Ring of Fire Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Sorry.” He grinned engagingly. “When I get excited, sometimes I forget to e-nun-ci-ate.”
    Hard to resist that grin, and the boy’s enthusiasm. The kid was a charmer. “When I get excited, sometimes I forget to breathe,” Eric told him. Of course the kind of excitement he was talking about—like facing perils in a war zone—was completely different from what young Jayden meant.
    â€œHello there!” a female voice called.
    Eric looked up to see two women in cowboy hats walking toward them. One of them, only a couple inches shorter than Lark, was the woman with the braid. She held a riding helmet. The other, a few years older, had reddish blond hair curling around her face. Her smile was friendly with a touch of reserve as she said, “Eric, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Sally.”
    Sally Ryland, the owner of this place. They’d spoken on the phone, firming up the details for today’s lesson.
    â€œNice to meet you, too.” He held out his hand.
    Her handshake was firm and professional.
    â€œAnd this is Corrie, my assistant.” Sally gestured with her left hand, and light glittered off a band of small diamonds around her ring finger.
    Eric held out his hand to the taller woman. “Hi, Corrie.”
    â€œHi, Eric. Welcome to Ryland Riding.” She, too, gave his hand a strong shake, and then handed him the riding helmet.
    The only person he hadn’t shaken hands with was Lark, yet she was the one he was drawn to. Attracted to. Just standing close to her sent a not-unpleasant buzz of awareness through his blood.
    And that was crazy. In all likelihood, she was married; the absence of a ring on her left hand was probably due to her line of work. Besides, what healthy, attractive woman would be interested in a beat-up guy like him with a stump for one leg and a bunch of ugly scars on the other? Not to mention a case of PTSD that had him falling out of bed in the middle of the night and hitting the ground when he smelled smoke?

Chapter Three
    Lark watched from the side of the smaller of the two riding rings as Jayden walked Pookie, a small gray mare, in a circle. Corrie held the horse’s lead rein, but loosely, as a precaution rather than to guide the horse. It was Jayden who was directing the mare’s movement. He’d come so far in just two months.
    During the first lessons, Sally had ridden behind Jayden with her arms around him, keeping him steady and placing her hands on the reins along with his. He had protested about not being able to ride independently, but Sally and Monique had explained that the support was for his own safety—until he improved his strength, coordination, and balance. It was a plot of sorts.
    Jayden had, all his life, been doing exercises. They were tedious and he often protested. Sometimes he had spurts of improvement, and sometimes he plateaued. A few months back, they’d hit a plateau and he’d been unmotivated and cranky. But then Monique had noticed him reading a book with a horse on the cover and she’d hit on the notion of therapeutic riding. As the therapy team had hoped, being on horseback had given a huge boost to Jayden’s motivation and his development.
    He’d taken to heart Sally’s advice that a rider must be strong, yet flexible. At home he did extra sets of exercises and had added new ones, like manipulating reins tied to his bedpost.
    He had soon progressed to riding alone in the saddle with two side walkers who kept a hand on his thigh or on the padded safety belt he wore, helping him keep his balance. As he grew stronger and more coordinated, the side walkers let go of him; they were only there in case he had a problem. Now, Sally only used side walkers when Jayden trotted Pookie, and the lead rein was rarely necessary either. More and more, Jayden was the one who communicated signals through his body and hands to the placid mare and guided her movements.
    He was