AS EVE DROVE up to a fenced property, Jenny’s gaze was drawn to a young pinto frolicking in the pasture with an older horse. They left the car and approached a neat two-story brick house. Jenny noticed several cars and trucks—including Travis’s rental car—parked in what appeared to be a recently expanded parking lot.
Had he been invited as well? Was he riding?
Eve led the way to a stable that was obviously being enlarged. A riding ring had been recently constructed next to it. The lumber was fresh.
A tall man with dark hair was talking to Travis and a thin young man with a prothesis for his right leg.
It must be the Danny whom Travis had mentioned: the young soldier who’d been in foster homes. The boy—no, man—had a thatch of dirty blond hair and a wiry body. His jeans were coated with dust, and he had a big smile on his face.
Danny said something to the older man, and they both turned. Jeans and boots were the uniform of the day, and she fit right in. She was grateful for Eve’s advice.
Even if she hadn’t already met Travis and heard about Danny, she would have known which of them was Jubal Pierce. He was a little taller than Travis and looked all muscle. His face was hard, his features strong, and he had the most piercing blue eyes she’d ever seen. He didn’t smile as she approached, but studied her as if she was an odd specimen.
Jenny was not easily impressed, but she was now. Jubal Pierce was one of the very few American servicemen to escape after being captured by terrorists. She had visited the SEAL training camp and had a healthy appreciation of what it took to be a SEAL. She knew better than to mention it, but she had a million questions for him.
“Eve said you’re interested in riding,” he said in a gruff voice. It was a statement more than a question.
“Yes.”
“Ever been on a horse?”
“Not since I was a kid, and that was a very tame pony.”
“Never had an interest?” It was more an accusation than a statement.
“It’s not that. More like no opportunity.”
He turned to the young soldier. “This is Danny. He’s learning to ride in between working for his keep.”
“Hi, Danny,” she said. “It’s good to meet you.”
“Yes, ma’am. Me, too. I mean...meet you,” he stuttered.
“He’ll be learning with you,” the former SEAL said. “He’s already made friends with the horse he’ll be riding, and I picked one out for you. Why don’t you go meet Lucy, become familiar with her. Danny will show you how to saddle her.”
She saw Danny’s surprised face as Jubal Pierce turned away. He apparently hadn’t expected to be given the responsibility. Jubal Pierce was obviously a swim or sink kind of teacher.
Without comment, Danny led the way into the stable. Jenny realized that this was, in some way, a test for both of them. Just inside the stable, the young soldier plucked a carrot from a box and handed it to Jenny. “This is for Lucy. She’s a rescue horse. Jubal says she apparently was abandoned by her owners and nearly starved to death, but she’s gaining weight and happy now. I rode her yesterday. She’s small but a good riding horse.”
“Great,” she said. “I want a nice horse for my first ride.”
He grinned. “Talk to her for a few minutes. Let her get used to your scent, your voice, your touch. You might want to stroke her face.” He went to the next stall and gave its inhabitant a carrot as he hummed.
She heard the comforting tone of his voice and tried to imitate it as she whispered nonsense to Lucy, who nuzzled her, looking for another treat. She wished she had one as she looked into Lucy’s large brown eyes. Note to self: always carry carrots when approaching a horse.
Jenny watched Danny attach a lead to his horse’s halter and lead him out. She did the same and followed. He led her to what she recognized from films as a tack room.
Was she really going to saddle her horse?
“First,” Danny said as he handed her a brush, “you groom the area where the saddle will sit.” He demonstrated with his horse, and she followed his lead.
“Then check the saddle pad to make sure there aren’t any burrs, straw or anything else that might cause saddle sores.”
He went through the saddling process step by step, but when she came to lifting the heavy Western saddle, agonizing pain shot through her shoulder, and she dropped it, startling the horse.
“Here, ma’am, I’ll do it,” Danny said.
Her face flamed. She wasn’t used to failing, and she particularly didn’t want to fail in front of Jubal and Travis. She shook her head and waited for the pain to pass. She would be prepared for it next time.
“I’ll help,” Travis, who’d apparently been watching from the door, said. “I don’t want you to do more damage to that shoulder.”
“I can do it,” she insisted. She was used to doing for herself. She took pride in it, even if it was painful. Stupid, she knew, but there it was.
