Once Upon a Cowboy Read Online Free PDF

those movies? A memory clicked into place. The rider lifted something up and...
    Experimenting, she lifted a leather flap connected to the saddle and found a matching ring with several thongs attached to it. Aha! It only took a minute to wind the thongs from the one brass ring to the other. Last of all she tackled the back strap. This one proved easier still, fastening like a belt. Finished, she slapped the dust from her hands, proud as punch. She'd done it. She'd actually done it!
    "You want me to mount up now?" she asked, facing the two men with a broad grin.
    "Boss?" Gabby nodded toward Cami's feet. "Best get those spurs taken care of first."
    Holt nodded. "Climb up on the fence," he ordered.
    Somewhat awkward in her stiff, new duds, she did as ordered, while he strode over to Loco, waiting patiently in the shade. Unsnapping a leather holster buckled to the saddle, he pulled out a tool that looked like a cross between a pair of wire cutters and a hammer and carried it back to her perch.
    "Hold on a sec." He grabbed her boot and twisted, snipping the long, sharp points off her spurs.
    "Hey, there. Whatcha doing?" Cami cried in alarm.
    "You aren't getting anywhere near Petunia with these on your boots. You'd cut her to ribbons." Once he'd snipped the spurs down, he bent in the sharp ragged edges. "Okay. Now you can mount up."
    She climbed off the fence and frowned. Her spurs didn't jangle worth a darn now, but real cowboys learned early on to face adversity. And spurs that didn't jangle were a minor adversity, nowhere near as bad as losing her longhorn cow buckle.
    Assuming a horse was like a car, she approached the driver side of Petunia, determined to get this one thing correct. She'd done a truly pathetic job at roping, worn the wrong kind of spurs, and gotten the saddle pointed backward. She didn't want to embarrass herself further by getting herself pointed backward, too. She closed her eyes and pictured the dynamics involved in putting the proper foot into the correct stirrup in order to end up facing Petunia's head rather than her tail.
    Satisfied with the game plan, Cami stuck her left foot into the stirrup and grabbed the horn, swinging her right leg up and over. The next instant, the saddle slid rapidly beneath her. She released a muffled shriek and clamped on with all her might.
    Silence reigned.
    Well, she'd done it. She was, indeed, facing the horse's head. Unfortunately she was facing it from the vantage point of the horse's belly.
    Gabby exploded with laughter, toppling from the fence rail. Petunia ducked her head between her front legs and peered at Cami as if she'd taken leave of her senses—which in all likelihood, she had.
    Familiar chap-encased legs appeared beside her. "Tex?"
    She gulped. "Yessir?"
    "You ever saddle a horse before?"
    "No, sir. I sure haven't. And if you look real close at my resumé, I don't think you'll find any such claim."
    "Trust me. I'll give it a real close look." He stooped. "You need some help?"
    "Maybe a little," she admitted reluctantly.
    He reached beneath Petunia and plucked her off the saddle by her shirt collar. "This does not bode well for your future as a wrangler. You realize that."
    "Yessir. I do. Is this strike two?"
    "You could say that."
    He unhooked the saddle and tossed it onto the rail. "Pad first, then blanket. Shake them out, checking for burrs and lumps. They need to be smooth under the saddle," he explained as he went. "Place 'em high on the withers."
    "High on the withers. Got it."
    "Next comes the saddle. Hook the offside stirrup on the horn, so you don't clip her elbow, and put the saddle on her." He glanced down at Cami. "Horn in front."
    "Horn in front. Got it."
    Lifting the saddle off the rail, he dropped it onto the horse's back with an ease she could only envy. Next he ran a hand across Petunia's ribs. "Check her flanks," he ordered.
    "Nice flanks."
    He closed his eyes. For some reason his face went all tight and still and she had the ridiculous