Page 128 of Here With Me

She sits up and walks Donut as she locks her knees and straightens her back. Then she lifts her right leg over until both are on the same side. I feel like the paparazzi watching her every move and waiting to get the best shot.

“Delilah learned under one of the best trick riders ’round here, Molly Mecca. Throughout high school, she competed and won quite a few awards. But then a few years ago, she got badly hurt and took time off to heal. After that, Molly retired, and Delilah went to Craig to help her get back to where she was. She had the skills and knowledge but lacked the confidence after being down so long.”

“And now she’s fired Craig and wants you?” I ask, keeping my eyes on her as she switches positions. She’s not doing anything overly risky since she’s warming Donut up, but I’m still on edge. I don’t know what I was thinking of volunteering to do this because I’m going to stroke out before the end of her training. Every time she moves from the left to the right or spins around, I instinctively hold out my hand to catch her.

“As you can imagine, Craig was being Craig. Instead of pointin’ out what she needed to work on, he just screamed at her. He’d be a good trainer if he had patience and gave guidance. But instead, he uses scare tactics and threats to get his clients to perform. That doesn’t work on most people, and especially not on horses. Delilah needs someone who can tell her what she needs to improve on, help her master those things, and then she’ll find that confidence again to get back to where she was. So even if I’m not a professional trick rider, I know enough to see where the disconnect is.”

Noah slides onto Donut’s butt as she hangs onto the handles at the back of the saddle, and my heart rate increases. One buck and she’d be on her ass.

But Donut keeps his posture as she continues riding and making him comfortable as she maneuvers.

“He seems to be okay with what you’re doin’,” I say.

“Yeah, I think he remembers last summer. I was worried he wouldn’t.”

“That doesn’t mean you should go thirty miles an hour anytime soon,” I warn, not mentally or physically ready for that.

“You worried ’bout me, Mr. Underwood?” She smirks as she pushes her feet up on the saddle and kneels as if she’s going to stand. Luckily, though, she doesn’t and puts her legs back down.

“Worried I might pass out if you don’t go slow.”

“You used to be a bull rider, and you’re worried aboutmedoin’ a few baby tricks? I find that fascinatin’.”

“That’s for eight seconds. Granted, they’re the longest eight seconds when you’re on top of a two-thousand-pound animal, but I had years of trainin’.”

“And I’m willin’ to bet ya got hurt quite a bit.”

“Yes, I did.” I chuckle. “You learn quick how to tuck ’n’ roll.”

She laughs, moving her feet back up and down as if she’s testing Donut’s reaction to the quick movements.

“Sorry ahead of time for the name but wait until I try the suicide drag. I didn’t get to try it last year and now that I’ve been watchin’ more videos, I wanna see if I can do it.”

I nearly swallow my tongue because I can only imagine how risky that move is. “I’d rather ya didn’t.”

“And why not?”

“Does the name not give it away?”

“It’s actually a very common move, but yes, it can be tough at first. I didn’t say I was gonna do it today, just that I wanna eventually.”

“And what is it exactly?”

“Basically, it’s when you hang upside down on the side of the horse as he’s gallopin’. One foot goes through the saddle hole as the other hangs over your head, and you drag your hands along the dirt.”

I blink a few times, trying to wrap my head around the words she just said, and start to remember seeing the riders perform that move. Their hair flies around as their arms hang over their heads, and they basically bobble across the ground. They have no control of the horse in that position, and they have to continue running without being guided. One wrong move of the horse and their neck could snap.

“Absolutely not, Noah. I don’t doubt your talent, but that’s too risky.”

She rolls her eyes as if my concern lacks merit. “That’s why you’re here, remember?” She bats her eyelashes as if that’ll win me over with this ludicrous idea.

Before I can respond, she jumps up on her feet and stands. Her foot slips momentarily, and I nearly jump a foot toward her but then stop myself. Donut isn’t going fast, so I’m able to keep up, but knowing her, she’s going to speed up at some point.

“I’m fine, just probably not wearin’ the right shoes for this.”

I brush a hand through my hair, already feeling my forehead line with sweat and nerves. “You should be in bubble wrap.”

“Thank goodness you weren’t here for the Barn Roof Trampoline tournaments. You woulda passed out.” She keeps her gaze on Donut as she balances her feet firmly on the saddle, but it still makes me uneasy.