“I don’t doubt that, but then what would you do if it caused more damage? I should have realized... Jubal didn’t know.”
He took the saddle and, with one smooth motion, placed it on the horse. “There,” he said. “You can buckle the cinch. Reach down with your left hand and tighten the cinch until it’s snug. You should be just able to slip your hand in between your horse’s belly and the cinch.”
She followed the instructions, despite the pain in her shoulder. She hated that Travis had seen her fail. She hoped it wouldn’t affect his decision to take her along with him.
“Danny can lead you through the last steps. He’s apparently learning fast. He didn’t know one end of a horse from the other when he came here a week ago. When you finish, lead him out.”
Danny watched him leave, a look of hero worship on his face.
“You really like him, don’t you?” she asked.
“I would follow him to hell and back,” Danny said. “I was just a corporal at the army rehab center, a nobody who didn’t know what he was going to do with one leg and not much education. It was the major who started challenging me, convincing me I could be anything I wanted to be. And he didn’t forget me. When he was released, he continued to come and see me. He got me this job, even paid my airfare here—although I’m going to pay it back.”
All she could do was nod. She listened to Danny and followed the rest of his instructions. Despite his claim he didn’t have much education, he seemed a wickedly smart young man. And determined. She knew he’d only been here a few days and guessed from what Travis had said he hadn’t known anything about horses before he arrived.
When they finished, the two of them led their horses out of the stable. Jubal was leaning against the fence. He inspected her saddle and bridle, and then nodded approval at Danny. “That’s a good job, Danny.”
“Thank you, sir.” Danny seemed to grow taller. It was obvious he was in awe of Jubal.
Jubal turned his attention to Jenny. “Do you think you can ride with that shoulder?”
So Travis had said something to him about her shoulder.
“I’m going to try.”
“What’s the injury?”
She told him.
“Is it still hurting from lifting the saddle?”
“Not much.”
He smiled for the first time and nodded. “Good. Take hold of the saddle horn with both hands. Don’t try to put weight on the right one.” He held out his locked fingers for her left leg and, with one easy gesture, vaulted her into the saddle. It was all she could do to keep from going over the other side. She looked at Travis and found him grinning.
She would have liked to sock both of them, but she straightened up in the saddle and tried to look dignified.
The lesson started.
* * *
TRAVIS CLIMBED UP to sit on the corral fence and watched as Jubal instructed both Danny and Jenny. He was equally tough on both, although Danny, who’d had several days of lessons, rode with more confidence. He certainly had tacked his horse with a level of comfort that surprised Travis.
Jubal was obviously feeling Jenny Talbot out. He had not been happy when Travis had told him about Jenny’s proposal. The former SEAL didn’t care much for reporters. He’d been hounded when he first returned and refused to give any interviews. His team had died. He had survived. That didn’t make him a hero, and he deeply resented any attempt to publicize the situation. Travis completely understood those feelings.
But Jubal obviously sensed Travis’s ambivalence about Jenny’s request to go with him. They had discussed her request before she arrived and, Jubal apparently decided to learn more about Jenny Talbot through the riding lesson.
Jenny was more than up to the test. Travis watched as she did everything Jubal asked without complaint, although she asked a few questions to make sure she was doing everything correctly. Her body moved easily with the horse, and she praised the mare frequently. When they finished, Jubal nodded his approval. With Jubal, that was the best anyone could get.
As Jenny and Danny led their horses inside the stable to cool them off, Jubal walked over to the fence. “She’s a natural,” he said.
“I would have guessed that,” Travis agreed. “This is your project. You’re the boss. But I think you can trust her to do as she promises. If she says she won’t write anything you don’t approve, I don’t think she will.” He paused before saying, “Quite honestly, she’ll probably be helpful and come up with questions I wouldn’t.”
Jubal raised an eyebrow.
Travis shrugged his shoulders. “She has a way of getting people to talk...”
“I noticed,” Jubal said with a slight smile.
“You’re paying for the trip,” Travis said, “although she said she would pay her share of expenses.”
Jubal shrugged. “Josh trusts your instincts and judgment. I have to admit that what little I’ve seen of Jenny Talbot, I liked. But whether you take her or not is up to you.”
“Thanks,” Travis said sarcastically.
