Page 148 of Giddy Up, Daddy

Her Decorated Daddies

By Adaline Raine

Chapter One

Kennedy

“Arrogant sonofabitch has the nerve to tell me how to do things as if I’ve never been on a ranch before,” I mumbled under my breath as I readied Topaz, my gorgeous American quarter horse. My secret crush and longtime friend Alden had offered to keep Topaz housed at his barn. It made sense for many reasons, and I wouldn’t have argued. It was a convenient excuse to see him more often. Topaz sighed, shaking his mane and hoofing the ground. I knew he sympathized but would inevitably side with the man who took care of him most.

“Don’t forget to hang your tack, darlin’.” I mimicked Alden with an exaggerated drawl. “Check the gates. Refill the water. Turn around three times and click your heels together.”

Topaz nickered, but I didn’t know his true thoughts, obviously.

“Right? He has to have the last word. He thinks he’s all that! Alden tossed a rope around, won some money and prizes while his horse did all the work!” I defended my rant to Topaz. Sure, we spoke different languages. No one had invented an animal-to-human translation device, but Topaz understood me on adeeper level. My sweet-tempered horse could tell I was feisty today.

“Just because Alden gives you treats doesn’t mean he loves you more.”

Mounting Topaz, I rode around the large ring. Since my divorce, I’d gotten back on the saddle and back into trick riding. The love of it renewed a long-lost passion that my ex had tried to extinguish. It hadn’t taken that long to shake off the dust.

Returning my thoughts to Alden, I wondered why I was so bothered by him today. His rough exterior and cocky swagger hid a gentle heart. Alden was tender with me, something else I missed. But it was more than that. I wasn’t in the mood to pick apart whatever the issues were.

Instead of being laser-focused on Topaz, my mind was wandering, relying on muscle memory rather than our surroundings.

Off in the distance, a tractor’s roar split through the air, the metallic screech loud enough to jar me out of my thoughts. Topaz jerked, startled by the noise. Yanking the reins hard, I attempted to steady him. My efforts were fruitless as the reins snapped–the leather fraying in my hands like an unraveling thread. Without control, Topaz reared unstrained. He knew me, but his instincts were to gallop to safety in the opposite direction.

Looking around, I saw Alden near the barn engaged in conversation with our friend Wyatt. “Alden!” Waving one arm while shouting as I attempted to get his attention did nothing. Tearing my red-flannel shirt off in a clumsy attempt to get Alden’s attention only further frustrated me as it sailed over my head without him noticing. Cool air chilled my skin as I was left in a flimsy purple bra, but it was the least of my concerns.

Galloping around the ring without control was one thing, but Topaz headed toward the wide-open gate leading to open land.Heart hammering in my chest, I held on tightly as Topaz rushed into the thick woods. Wind whooshed around us as I ducked large branches and rubbed his mane. What had merely been an unfortunate situation turned dangerous. Alden used to joke about wrangling me off a horse with his rope skills. If I wasn’t so scared, I might have laughed at the irony.

Alden

Something red flashed in my peripheral. I had a split second to recognize Kennedy’s shirt over her head before it flew out of her hand. Perplexed, I titled my head to the side. “What in the hell?”

“Damn. Kennedy is overheated today, huh? Giving us a show,” Wyatt, my best friend joked.

As I started to laugh at his statement, he suddenly shoved my arm. I opened my mouth ready to give Wyatt a piece of my mind but he pointed at the gate. Someone had forgotten to latch it. “Shit!”

“Topaz isn’t heeding whatever the hell she’s doing!” Wyatt yelled, taking off running toward the barn.

We raced inside while I thought about the worst possible scenarios, stopping long enough to grab a blanket.

“Topaz is out of control, we need rope,” I said as if it wasn’t obvious.

Wyatt agreed, nodding as we saddled and mounted my two fastest horses: Tinkerbell and Thunderstomp. They weren’t trained as racehorses, but they were the best choices at times like these.

“Something bad must have happened, Alden.”

“I know and I can’t find any rope. Which is the dumbest thing I’ve ever said.” Every minute counted. Topaz could buck Kennedy off him at any minute.

“Found it.”

Wyatt wound it around his arm, tucking it so it would be easy to lasso and tossed it to me.

Riding out toward the gate, we communicated via hand signals. It was like we were back at the arena as we had been years ago. Solidifying a plan, I hoped it was efficient enough to work. Locating Kennedy was easy, but that’s where it got so much harder. By some miracle and making our job a bit easier, Topaz had slowed significantly. I approached, coming as close as I could but hoping not to spook him any further. Looping my reins around the saddle horn, I glanced at Kennedy. Her features were laced with concern though she appeared surprisingly calm. It wouldn’t help the horse if she freaked out. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I tapped her hip with my fingers signaling her to relax without words. She softened under my touch.

“Good girl.” It wasn’t likely that she could hear me over the din of the horses’ hooves. Still, saying it gave me a minute to gather my resolve. Tugging her off Topaz and onto Tinkerbell would be a feat all on its own. I had one chance, maybe two maximum. Messing up had the potential to injure both of us. Years of experience were on my side. However, something else pissed me off. Her ex-husband made her stop trick riding when they got married. If she’d been practicing this whole time, at her level she’d be able to stand up on Topaz and practically do a backflip to land on my saddle.

As if I needed another reason to hate that man.

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