoid stepping on me,” David replied softly. “Although the big lug managed to scrape my head with one of his hooves as he got up.”
They both walked towards the arena gate. David took the horse when they got outside the arena and left Emily to her duties while he walked Target around for a long time. This time, he skipped the awards ceremony altogether and walked over to Emily.
“Come on, you can join me for lunch. They have a thirty minute lunch break that usually lasts about an hour or so, and I have lots of food in the motor home.”
“How can a thirty minute break last an hour?” Emily quizzed.
“I don’t know, it’s just one of those things, like missing one sock out of every load in the dryer,” he told her.
“Or