Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,24

and reached for his hat. “I need to be going or Tally will shoot me. I’m supposed to help Violet with her schoolwork. Say, did you hear that the schoolmaster is leaving?”

“News to me. What’s Todd going to do?”

“He met a young woman back East, and they’re going to marry, but she refuses to come here.” Clay chuckled. “You know how that is.”

No, not really. Ridge resented Clay talking like all women were the same. If Addie objected to something, she usually had a reason. “How soon is he leaving?”

“End of next month.”

“Guess we’d best look for another teacher, then.” He filed that away and turned to an issue that had been on his mind. “Before you go, we need to discuss opening up the back entrance to town. It’s time, and the sooner the better. Hope’s Crossing is suffering growing pains.”

Clay nodded. “Call a meeting, and we’ll hash it out with the citizens. It’ll mean a lot of backbreaking work, hauling off those huge boulders.”

“Worth it, though. The stagecoach won’t have to turn around and go back out the same way, which means less congestion. I think it’ll help sell more lots,” Ridge pointed out.

“I agree.” Clay stood and moved to the door. “See you later.”

Ridge finished his coffee and took the cups to the dishpan. Addie had enough to do without picking up after him. He glanced out the window toward the barn, the sun still high in the sky. Plenty of time for a ride.

She had the buckskin out of his stall and had found the brush to groom him with, her strokes long and smooth. Watching from the lid of the grain bin were Miss Kitty and Squeakers, taking it all in. Addie must’ve heard his boots striking the ground and turned.

“I thought I’d find you here. From the looks of things, you’re about to put your poor horse to sleep. His eyes are getting awfully heavy. How about we ride instead, and wake him up?”

Panic washed over her face, and through the flurry of gestures that followed, he figured out she’d never ridden a horse.

“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you.”

Addie’s smile almost blinded him as she signed a thank-you.

“It’s easy, and you’ll soon get the hang of it. I’ll start with saddling him.”

Ridge explained every step of tacking up. She listened to every word and sometimes leaned closer to see. When she wanted to try her hand, he let her.

Finishing with hers, he saddled the spotted pony for himself. “I need to see how well behaved he is,” he explained. “Okay, let’s get you on the buckskin.”

He made a step with his hands and boosted her up with a palm on her backside. Heat crawled up his neck to touch her in such a familiar way, but she seemed too enthralled with the horse for it to register. That was a relief.

But when he stood up, he was confronted by a very exposed and very shapely leg, reminding him of the unsuitable nature of riding astride in a dress. Very casually, as though he did so every single day, he rearranged the fabric over her bare skin.

Hopefully, one day he’d be more at ease with these things.

After a quick lesson in how to steer and stop, they meandered out, with Ridge riding next to her. “We’ll take it slow until you feel more comfortable.”

Gradually, she relaxed her grip on the reins, and they moved to a trot. The buckskin was a pro and required very little direction. The horse seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to his rider, which relieved Ridge’s mind.

“Having fun?” he asked.

Addie nodded and wiped her eyes. She seemed overcome with emotion, and he imagined she’d yearned to ride a horse for a very long time. Her father, the one who ruled everyone, probably kept her from it. Maybe it was on his rule list. She must’ve lived in pure hell.

And then gone to prison—for something. His lips tightened, and a muscle in his jaw worked. Clearly, the woman wouldn’t harm a flea—unless it was trying to hurt her. That night in Fort Worth, when he’d run across her beating her assailant with her shoe, popped into his mind, and he chuckled at the memory. For all her quiet thoughts, she was certainly no daylily.

But until she could speak or decide that she was ready to write down answers to his questions, everything else would remain a mystery.

Seven

A sense of unbelievable freedom enveloped Addie as she rode across the uneven