“If you ask me that again, Josh, I'll kick you.” She glared at him ferociously and he laughed.

“Hell no, you won't.” He laughed more. “You couldn't lift your leg high enough to kick a short dog, Samantha.” And then he laughed over his joke all the way to the big house. It was a few minutes after six when Caroline opened the door to them, and Josh left her at the front door in Caroline's care. She couldn't help smiling at her young friend as Sam struggled into the cozy living room and collapsed, groaning, onto the couch. She had shed the damp jacket on the way, and as her pants had stayed dry beneath the slicker, she knew that she wasn't damaging the furniture and she needed to sit down.

“Good God, girl, did you ride all day?” Sam nodded, barely able to speak, she was so tired and stiff. “Why in heaven's name didn't you come home when you'd had enough?”

“I didn't want to look like a sissy…” She groaned horribly but managed to grin at Caroline, who collapsed on the couch with a chuckle and a smile.

“Oh, Samantha, you foolish girl! You'll be in agony tomorrow!”

“No, I won't. I'll be back on that damn horse.” And then she groaned again, but more at the memory of the horse than at the pain.

“Which one did they give you?”

“A miserable old beast called Rusty.” Sam looked at Caroline with open disgust and Caroline laughed harder.

“Oh, God, they didn't. Did they really?” Samantha nodded. “Who on earth did that? I told them you could ride as well as any of the men.”

“Well, they didn't believe you. At least Tate Jordan didn't. He almost gave me Lady, and then decided Rusty was more my speed.”

“Tomorrow tell him you want Navajo. He's a beautiful Appaloosa, no one rides him except Bill and myself.”

“Will that make the other men resent me?”

“Did they today?”

“I'm not sure. They didn't say much.”

“They don't say much to each other either. And if you rode with them since this morning, how could they possibly resent you? My God, and all those hours on the first day!” She looked truly horrified at what Samantha had done.

“Wouldn't you have done the same thing?”

She thought about it for a minute, and then, with a sheepish grin, nodded yes.

“By the way, I saw Black Beauty.”

“What do you think of him?” Caroline's eyes glowed.

“I think I'd like to steal him, or at least ride him. But”-her eyes suddenly flashed again-“Mr. Jordan doesn't think I ought to. According to him, Black Beauty isn't a horse for a woman.”

“What about me?” Caroline looked vastly amused.

“He thinks you're the ‘best woman rider’ he's ever seen. I challenged him about that, why not the ‘best rider’ without qualifying it?” But Caroline only laughed at her. “What's so funny, Aunt Caro? You are the best damn rider I've ever seen.”

“For a woman,” she countered.

“You think that's funny?”

“I'm used to it. Bill King thinks the same thing.”

“Liberated in these parts, aren't they?” Samantha groaned as she got off the couch and pointed herself in the direction of her room. “In any case if I can squeeze a better horse out of Tate Jordan tomorrow, I'll feel as though I've won a major battle for womankind. What was the name of that Appaloosa?”

“Navajo. Just tell him I said so.”

Samantha rolled her eyes as she disappeared down the hall. “Good luck,” Caroline called after her. But as she washed her face and brushed her hair in the pretty bedroom, she realized that it was the first time in three months that she hadn't moved heaven and earth to watch John and Liz's evening broadcast, and she hadn't even missed it. She was in another world now. A world of horses named Rusty, and Appaloosas, and assistant foremen who thought they ruled the world; but it was all very simple and very wholesome, and the most pressing problem she had was what horse she was going to ride the next day.

She thought once more to herself as she lay in bed shortly after dinner that it was the most blissfully simple existence she had known since she was a child. And then, as the thoughts faded from her mind, just before she drifted into sleep, she heard the familiar door close again and she was sure this time that she heard muffled footsteps and soft laughter in the hall.

5

The next morning Samantha climbed out of bed with a horrific groan, she staggered to the shower and stood there for a full fifteen minutes with the hot water raining down on her sore limbs. The insides of her knees were almost scarlet from her eleven-hour day in the saddle, and she padded her long Johns with wads of cotton as she gingerly stepped back into her jeans. The only encouraging sign for the day ahead was that it was no longer raining, and she glanced around her in the early morning darkness, noticing that there were still stars in the sky, as she made her way to the main dining hall for breakfast. This morning she felt less timid as she walked in, hung her jacket on a hook, and went straight to the coffee machine, where she filled a tall steaming mug. She saw her old friend Josh at a far table and went over to him with a smile as he beckoned to her to sit down.