GRACE
Even in October, the Texas sun was brutal. It didn’t care that I was penniless, jobless, and homeless. It continued to beat down on me as sweat dripped from my face.
“You want me to do what?” I’d been here two days and my sister, Blake, was being unreasonable. “He’s my horse. I can do what I want,” I said, turning on my heel and walking into the barn. My heart thudded in time with my boots. I hated fighting with my sister.
“And I’m your trainer, so you will do as you’re told. Unless you want to find someone else.”
“Ugh.” I groaned, putting a little more emphasis in every step.
It hurt to have Blake give me an ultimatum, even though I knew she wouldn’t follow through with it.
It wasn’t her fault I wanted to get back into training right away. It wasn’t her fault that Charlie, my old trainer, had left me high and dry without a team or horse to compete with. And it wasn’t her fault I was in such a bitchy mood, but she made me feel like I was moving backwards. She wanted me to start with the basics with Storm, like I hadn’t been riding for over twenty years.
I let myself into Storm’s stall and leaned my forehead against the hard muscles cording his neck. My shoulders fell, and I let out a heavy sigh. My sister was right. She agreed to help me out in my time of need, and I was acting childish.
A familiar ring tone filled the air as my phone went off nearby. I didn’t even need to look at it to know it was my mother.
My stomach clenched, knowing she wouldn’t give up. I’d already ignored her last five calls. I couldn’t tell her I was without a riding team and my old trainer quit. She only seemed to care about me when I was a winner, and without an Olympic team to train with, in her eyes, I’d be a failure. She might even go so far as to disown me like she’d done with Blake.
Grabbing Storm, I made my way over to the round pen to meet my sister. She tried to hide the triumphant look on her face, but I recognized it right away.
I made my way to the middle of the round pen and signaled Storm to walk away from me. Urging him into a trot and then faster into a canter, I worked him in a circle, practicing a technique called Join Up. It only took a few minutes before he was giving the desired signals: ears focused on me, head lowered, eyes on me, mouth opening and closing. I asked for him to stop, and I turned my back to him. I smiled when he walked up behind me and nudged my shoulder. I didn’t look at him, but I walked around the ring to make sure he followed me.
When I made my way to the center, I looked to see Blake smiling. My chest felt lighter, like a huge weight had lifted off me. Blake was smiling, which meant I did something right. I hated when I disappointed my sister. I would never admit it to her, but I always wanted to grow up to be just like her.
Blake opened the gate, and we made our way to the large sandy jumping arena on the other side of the barn. This was usually my favorite part of training, except today I wouldn’t be jumping the big jumps I liked.
“I’ll go fix some of the jumps while you try not to fall off again. You’ve come a long way since Monday,” Blake said once we were inside the arena. I switched Storm’s halter for his bridle and led him over to the fence to use as a step.
After walking around for a few minutes, I picked up the pace and worked through a trot and then a canter.
“Are you ready, Grace?” Blake yelled across the arena.
“Ready when you are.”
“Start with this jump here, then that one second, and the black and white one next, then the flowers row, and lastly the log.” She pointed from one jump to the next.
I did the first round at a trot. Feeling confident, I circled around and did the pattern again at a canter. We mixed up the pattern, and Blake raised the height on the jumps. She didn’t want to go much higher since I was bareback, but it was exciting to jump with Storm. Six years was too long to go without riding your horse. I was very thankful Blake took care of him for me.
After a few more rounds, Blake went to grab us some water. I hopped off Storm and ran around the arena with him following me. My big, dapple-gray gelding was such a big puppy. He followed me everywhere. Guzzling the water Blake handed me, I tracked the set of vehicles coming down the dirt road. Two heavy-duty trucks, both pulling trailers, kicked up dust until they parked in front of the barn.
Blake had mentioned the team would return today from the latest horse show. I wiped my damp palm against the side of my pant leg, debating on what to say when they got out. I was nervous to meet them. Each member of Team Kingston was a top rider. They accepted nothing but the best from their team.
“Oh my God. Liam!” I screamed when I saw the sexy Frenchman climbing out of one of the dirty trucks.
He shielded his eyes from the sun, grinning when he finally spotted me. I climbed the fence and jumped out of the arena, racing toward Liam. By the time I reached him, he was ready for me to launch myself into his arms like old times. I wrapped my legs around him as he spun us around. I couldn’t help the giggles that burst from me.
