Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (33 page)

“You’re not the only one who retains useful objects.” She giggled. “As for Ms. Lee,
I believe s
he
’s
convinced her daughter’s gymnastic skills can be converted into riding.
Actually, the girl’s balance and the stamina she’s deve
loped over the years
w
ill
help.
”

“Back to the original subject.”

“
Which one, the old chairs or the talk?”

“Tay
lor …
”
His mouth crinkled into a partial grin.

“
O
kay
. Aft
er she informed me of her
scheme
, I informed her
Hannah
w
on’t qualify.
She
tried to argue, but finally
, with a little persuasion
she stopped talking. Then, I explained
her daughter
doesn’t need someone to lift her on
the horse
or have the
special
lift place her in the saddle
. Nor
does
she require
someone to hold her on the horse
; n
either
does
her physical condition
necessitate
constant
w
atching and observing.
Once her daughter
gets comfortable
on the horse
she could ride alone, b
ut our
Heroes program?
” Taylor shook her head vehemently. “
No
w
ay.”

“
W
h
ere does that leave you
?”

“I
volunteered to teach her to ride”

“You what?” The volume of his
voice almost
matched
Ella Mae’s
, except for the bass range
.

She held up her hand.
I seem to be doing that a lot.
“Please let me explain.
She’s adorable, petite with black hair and eyes, plus I sense a tough spirit, which is essential for an athletic.
Hannah’s very petite and looks
t
welve or thirteen, but she’s almost sixteen
.
While
we
’d strolled at a very slow pace
to the barn,
making sure Hannah could stay with us,
my consci
ence
nag
ged
me. My mother caused the problem. If I can help the girl achieve success
,
that will
partially pay for the problem M
om started.”
She stared at him
, willing him to understand
.

He hugged her gently. “Taylor, you are a wonderful woman.” He kissed the top of her head.

“You do
understand
.
” She sighed.
“
I haven’t told Dad or Miss Mary
. The whole riding deal might not work out.”
Taylor scrunched up her face.

“Why?”
He frowned.

“Let me explain this my way.”
She gave a tentative smile.

“Okay.” He returned to treading water.

“
Her foot
w
on’t cause her any problem.
I’ve kno
w
n amputees to ride and compete–
w
ith other t
w
o legged competitors.
”
She surveyed him carefully. “
Working as a gymnast helps because of balance. Her petite size is an advantage because we can use pony size mounts.
None of those prevent her from succeeding.
”
She stopped.

“No, but fear
of horses
might
,” he replied, calmly.

Taylor frowned. “How did you guess?”

“A good number of
people are afraid of animals much larger and
a great deal
heavier than themselves.
If a person has an injury, especially to a foot or leg, he or she is hobbled, which compounds the fear. A horse could step on her, rear up, anything’s possible.
”

Unwilling to allow him to douse her plan
, she replied,
“Jeff, I’ve
w
orked
w
ith people
w
ho were
afraid.
I
n the
initial training period, m
any of the Heroes are scared, but they
w
o
rk through their fears
.
”

“
Taylor.
Some people do not
w
ant to ride
enough to overcome their anxieties
.
”
Jeff play
ed
devil’s advocate
,
something he’d done for years when she came up with an idea that
required additional
assessment.
“Ju
st because you love the sport, have al
w
ays loved the sport, does not mean that everyone shares this
emotion
.
The mother may
w
ant her daughter to ride since she can no longer train as a gymnast, but
the
girl has spent her entire life
,
or most of it
,
learning gymnastics.
That dream is dead.
Unless you can create another and have her accept the dream as hers, she
might not
cooperate,” Jeff said, quietly, but firmly.
“
W
hat if
after all your work to help her overcome her fear,
the girl doesn’t
w
ant to ride?”

She focused her attention on him as if he had sprouted donkey’s ears or
w
orse.
“Not
w
ant to ride?
Everyone
w
ants to ride.”

He continued treading water and remained focused on her.

Taylor absorbed his
w
ords.
“I’ll
have to be very persuasive.
I like the idea of teaching her a ne
w
sport. I bet she’ll be good.
She might even
w
in a scholarship for horsemanship.”

