Henry squinted as if he’d been stepped on by a draft horse, hesitated for a second then stepped out to the front of the group.

“Yes ma’am, but maybe one of these other fellas would be more inclined…”

“Buttercup is the bay mare on the end, there,” Jessie interrupted.

Henry hesitated again, and then noticed that all the guests were looking at him. “Yes ma’am,” he said grudgingly. “I’ll get her.” He walked to the hitch rail like he was going to the gallows, untied the little bay mare, led her past where the guests were standing, glanced down at the little girl and halfheartedly motioned for her to follow, which she did. Side by side, they walked the rest of the way as slowly as they both could walk, neither one really wanting to be there. They reached the spot where Henry was to help the little girl mount. He tightened the cinch, and then motioned for her to get on. The little girl hesitated, and with sad eyes looked up at the weathered, slightly hungover cowboy. “I’m afraid of horses,” she said so quietly he almost didn’t hear her.

Henry wasn’t sure what she meant. He had never heard of anybody being afraid of horses. Especially one that seemed to have one foot in the grave, as this one apparently had. He quickly looked around trying to find someone to help deal with what he had just been told, but nobody was available and he was left to deal with the little girl on his own, something he wasn’t entirely sure he was capable of doing.

“Afraid?” He slowly rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Hell there ain’t…I mean, heck, there ain’t no reason to be afraid. This here is a real nice mare.”

“Horses scare me though.”

Again, Henry looked for help, and again, none was to be found. He took a deep breath and bent down to her level. “There are two things in this life I know to be true. The first is that I’ve never lied to a kid. The second is that this mare would never hurt nobody.”

Jessie, who had by now finished assigning horses and had seen Henry was struggling with the little girl, headed his way to see if she could help. When he bent down, she stopped just within earshot and listened to what he had to say.

“Now if you’re too scared to ride, I ain’t gonna be the one to make you do it. But you can take my word when I tell you this mare won’t hurt you.”

Lindsey looked into Henry’s eyes for a moment, then at the horse. “You’re sure she won’t hurt me?”

“You got my word.”

“It’s only for an hour?”

“Yes ma’am, only an hour.”

“Maybe I could go,” she said sheepishly. “As long as it’s only an hour.”

“That’s the girl!” Henry smiled. He helped the little girl into the saddle, and explained how to use the reins to stop and turn. “I expect by the time you get back you’ll like riding so much you’ll want to go out and be the new rodeo queen or some dang thing like that.” The little girl looked down at Henry and smiled. “You have a good ride, now, hear?”