“That’s an easy fix,” he said, moving to stand behind her. “While you pull yourself up by the saddle horn, I’ll give you a boost.”
The offer had been an innocent one, but when he placed his hand on her delightful bottom to help lift her, he felt like the world came to a screeching halt. The feel of her body nestled in his palm sent his hormones racing through his veins like the steel bearings in a pinball machine.
He quickly helped her up into the saddle, stepped back and took a deep breath. Had he lost what little sense he had left? He wasn’t looking for anything more to come from her visit to the ranch than finding out what had changed in the few days after they parted in Las Vegas. He was still recovering from his first heartbreak. No way did he want to start something new with Karly. So, considering the effect she still had on him, he’d do well to keep any kind of physical contact between them to a minimum.
If he hadn’t known that before, he sure as hell did after that kiss and that touch.
“Dear Lord, I’m a lot farther off the ground than I thought I’d be,” Karly said, her voice a little shaky.
“A little taller than that pony at the grocery store opening?” Blake asked, thankful for the distraction from his wayward thoughts.
“That would be like comparing a two-story house to the Seattle Space Needle,” she retorted.
He chuckled and handed her the reins, then, taking hold of the mare’s bridle, he led the gentle animal through the round pen’s gate. “Just relax and move with her,” he instructed as he stroked the horse’s tawny neck. He showed Karly how to rest her boots in the stirrups with the heels down and the toes pointed slightly outward. “And when you feel comfortable enough, loosen the death grip you have on the saddle horn.”
She shook her head doubtfully. “That’s easy for you to say. You have both feet firmly on the ground. You’re not the one sitting up here looking down at how far you’re going to fall.”
Blake grinned as he started leading Suede around the perimeter of the round pen. “Do you honestly think I’d let you fall and not catch you?”
Karly nibbled on her lower lip, causing him to bite back a groan. “I believe you would try. But what if you couldn’t react fast enough? Or I was too heavy for you to hold on to?”
He frowned as he glanced up at her. “Did you see anything slow about my reflexes when you watched me ride bulls in Vegas?”
“Well, no...but—”
“Then why do you think I’d miss doing something as important as catching you if you fell?” he asked. “And for the record, I’ve been tossing around bales of hay that weigh more than you do every day since I was fourteen or fifteen years old. The day you’re too heavy for me to catch is the day they bury me.”
“But what if—”
“You can’t let all of the what-ifs in life hold you back, Karly,” he interrupted. He let go of the mare’s bridle and continued to walk beside her as they made another trip around the inside of the round pen. “If you don’t take a chance once in a while, you’re just marking time. You’re not living.”
It was something his grandfather had always told him and Blake firmly believed it was true. It was one of the reasons he’d been so quick to ask Karly to marry him. He’d known what he wanted and he’d made her his. It was also the reason behind him asking her to stay at the ranch while he tried to find out why she’d been hell-bent on divorcing him. He might not like what was behind her abrupt decision, but at least he’d know for sure why she’d decided he wasn’t the one for her.
Karly stared at him for several long moments. They both knew he was talking about more than her riding a horse. But she didn’t seem willing to talk about it and he wasn’t going to press her on the issue just yet.
Smiling, she finally shrugged. “If I didn’t step out of my comfort zone once in a while, I wouldn’t be on this horse now, would I?”
“And you’re doing a great job of riding her on your own, too,” he commented, holding up both hands to show her she was riding the mare independently.