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she stood up on the broad haunches of the animal. She wouldn’t have any trouble getting a foothold, but standing up and shooting straight might be a different matter.
    “Do you want me to walk him first?” Zeke asked.
    She moved her feet about, testing her balance, waiting to see how the horse reacted to her weight. He acted as though he didn’t even know she was on his back. Her balance felt good, secure.
    “Let him go,” she said. “Let’s see how much I remember.”
    Hawk had picked out a horse trained to canter in a circle around a ring. As soon as it started forward, she remembered the feel of haunches rising and falling beneath her feet. She smiled at the familiar sensation, the ease with which she fell into the rhythm. She exulted in the sense of freedom, of lightness, of being detached from anything that kept her earthbound. She remembered the feeling she’d had when she first tried it, the excitement, the sense of accomplishment, that she could do anything she wanted to, as long as she was not afraid to try.
    She felt her spirits soar, her body light enough to fly. She felt like a child again, when there were no limits and all things were possible.
    As the horse made its circuit around the ring, she felt herself smiling as she looked at the faces around her, faces that reflected surprise, pleasure, even amusement. She noted in all of them an element of pride in her accomplishment, of shared community.
    “Toss me a pistol,” she yelled. She felt invincible. She could do anything. Cole tossed her his. She caught it.
    “We ought to try it that way sometime,” he called as she cantered past. “The crowd would love it.”
    She wasn’t thinking about the crowd. She was thinking about the expression she’d seen on Cole’s face. He smiled at her as though he liked to see her do something he hadn’t expected her to do. There was no jealousy, no resentment. Maybe a little bit of pride.
    She jerked her thoughts from his face. She was approaching the targets. She dropped to a half crouch, and fired three shots.
    She hit all three targets, but only one bull’s-eye.
    “Good,” Cole called out.
    But one bull’s-eye out of three was terrible. She was used to perfection, and she wouldn’t settle for anything less. The targets were in a straight line, but her horse was running in a circle. Each target represented a different angle, with almost no time to readjust.
    “Position the targets in a curve, to match the ring,” she called to Cole. By the time she’d circled around again, he had the first three targets repositioned. She fired her last three shots. Two bull’s-eyes, one off center. Not good enough.
    “Toss me your pistol,” she called to Zeke. “I’ve got it figured out now.”
    By the time she came around the circle again, Cole had arranged all six targets in a curve that exactly followed her horse’s path. She drew the pistol and fired at the six targets as she made her pass. She hit all dead center.
    “Unbelievable!” Cole called. “I didn’t think you could do it.”
    She hadn’t been entirely sure herself, but she wasn’t about to tell him. Nor would she tell him about the warmth that spread through her at his compliment, his obvious pride at what she’d accomplished. She couldn’t account for it. Jake and the boys had always been proud of her accomplishments. Isabelle had encouraged her in everything she’d tried. She was used to encouragement. She was used to people being pleased with her success.
    Why should Cole be any different?
    Probably because she’d expected him to want her to fail. She’d even suspected he might be hoping to get her job. She’d been wrong. He only wanted to find ways to make the act more exciting.
    Damn! Her heartburn was back. Worse than ever this time. She didn’t know why he should have this effect on her. But if it kept up, she would have to find ways to avoid him. She didn’t like this peculiar feeling. When combined with the warm flush that