said to a round of laughter from his friends.
“No.” Dawson looked at each one in turn, but they all shrugged and shook their heads. He met Mattie’s gaze, and the sparkle in her eyes told him she knew what he had in mind. “Do you want to tell them?” he asked her.
She nodded. “You must get to know the animal before you try to do anything. These horses are used to a lot of different people riding them, and they’re okay with that. But not all animals are that way.”
“How do we get to know them?” Nate asked Dawson.
“Have you ever heard the expression that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach?” Four pairs of eyes looked back at him blankly. Maybe he was more ancient than he’d thought. When he looked into the fifth pair of eyes, he saw laughter. The merriment made Mattie’s eyes very beautiful. The look made him very warm.
“What Dawson means is that you can make friends with the animals by feeding them, gently touching them and talking quietly to them. They respond best to gentle kindness, not fear and intimidation. After he shows you how to bridle Buttercup, I’ll show you where the carrots are kept for feeding the horses. But before we do that, I’ll show you how it’s done so that you don’t get your fingers nipped.” She smiled sweetly at Dawson. “Please continue, professor.”
Oh, good, he thought. Not teacher, but professor. She just had to make him feel that much older. He spread the leather strips so that they could see the configuration and how it would fit around the horse’s face.
“This metal part, called a bit, goes in the horse’s mouth. If you haven’t made friends with the horse, no way will the animal open up willingly. Consequently, no way will you get it in. Observe.” He patted the horse’s neck and crooned to her. Then he put the bit in front of her, and she opened her mouth. He used his palm to push it until she allowed it to settle behind her teeth. “Voilà,” he said.
Kevin scratched his head, which didn’t do his unruly brown hair any favor. “What does walla mean?”
“It means he did it easy as pie,” Mattie explained. “Did you notice the way Dawson pushed the bit in with his palm? He kept his fingers out of the way. Horses can get confused and bite. They don’t mean to hurt you, but it can happen if you’re not careful.”
“You mean accidentally?” Katie asked.
“Exactly,” Mattie answered, as if the little girl were a star pupil. She moved to the other side of the horse and glanced at Dawson. He thought there was approval in her eyes. Obviously she was surprised that he’d passed her bridle test. He knew that’s why she’d asked him to show the kids how it was done. He was glad he’d favorably surprised her.
Mattie patted Buttercup’s neck. “For safety purposes, when you give them carrots, keep your palm flat and your fingers out of the way. Buttercup would feel awful if she hurt you.”
“How do you know that?” Juan asked.
“I can see it in her eyes.” She hugged the horse for a few seconds. “All right. Dawson, you take Katie and Juan. I’ll take Kevin and Nate, and we’ll get the horses bridled and saddled. Meet you in the corral.”
“Right,” he said.
About twenty minutes later, they were gathered in the picket-fenced enclosure. All four kids were mounted on their horses.
“Giddyap, horse,” Kevin said, moving his body in a forward motion.
“Hold on, buckaroo. I need to adjust your stirrups.” Mattie smiled up at the young boy sitting on the horse. “You need to stick your feet in there. If they flap around like wet noodles, it could scare the horse. If the horse is scared, she might run away with you. If she runs away with you, you’ll be scared. If you’re scared, I’m scared. If—”
“Okay, Mattie,” Kevin grinned. “I get it. I’ll hold my horse while you fix the stirrups.”
“Good choice. All of you hold your horses until Dawson and I make sure the stirrups are adjusted to fit you. Okay?”
“No worries,” they said together.
She laughed, and Dawson grinned, too, watching her. She was wonderful with them. Patient and reasonable. The kids responded in kind. Why was she so unreasonable when it came to him?
When everyone was secure, Dawson saddled a horse for himself and one for Mattie. He led them into the corral, where she watched and instructed as the four rode slowly around the perimeter. She and Dawson mounted up.
“All right, kids. I think you’re ready. We’re going to see how you do out in the open. This is going to be an adventure.”
“Truer words have never been spoken,” Dawson muttered, watching her trim back as he followed her out of the corral.
“Jillian, I can’t thank you enough for coming with me.”
“It’s my pleasure to show you the sights of San Antonio.” Jillian tucked a strand of straight blond hair behind her ear.
Mattie smiled at her soon-to-be sister-in-law across the table. It was hard to believe just that morning she’d been teaching kids to ride in the wide-open spaces of Texas. And now, eight hours later, she was taking in the newest “in club” in San Antonio. She turned her head from side to side, trying to see everything at once.
She noticed the sawdust-covered floor, saloon-style bar, and old-fashioned Western lanterns sitting on the round tables. Anticipation hummed through her. The most impressive sight was the multitude of men bellied up to the bar, boots hooked on the stools.
“So this is the famous Watering Hole, bar and nightspot extraordinaire,” she said.
“This is it.” Jillian shifted uncomfortably on the wooden, barrel-backed chair. “This is where single women come to meet single men—cowboys hang out here in…droves, so to speak.”
“I already noticed the cowboys. It’s so exciting. And about time, thanks to my brothers. I feel as if I’ve missed out on so much. Maybe I can see a little big-city nightlife without my shadow hovering over me.”
“You shouldn’t be so hard on Griff, Mattie. He loves you and is trying to protect you.”
“I know he means well. They all do. But there are so many of them. I thought when I came to Texas, I would have the freedom of a single woman. But every time I turn around, I trip over one of the Fortune boys. Why can’t they just let me live my life?”
“Maybe if I’d had a big brother watching over me, I wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.” Jillian sighed, a big, gusty, sad sound.
Mattie felt guilty and ungrateful for complaining. Truthfully, she didn’t know what she would do if anything happened to one of her brothers. Impulsively, she reached across the table and squeezed the other woman’s hand. She envied Jillian Hart Tanner’s petite, pretty, blond good looks. Next to her, Mattie felt like a galumphing elephant. But she genuinely liked Jillian, and envied her happiness and the baby that would soon arrive for her and Brody.
“Things will be fine for you, Jillian. God knows why you want him—” she grinned “—but you’ve got my brother now. Soon you’ll be married, and he’ll take good care of you
