Page 22 of Since Day One

Sliding my gaze briefly to his lips, I shuddered as the insane thought of kissing him darted into my mind. “Hmmm?”

“What are they from?” he asked, not noticing or refusing to acknowledge my involuntary glance.

“Oh, um, the fluke reason I didn’t win this year,” I answered, shaking my head. The only reason that thought had graced my head was because of the intimate moment we were locked in. That was it.

He nodded. Slowly. Cautiously. His tawny eyes flickered between mine as he studied my face.

“I should ride this horse now,” I whispered. He still didn’t move.

“Yeah, you probably should,” he replied, but I made no attempt to slide down from the railing.

“I just wanted to learn something while here.”

“I get that now.” His voice was as soft as a cloud on a gentle spring day.

“Did you think I was trying to take advantage of this?”

“A little. People usually do when they learn what I do.”

“I understand.” My heart skin prickled as his breath washed over me. Everything felt warm. I wanted him to stay like this. I wanted him this close, even if it meant he could hear my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

“Are you mad?”

I shook my head. “I would’ve done the same thing.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me the first time you asked?” His brows knitted together, curiosity etching his sharp features.

“Because there was no pressure to.”

“What if I’d always said no?”

“I would’ve won you over at some point. You said I’m cute, remember?”

A crooked smile spread upon his lips, dimples appearing upon his cheeks, and he didn’t have to answer as we simply studied each other. Something shifted between us at that moment. It was indescribable, as if there was a new vulnerability that wove our paths tightly together. I was no longer some girl desperately grasping for him to share his livelihood with; I was now an equal.

Bill cleared his throat, and heat rose to my cheeks, remembering we had an audience.

“Go on, cowgirl,” Gunnar whispered and backed away from me. Hooking on my spurs, I slid from the railing and adjusted the stirrups shorter, as there was quite a bit of height difference between Gunnar and me.

Then I swung on and settled into the saddle, feeling something switch in me. No longer was I carefree Willow enjoying a vacation. I was trainer Willow who was testing out a potential client and horse. A horse that I was extremely excited about sitting upon.

Bumping Outlaw forward, I let him just feel himself and my seat as we walked the arena. Only for a lap before we were off. It was a dance, a work of art we painted with his hoofprints across the sandy footing. Circles and slides. Each beat and rhythm steadily drummed against the arena.

Faster and faster, then slowing back down, remaining in control the entire time. A swoosh of the tail along beat four. A nice rollback, a snort as he switched leads and stretched forward. Rounding a corner, lunging forward, driving hard, and obeying every subtle shift in my seat.

My racing heart beat heavily against my ribcage. One side pressing deeper into the saddle, a leg sliding forward, a dip in my heel, or a roll of my spur and the horse was performing things that it had never done before. Classical music, my playlist that I normally tuned into to keep time as I trained, ran through my head. No one else was here—it was merely this young colt and me dancing upon a perfect storm.

Outlaw’s mistakes shifted into successes as the bonds that tangled around us morphed into a promising future. Time was lost, foreign to this world as that colt never drifted from me, never became fed up. Constant effort, constant communication, and attempts to understand my cues. It was a dream.

Eventually, that dreaded break Outlaw needed came, and finally, we both relaxed. Slow lopes around the arena with the reins draped over his neck, not touching them so he could lower his head and stretch. Fast, rapid breaths expanded his lungs, rising against my calves in time as we worked through cooling him down. Rewarding every ounce of effort he made while the violins came to a close in my head and brought that dreaded close-off of adrenaline and then peace that swirled within me.

Oh my gosh, I’d done it. It wasn’t until this moment, as Outlaw slowed from the trot and came to a walk, that it hit me. I’d made enough of a name for myself that someone in Wyoming wanted me to try his horse. Some stranger this far away knew who I was and what I was capable of.

I’d done it. Every dream I set out to accomplish, I’d succeeded in this world. Leaning forward, I closed my eyes and let a few tears fall. Despite every ounce of discouragement, I made it, and no one could take that away. No matter what new dream came, what new goal I wanted to accomplish, and despite the accident at this year’s reining championships, I made it.

Sitting back in the saddle, Outlaw bumped to a stop.

“Well?” Bill called from the bleachers beside Gunnar, and I blinked open my eyes, quickly brushing away the wet streaks on my cheeks. “What do you think?”

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