I’m thinking it’s time for a visit. Maybe a long weekend. She’s not MY employee.
Adam
You like being able to breathe air? Then don’t even fucking think about it.
Brax
Ohhhh you made Adam MAD
I wished I could say that the buzzing in my veins was from the second cup of coffee I’d gulped down that morning, but I knew that wasn’t true.
It was 7:30 a.m. Any second now, James was going to appear, and the real work would begin.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was optimistic, but I was cautiously hopeful. We had cycled through four trainers—not counting Blaine—each one more determined than the last, and each just as cocksure that he had the solution. And each trainer ended the same way.
In the dirt.
But James was different. She didn’t seem to hold a lot of preconceived notions about Belle’s training, just eager curiosity. More interested in asking questions than in laying down the law. Of Blaine, of me, even of Belle. What do you say, girl? Want to find out? She had posed that question to the horse—the fucking horse—but something in me perked up and answered.
Hell, yeah, I wanted to find out.
For the first time, I felt hope. Faint and cautious, but there.
That’s what this crackling feeling was. The hope that maybe this time would be different. That maybe James really could be the one that tamed Belle the Bitch and turned Lodestar around. It wasn’t caffeine. More important, it wasn’t anticipation of seeing her again. I was her boss, she was my employee, this was a professional relationship, and—despite the inauspicious beginning—we were going to keep it that way.
“Morning, boss. You waiting for me?”
I jerked my head up as Blaine sauntered into the ring. “Looking for James, actually. Figured she might have a few questions this morning.”
“She’s already here. Out in the paddock with Belle. I drove past her on my way in.”
Damn. That was unexpected. Other than the grooms, I was usually the first to arrive.
“I’ll head that way, then.” I pushed away from the rail.
“Sure thing. Hey, what do you think of her? Is it going to work out?”
I looked at the cloudless sky, aware that his gaze was on me. “Too soon to tell.”
Lodestar Ranch had more than one paddock, but since Blaine had seen her on the drive in, I knew which one he meant. It was farther than I wanted to walk, so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone and get some chores done while I was at it. I saddled up Devil, a retired black gelding who was as gentle as a lamb, and headed towards James on horseback.
As I approached, I saw James on one side and Belle wandering several feet away, grabbing mouthfuls of grass. The paddock was our smallest one, meant for gentle isolation. We used it for injured horses needing peaceful recovery, or mamas and their newborn foals. I wondered if she had chosen it for that reason.
James leaned against the fence, her arms spread wide against the top rung, a bucket of grooming brushes and combs at her feet. She had her sunglasses on, and her face tipped up toward the sun like it was the mothership calling her home, a small smile hovering on her lips.
I shook my head. Did this woman ever not smile? It was like she hadn’t yet discovered how fucking exhausting the world was. Where did she find the energy? Looking at her standing there, fresh as a damn daisy, bright as one of the buttercups dappling the grass like spilled sunshine, I felt every single one of my thirty-five years and then some. Ancient. Like my weary bones might crumble to dust at any moment.
Hearing the soft clomp of hoofbeats on the damp earth, her head turned. When she caught sight of me, her smile widened. My bones decided it might be worthwhile to hold together a little longer.
“Hey there,” she greeted me.
“Hey.” I eyeballed her from beneath the brim of my baseball hat. She wasn’t wearing her pink boots today. Instead, she was wearing cutoff denim shorts and beat-up sneakers. Clearly, she wasn’t intending to ride today, either. I loosened the reins, giving Devil permission to stretch his neck. “What are you doing?”
Maybe my tone left something to be desired or my face was scowling again, because she quirked an eyebrow at me. “Waiting.”
She crossed one leg over the other. Short legs, like the rest of her, but nicely curved by lean muscle. I jerked my gaze determinedly to her face.
“For?” I asked gruffly.