“Did you want me to be the bad guy?”
Maybe. He sure as hell didn’t want to admit it. He was growing fond of the idea of having a companion on the trip. At least, this companion. This woman who made him laugh. He hadn’t done much of that in a long time.
“She is attractive,” Jubal observed, his gaze fixed on Travis. When Travis didn’t answer, he said, “She’s obviously smart and capable and apparently determined to take care of herself.”
“I kinda noticed that about her.”
“That could be a problem. She never should have tried to lift that saddle.”
Travis nodded.
“Well, she certainly connects with people. Josh and Eve like her, and that means a lot. But like I said, it’s your decision. I’m not going to make it for you. Come on inside. I’ve set up an account for the project and have a credit card for you. If you decide to take Miss Talbot, share the costs. That wouldn’t compromise either the program or her. Travis followed Jubal into the ranch house.
“Hopefully, by the end of next week, we’ll finish enlarging the stable,” Jubal said. “When we decide exactly what size bunkhouse we’ll need, we’ll have an old-fashioned barn raising. Every veteran in town will be here.” Jubal walked through the living room to the kitchen, opened the fridge, took out two beers and tossed one to Travis. “I have to thank you for Danny. He’s a real asset. Luke is working with him. He thinks Danny can be a good instructor, and younger participants can relate to him better than to Luke or me.”
Carrying the beers, they went back to Jubal’s office and he gave Travis the credit card. “Call me if you have any problems. Thanks for doing this.”
The two of them finished the beers and returned to the corral just as Jenny and Eve emerged from the barn and joined them.
“You might be sore for the next few days,” Eve warned her. “You’ve just used muscles you probably didn’t know you had. Soak in a hot bath tonight.”
“It’s worth it,” Jenny said. “Horseback riding is—or was—on my bucket list. I understand why it can be therapeutic.” She turned to Jubal. “Thank you,” she said, and Jubal nodded.
She hesitated for a moment, and then she asked, “Did your name come from the southern general?”
“You know some history,” Jubal said with approval. “Jubal Early. He was a Texan and a hero to my family, who lived in the same community during the early days of Texas. My father and grandfather were Jubals, too.”
“Is your father still alive?”
Jubal hesitated, and then he shrugged. “He was a rodeo cowboy. Rode broncs. He was killed by one when I was seven.”
“I’m so sorry,” Jenny said. “I always ask too many questions.”
“So I’ve been warned,” Jubal replied.
Travis watched as Jenny thanked Jubal. “I learned a lot today,” she added. “I expect that this will be the first of many rides. By the way,” she said, “I noticed a pinto foal having a fine time in the pasture. How old is he or she?”
“Five months. I was present when he was born. It’s an experience that humbles you.”
“I would love to see a birth,” Jenny said.
“One of us can alert you when the next is due,” Jubal said, surprising Travis even more. “I think Luke has a mare that’s due soon. Luke says it makes ranching worth all the work and risk, and I agree. It’s one of the reasons I bought the ranch.”
Travis couldn’t remember ever hearing Jubal talk as much, or with as much emotion, as he was doing now. More Jenny magic.
He was obviously in trouble.
Jubal led them to the fence and whistled. The mare and foal immediately came to the fence. Jubal gave Jenny a carrot from one of his many pockets. “This is Melody, the proud mom,” he said as Jenny gave the mare the carrot. “The colt is Promise,” he added as he ran his hand along the foal’s head.
Travis watched Jenny’s face soften as she touched the colt. “He’s handsome.”
“My partner, Luke, gave me the colt as a ranch-warming gift,” Jubal said. “Melody is his prize mare, though, and I couldn’t pry her away from him. She’s on loan at the moment.”
Another car turned into the drive. “That’s Lisa,” Jubal said to Jenny. “Our town doctor.”
Travis had met Dr. Lisa Redding on his previous visit. Josh had told him Dr. Redding and Jubal were the next thing to being engaged, but it was obvious that he wasn’t mentioning it to Jenny. He was still sorting out the close-knit circle of friends made up of veterans and their wives, fiancés and soon-to-be one or the other. It had to be especially confusing to Jenny.
He watched as Jenny engaged the newcomer and soon they were chatting like old friends. He sighed. They might be here a while longer.