Jeff shook his head.
“From not
w
anting to be involved to having her
w
in a scholarship or even
compete i
s quite a stretch
, even for you
.
However
, that’s
what makes you so special
. Each time a wall appears
you
climb over it, go around it, or knock it down
.”
He shook his head as he smiled.

Her heart burst with joy at his
encouraging
words. “Great, aren’t I?”

“No
comment.”
He laughed.

She
splashed him.

“Naughty, naughty,
”
he warned.

Taylor flipped over, starting swimming. Jeff grabbed her leg, flipped her over, and reeled he
r i
n. Her legs scissor
his waist.
He slid his arms under her back.
With both hands, she splattered his shoulder and face with water. His eyes locked on hers. “Caught
and captured
. You owe me a fine. What shall I do? Dunk you?
”

She shook her head, trying to get the wet hair off her face.

“
No?
”

“No! I hate being dunked!”

“
I
’ll settle for
a kiss.”

Before she could respond, his hands slid
from
beneath her shoulders and grasped the back of her head. An instant later, his mouth touche
d hers. He deepened his kiss. S
he acknowledged and responded.

“There you are,” Aunt Bertha said.

They broke apart.

“Trey called, Jeff. He asked me to remind you to stop by the Post Office and pick up a package. I was visiting Mary when the call came in and offered to come find you. She’s baking cookies and can’t leave them.

“How’s the water?”

Much too hot
thought Taylor.

By unspoken agreement, Taylor and Jeff neither saw nor spoke over the
next few days.
He’d mentioned he’d be consulting for a client or two. She spent the time catching up on bills and phone messages she’d left unanswered
for the past week
.
Jean had covered
most of them, but Taylor’s list
remained long.
As for the kiss, when her mind activated that memory, she jerked h
er attention on something else, almost an impossible task.
On Monday, after a short discussion with Ms. Lee, Taylor arranged for Hannah’s first barn experience.

The threesome met them at the
office
on
Wednesday afternoon
. Ms. Lee arrived in what Taylor began to believe was her only style of dress
,
hot pink stripped sundress with spaghetti straps, platform heels that matched the dress, heavy make-up, and wind-swept hair. Hannah wor
e her jodhpurs and a blue-strip
ed tee.
A clip held her jet black hair firmly in place at the back of her head. Her dark chocolate, nearly black eyes, showed her uneasiness. In her left hand, she carried a helmet. Mentally, Taylor rolled her eyes.
Hadn’t I made myself clear? No riding until Hannah conquered her fear.

She couldn’t blame the girl. Instead, she gave her a warm smile.
“Hannah, today we’re going to walk Pedro.”
Turning her attention to Ms. Lee, Taylor considered making a nasty remark about her inappropriate attire, but
as an alternative
suggested, “Why don’t you sit on the bench outside
by the ring
and watch?”

Taylor coughed to hide the smile at
Ms. Lee’s
displeasure
which
showed
on
her face,
in
her eyes and
in her stance.

When they
reached the hitching post where
previously
Taylor had tied
Pedro,
she watched Hannah. The girl’s
eyes immediately saw the bandage on the pony’s from left leg.

“What happened?” Hannah glanced from
the horse to
Taylor
and back again
.

“He stepped in a hole
a couple of weeks ago
, one
probably dug by a mole or armadillo
.
The vet came and put on a cast, similar to yours.
We
’ve bathed his leg and massaged it twice a day since the accident.
We’re hoping he’ll recover, but horses have delicate legs and don’t do well if one is injured. Exercise is important for
him, but he can’t go fast. I thought since both of you have bad legs, you’d be the perfect groom for him.”

“Really?” Her
dark
eyes sparkled with excitement
, the fear hidden at least for the moment
.

“Really.”
Taylor nodded in conformation. “A few safety points before we go
nearer.
Always move slowly around horses. They don’t see well
, especially straight ahead. To off-set this,
they hear very well, so loud noises can scare horses.”

A flicker of fear showed on Hannah’s face.

Aware of the situation, Taylor said, “But not P
edro. He’s a Quarter horse,
a small one
slightly less than 15 hands
and old at twenty-five. A friend of mine moved away and couldn’t take him. We love having him because he
’s fond of
children, especially girls.
Guess they remind him of his last mistress, Veronica.” Taylor smiled as she watched the
anxiety
on Hannah face fade. “When I give instructions, all you do
,
is follow
my
directions.
Okay?”