On the Fence

Chapter 9

I stared at Aiden's offered hand, trying to breathe. My eyes went to his stallion, the fear rising in me, and I swallowed my dread at the idea of getting close to it. My eyes slowly returned to his hand and followed his arm up until my eyes locked with his.

My chest felt tight, and my heart stuttered, picking up double time, as I saw the first friendly smile come to his lips, reaching those deep blue eyes. It wasn't huge but remained as he stared at me; his eyes still looked deep into me.

He knew I was terrified, but at the same time, I found such reassurance in his eyes that I took a step toward him and his horse. My eyes darted back to the stallion, seeing if he would move, but he was perfectly still. My eyes went back to Aiden's. They hadn't changed from that gentle, reassuring look, but his smile faded as he studied me.

For a moment, I thought he would withdraw his hand and offer. I locked my eyes with him and took another tentative step, then two, slowly reaching out to slide my hand into his.

I met his eyes with a shy gaze, feeling vulnerable yet again. I saw him free up the stirrup for me to step up. I swallowed; my heart was pounding, but I reached up with my foot, as his grip on my hand helped pull me up behind him.

I was breathing heavy, my heart pounding, my whole body trembling, as tears sprang to my eyes with the fear. The stallion shifted underneath us, and I drew in a sharp breath of fear. I was so terrified as the stallion took its first step that my arms shot out and encircled Aiden's waist, locking him in a death grip and pulling myself right up against his broad back.

Another step, as he turned his stallion in the direction of the ranch, had me squeezing my eyes shut, my head laying against his back between his shoulder blades.

I was trembling from head to toe, breathing rapidly and heavily. My lip was trembling, so I bit it, trying to hold back the tears of fear.

The stallion started walking forward very slowly, and I breathed. I wanted to sob, and one partially escaped me. Aiden's head turned to the side a little, showing me he had heard it. He undoubtedly could feel me shaking and my rapid breathing.

He didn't say anything; there was nothing that he could have said that would have made it better. Suddenly, I felt a large warm hand cover my locked hands, steadying my trembling there, giving me enough strength to draw in a breath.

Slowly the stallion sped up to a slow canter. I tried to focus on Aiden's hand covering mine, the warmth from his back as it soaked into me, and slowly, my breathing started to calm. I drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. In response, Aiden's hand squeezed mine, and I naturally turned my face into his back.

We stayed like that as we rode along, slowly picking up more and more speed, until we were at full gallop, heading toward Bridlewood ranch.

I found myself leaning more into his back instead of just holding him in a death grip. His steady breathing and strong hand covering mine brought me such reassurance and had my heart pounding for an entirely different reason. I settled my face against him again, resting the side of it against his strong back. I closed my eyes and listened to the muted sound of his heartbeat there, focusing on his rhythmic breathing as we flew across the pasture.

Finally, I felt his stallion slowing as we got close to the ranch. I glanced to see that he was taking me around the back of the barn. He pulled up his stallion, and we came to a complete standstill. We just sat there for a moment like that. I felt reluctant to let him go, even though I wanted to get off the horse.

He didn't say anything, his hand still over mine, but his head, with its black Stetson, turned to look over his shoulder at me. I sat up from him and met his eye over his shoulder. I licked my lips nervously and finally sat up the whole way.