A/N: Short and shamelessly fluffy. Hope it doesn't suck but I like the idea so hopefully you will too. Ta!
Since Rachel Slocum's departure for England, Sam vowed to never let another girl intimidate her.
She hadn't counted on Witch.
The black dragon of a mare stood tall, tossing her head high and peering at Sam with eyes that she swore glinted red. There was no way. No. Way.
"Sam get over here and mount up," Jake said in exasperation. Sam stared at her supposed best friend, mutiny in her eyes. She willed her boots to take root where she stood, a safe distance of ten feet from the mare.
"I choose life," she muttered stubbornly. Jake rolled his eyes and dropped the reins, and Witch, the deceptive little cow pony she was, stood obediently. He stomped over to Sam—bad sign, she thought to herself—and grabbed her wrist.
"Come ON, Brat, I don't have all day here." She dug her heels in the dirt and dropped her weight as if dragging down a loco horse rather than an irritated cowboy. The sudden shift caught Jake off guard and the two of them went down, Jake stumbling to his knees while Sam landed unceremoniously on her butt. Jake groaned in annoyance. "This is just ridiculous."
Sam winced, knowing she was pressing her luck with her moody friend. "Are you sure you couldn't just take Witch to college with you? Or maybe one of your brothers…" Sam trailed off as Jake's questioning look melted into that tomcat smile she hated. He stood and dusted off his faded jeans, taking care to slap his Stetson clean on his leg.
"Didn't think you'd be so scared of her, Brat." He towered over her, smirking easily. Sam closed her eyes. Well, crap. He really did know her too well. Scrambling to her feet, she growled and marched past him, making sure to knock his shoulder on the way. Jerk.
Grasping Witch's reins, Sam paused to run a hand over the satiny black neck. Clamping down on any and all butterflies in her stomach, Sam swung herself up into Jake's enormous saddle. She shifted a bit, trying to get comfortable, which caused the mare to kick out beneath her. Sam gulped. No shifting, got it. She sat up straight and was about to get Witch going when a heavy weight dropped down behind Sam, scaring out of her wits. Strong brown hands came into her vision, adjusting her grip on the reins.
"What the heck are you doing?" Sam yelped.
"Witch likes a loose rein," Jake's voice murmured behind her, "Too tight and she'll throw you." Sam felt her entire body stiffen and she fought to hide a blush.
"No I mean what are you doing on Witch?" she clarified. She could feel Jake's shrug and a hand disappeared to scratch the back of his neck.
"Figured it be easier to keep you from killing yourself from here, 'stead of another horse," he mumbled. Sam fought the urge to turn around and push him off.
"It's your own horse you'll have to worry about killing me," Sam muttered, turning the mare and heading over the Riverbend bridge.
An hour later, Sam was beginning to think her nerves couldn't take much more. Between Witch's relentless efforts to 'test her abilities' (Jake's words, not hers) and Sam's constant awareness of Jake behind her (she was most definitely not thinking about the warmth that he seemed to emanate and the tingling that resulted from it) she was constantly on edge.
They were about five miles from Riverbend and Jake finally decided that both Sam and Witch had had enough of each other. With a shout of joy, Sam launched the mare into a ground-eating lope. She didn't realize her mistake until she felt Jake begin to slip behind her and hold onto her waist to steady himself. Once again she found her senses zeroing in on the big hands resting lightly on her hips. Sam barely noticed they were back until Witch's hooves went from beating muffled dirt to the hollow wood of the bridge. Slowing down to a jog, then a walk, Sam was immensely relieved (really, that was relief she was feeling….right?) when Jake's hands dropped and he swung off of Witch.
Sam took a moment to steady her erratic heartbeat before looking down at Jake. He looked up, but seemed to focus over her left shoulder.
"Good job," he said clearing his throat. "You'll get along fine." Sam wondered at his odd behavior but didn't ask, simply jumped down from his monstrous mare and led her to the barn. Jake followed, as she knew he would, and together they stripped Witch of her tack and took care to groom her, as she hot and lathered from making Sam miserable.
As they finished brushing the mare, Sam voiced a question that had been on her mind.
"Why do you want me to care for Witch? You never answered." Jake glanced at her then looked away. He scratched his neck once more, and Sam almost felt bad for putting him on the spot. Key word: almost. He sighed.
"I asked you because you've spent a lot of time with her. Because you're the only one she lets get within twenty feet of her. Because I don't trust my brothers," he paused and met Sam's eyes squarely. "Because I trust you." Sam felt her breath leave her for an instant but kept eye contact until he looked away, bronze cheeks flushed.
The moment was broken by teeth closing over Sam's jacket and yanking her backwards. Sam let out a startled squeak and went down. Flat on her back, Sam peered up at the evil mare that seemed to be grinning above her. Letting out a startled laugh, Jake helped Sam up.
"Just hope she doesn't eat you before Christmas," he teased at Sam's scowling face.
A/N: Feedback and ideas please! Happy Holidays!