When Liam stopped spinning, I leaned back and looked at the man I’d had the biggest crush on for so many years. Those honey eyes were the same ones I’d dreamed about, but now they appeared different to me. The time apart hadn’t made him any less handsome, but I no longer felt the butterflies in my stomach. He felt familiar and comforting, but that childhood crush had died.
I pressed my lips tightly. When had I started thinking of him more like an older brother instead of a fantasy husband?
It didn’t matter. I was just happy to have him with me again.
His brow scrunched, and he tilted his head to the side. “What’s wrong, Chaton? When did you get here?”
He used his old nickname for me, calling me kitten in French.
I shook my head. “It’s nothing.” The last thing I wanted to do was make things awkward between us by telling him the crush he didn’t know I’d had on him had disappeared. “I’m just glad you’re here. I arrived a few days ago. How was the show?”
“It went well. I took fourth overall,” he chuckled. “I can’t believe I missed your arrival. Are you all settled in?”
I nodded. Ever the caring gentleman. He squeezed around my hips where he was still holding me up. It was a shame I didn’t have romantic feelings for him anymore. Being held for this long without even breaking a sweat, would have been a major turn on. Whoever landed him was going to be one lucky girl.
My whole body stiffened. Oh shit. What if he already had a someone?
“Am I going to get you in trouble with your lady with us like this?” I asked when he raised his brow at me. I looked around, but I didn’t see anyone.
“No lady for me right now. The Henderson sisters are all I need in my life at the moment.” Liam laughed before glancing at Blake as she approached us. “I’m glad you made it here safely.” Liam loosened his hold on me, and I slid down to stand in our little circle. “You look good. And tan.”
“Well, I had to stop by the beaches and say goodbye before I left.” Being in Florida for so long and riding in the scorching sun every day kept me with a nice tan, but I really did make a detour on my way up. If I was heading to a landlocked ranch where the beaches were a day’s drive, I had to say goodbye to the sandy beaches as I left. Spending time on the beach always helped brighten my mood when I was down, which had been my permanent mood for the past three weeks since the team disbanded.
“Which explains why she was a day later than expected.” Blake ground her teeth. Punctuality was her thing, not mine.
“You can’t blame me for my detour. I’ve been in Florida for six years, and I don’t know when the next time I’ll see the beach again.”
“Yes, but you didn’t have to say goodbye to the Atlantic and the Gulf. Seems a little excessive.” Blake rolled her eyes.
“Says the nomad who got to go everywhere, all the time.” I huffed.
“Okay ladies. Let’s not bicker. What matters is that you are both here and back together.” Liam stepped in between us, holding his hands up.
“So, Grace. How do you like the ranch so far? How was your tour of the land?” He turned to me.
“Oh, that was planned for day one, which she wasn’t here for. So, she missed her tour,” Blake chided. She was not going to let it go.
“Come on, Blake. That’s the best part.” Liam spun on Blake, wide eyed. “We have to go for a ride tomorrow and show her around.”
“You have a full day tomorrow already.” Blake shot down his offer.
My shoulders fell. I wouldn’t have minded taking the day to go ride with Liam. It would be nice to get a day away from Blake. We typically got along well, but I was having a hard time adjusting to her taking on the role of my coach.
“True, but maybe one of the guys can take her out and show her around.”
I perked up. When I first got here, Blake introduced me to Gavin and explained her relationship with him and Travis, who they mentioned was out with the cows. Interesting job duty, but I wasn’t going to question how things were run here. I didn’t know a thing about cattle ranching in Texas. I was just grateful that the Kingston brothers let me stay here for a while.
“Grace,” Blake’s voice was full of warning.
“What?” I tried for my best innocent look.
“Don’t even think about it. You’re here to train. You are not here to mess around with the cowboys. They are off limits to you, do you understand?”
“Oh, come on.” I rolled my eyes. “How do you even know I was thinking that?”
“Because I know you. You’re a big flirt, and I will not see you lead any of these guys on. Things work differently here. When you leave, you’re going to break their hearts.” Blake put her hands on her hips. I could see Liam’s face bouncing back and forth between us like a tennis match.
“Fine,” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’ll be on my best behavior. I promise.”