Chapter 26
Sam usually rode next to Dallas or Dad. Both kept an eye on her as she rode her new horse. She loved George and he seemed so responsive to her.
When Dad told her she had to rest him, putting him in the remuda with the other horses not being worked, Sam pouted at first.
"It's not fair to him if you wear him out," Dad told her. "You don't want to hurt him, do you?"
Sam was very softhearted and Dad knew that. Sam got down without further questioning and they saddled up another small horse for her that belonged to the Elys.
One time when Sam rode next to Jake she asked him about his saddle. He normally didn't ride with one.
"Quinn finally outgrew his saddle," Jake explained. "I prefer ridin' bareback, but Dad didn't want me to out here."
"Why?" Sam asked.
"Why, what?" Jake asked a question of his own.
"Why do you like bareback better?"
"You can feel the horse under you better," Jake explained. "If you can ride bareback, you can ride with a saddle easy."
Sam thought about that. She had never ridden bareback.
"Can you teach me?" she asked.
Jake glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. He took in the way she rode in an instant. She wasn't bad but she didn't have much contact with George's mouth and she certainly wouldn't be able to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to, if he were so inclined.
"I guess," Jake gave a long-suffering sigh. "We can try."
Sam's face lit up into a smile under the brim of her new cowboy hat.
"Not now," Jake warned her. "Durin' the summer sometime."
"Okay," Sam nodded.
"We'll use George since he's used to it," Jake told her.
"Okay."
"On a hot day in the river," Jake continued.
Sam looked at him in confusion.
"Why?"
Jake shrugged. "That's just what Grandfather told me when I was taught."
"Oh," Sam murmured.
"I think it's 'cause you won't have as far to fall when you come off," Jake laughed, giving her his smug tomcat grin.
"Maybe I won't fall off," Sam gave it right back to him, sticking her tongue out at him.
"You will," Jake said with certainty.
"Humph," Sam huffed, ignoring him.
That only made Jake laugh harder.
Sometimes he thought he was so much better at things than she was, it made her crazy. Of course, when it came to riding, he was but she'd never tell him that.
Sam was sore most days when they made camp for the night. She wasn't used to riding that long and nobody gave her any allowances for just being five. Jake told her he had been going on roundup since he was three. Another thing he could lord over her, she thought.
Usually one of the men, Jake or one of his brothers would take her saddle off her horse for her and carry it into camp. She stayed in a tent with Gram. Sam had her own sleeping bag though.
"Well at least if a grizzly shows up, they'll try to eat Sammy first," Quinn teased one night as they sat around and ate dinner.
Sam's head snapped up at that bit of news.
"Nah, she'd be just a snack for a grizzly," Nate joked. "The bear would eat you after eating Sam."
"Nate," Mr. Ely warned him, seeing the fright on Sam's face.
"Nah, grizzlies don't eat brats," Jake drawled with a laugh. Sam hit him.
"Samantha Anne!" Gram scolded her. "We don't hit other people."
"He's not other people, he's Jake," Sam reasoned, causing everyone around the campfire to start laughing. Jake laughed the hardest of all of them.