Page 58 of Deadly Revenge

Max frowned. “Your uncle is a trainer, but you use someone else?”

“It’s ... complicated. Don’t get me wrong—Sam’s a great trainer. He’s worked around dressage and jumping horses most of his life. Even had aspirations of competing in the Olympics.”

“It sounds like he didn’t. What happened—” He winced. “There I go again, prying into something that’s none of my business.”

“It’s all right.” She rubbed Ace’s nose. “I’m afraid he let alcohol destroy his chances of competing.”

Max nodded sympathetically.

“It hurts to think of what Sam could’ve been if he’d stayed away from whiskey. And for the record, I did ask him to work with me when I came home, but he said I needed to stay with the trainer I had in Chattanooga. She lives halfway between Pearl Springs and Chattanooga, so it’s not a long drive for her.”

“What’s your end goal?” He grinned at her. “I know you have one.”

Max asked hard questions. At one time she’d had aspirations of competing in the Olympics, but that was back when she’d been young and confident. Brash even. And definitely goal oriented. If she set her mind to do something,fait accompli.Done deal. Failure wasn’t an option. That’s the way she’d been raised.

Jenna hadn’t been prepared for her life going off the rails like it had after the shooting. Phillip’s betrayal and her superior’s support of him had undermined her confidence. Her trust level was a minus ten, and that extended to every aspect of her life, including her riding.

“Right now? It’s getting to the next level.” Under her trainer, Jenna’s confidence was growing, as was Ace’s. She stroked his muscled neck just as Max reached to do the same, their hands connecting.

Her world shifted.

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Until that second she hadn’t even noticed how close she stood to Max. The familiar scent of his cologne—the same one he’d worn years ago—teased her. Jenna jerked her thoughts in another direction, anywhere other than on Max. She ran the brush along Ace’s back and then each leg.

“Do you take him to shows?”

That was a safe enough subject. “Sometimes. His show name is Ace of Diamonds.”

Max rubbed Ace’s neck while she retrieved the saddle and bridle from the tack room. “You said your trainer was a retired Olympian rider—I guess you’re training for the Grand Prix?”

His question stopped her. “You know more about dressage than you let on.”

He laughed. “Not really. My niece is horse crazy, and she rides dressage. Emily is working to qualify for the nationals in Michigan next month.”

She put the names together. “Emily Anderson is your niece?”

“You know her?”

“Not so much know her—I see her at shows and always make sure I catch her Grand Prix ride. She and her horse are poetry in motion.”

“Thank you ... but you never said what level you show.”

No she hadn’t. “Nowhere near Emily’s. Ace and I have progressed through second level. My trainer feels we’re ready to move on to third, but I don’t know. It’s much more difficult, and competition and judging are stiffer.”

“I never knew that to stop you.”

She shrugged. Jenna felt Ace was ready but wasn’t so sure about herself. She needed to get over it if she ever wanted to move into what Emily did, the “dancing” part of dressage. That was her ultimate goal now.

“I believe Ace has the ability, but I’m not there yet. The thought of competing against some of the riders in the third level turns my insides to ice water.”

Facing the fear of not being good enough and then accumulating points show by show until she advanced to another level had gone a long way in restoring Jenna’s confidence. She would advance ... just not yet.

“So where do you show?”

“Not on the national level like your niece. Mostly local or regional.” She turned and said, “You know a lot about horses—do you ride?”

He laughed. “Occasionally, when I have time. And I like a saddle with a horn.”

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