Chapter Nine

"Howdy," Jake said upbeat when he saw her walking into the stables. 

"Yeah, yeah," Molly yawned, not even the open two buttons on his shirt could wake her up right now. "How are you this awake and happy already?" she asked, almost accusingly. While she was waking up earlier more naturally as she got used to being here, getting up at just gone 7 to be ready for 8 was criminal in her book. 

"I'm a cowboy ma'am," he dipped his hat at her with a smile that made her knees weak and her heart skip a beat. 

"Yeah, real cute," she nudged him, pushing away the tickle she felt in her stomach as she wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like to kiss him. "So, how about this lesson?" she asked now, trying to get herself a bit more pumped up. 

"Well, first thangs first..."

An hour later all she'd done was help muck out some of the stables and clean the saddles, definitely banishing any thought of making out. "How is this going to teach me how to ride?" Molly asked, getting a little grumpy. 

"Horses ain't just about ridin', ye need to appreciate the whole experience," he said, biting his tongue from giving her a cheeky smile. 

"You're just trying to get free labor out of me, that was not the deal," she accused him now, making him laugh. 

"Well consider it one way of payin' may for yer lessons," Jake laughed, making her a little more grumpy. "Okay, clearly not a mornin' person. Let's just get goin' then," he said when he noticed. Even though he'd decided yesterday not to actively pursue her, he also didn't want to put her off. "Take that there saddle with ya," he told her now and led her to one of the more docile horses. It was the one he'd taught Beth to ride on 5 years ago and occasionally would help other starting riders with. "This here be Bullet. He's not as fast as his name suggests, but he can be a pain if ye wind him up," he introduced her, now finally getting a small smile out of her. 

"Hi ya Bullet," she said, struggling to hold onto the saddle as she tried to stroke his neck. 

"Plenty o' time for that later. Let's get that saddle on him first," Jake said, not entirely surprised to see her hold it out towards him. "I ain't doin' it. Ye need to learn to do all of it yerself," he told her now. 

Molly gave him a momentary glare as she juggled the saddle to get a decent hold on it and still be able to lift it away from her own body. She even put it down to try a different angle, see if it would be easier when she wasn't already cradling it close to limit the impact of its weight. "Are they all this heavy?" she asked after a minute. 

"Nah, not all," he shrugged casually, still watching her closely to see how she was getting on. 

She huffed at the insinuation that he had given her a heavier one on purpose, not knowing that different saddles worked better for different horses and indeed different riders. "Feel free at any time to help," Molly eventually said after five minutes. She was nowhere closer to getting the saddle up on Bullet's back and it was getting harder rather than easier to maneuver. Jake sighed and, as she tried to raise it again, gave her the boost she needed to get it up and on Bullet. The sudden momentum brought them really close together, not quite as close as yesterday when he helped her off of Maximus, but close enough to take her breath away, their chests almost pressed against each other. "Thanks," she almost whispered. 

"Uh huh…" he said, being held by her eyes again. "Ah'ite, now we need to do up the straps," Jake managed to stop himself when he felt himself leaning in towards her. Molly felt a little disappointed but followed his lead when he leant down to reach under and bring the straps together. "Ye need to make sure these are tied properly, or else ye end up fallin' off," he showed her how to do them up.

"Got it," she nodded. Jake straightened the saddle for her and showed her how to put the bit on and get the reins on. "So, I guess it's time for my favorite bit," she said a little sarcastically as he led Bullet out of his bay and towards the door. 

"Uh huh," he chuckled. "Ye almost had it yesterday," he tried to encourage her. 

This time Jake managed to keep his patience with her, as they weren't trying to get back anywhere, and she was really trying. 

"I suck," Molly gave up after about 20 minutes and sank down on one of the barrels. 

"Ye don't suck. Come on, ye got some serious snap in yer garters," Jake tried to cheer her up, holding his hand out for her to get up again. 

"I've got what in my what?" she asked offended. She had no idea what it meant but she knew what words he'd used. 

"Oh no, that's not… I meant it's not yer first rodeo, yer capable," he quickly backtracked, realizing she didn't understand the expression. He tried really hard not to think what her shapely legs would look like in a pair of garters. 

"Oh right, okay. Thanks, I guess," Molly calmed down when she understood he was trying to cheer her up. 

"Come on, I promise it gets better," Jake said, taking hold of her hand to pull her back up off the barrel. "Ye just need to work those arms," he continued as he put her hands back on the horn but kept his arms around her from behind. "Use these muscles," he said, showing her which ones he meant. "Push off with yer standin' leg as ye pull up." She nodded at every single instruction, but, in the meantime, she was trying not to get distracted by him being so close to her. His scent of body spray, fresh outdoor air and animals was intoxicating. "Ye can do this," he encouraged her. 

Molly took a deep breath and pushed off as she strained to pull herself up. She got up high enough that she was kind of propped up on the saddle, which is the closest she'd gotten by herself. She got her leg over Bullet's back with a little bit of help from Jake. She paused as she lay on top of the horse for a second. "I did it," she smiled as she started to sit up. 

"Told ye," he smiled back. "Come on," he said as he took hold of the reins and led Bullet out of the stables. "Hold on, just feel the way he moves," Jake added. Molly didn't feel comfortable enough to let go of the horn, and it felt weird having her legs in the stirrups. She didn't feel like she could ever be in control of such a large animal. But she could feel her body relax a little the longer she was sat on. "How d'ye feel?" he asked after they did a couple of rounds outside. 

"Gettin' there," she nodded with a nervous smile.