Page 74 of Ace of Spades
“Hailey!” I yell, panic racing through me as I hop over the stall door and race to her. “What happened? Are you okay?”
I find her crouched in front of Vegas’s hay, staring at something inside.
“There’s a baby raccoon,” she tells me.
“Jesus, woman! You scared the living shit out of me.”
“Sorry, it startled me,” she says, reaching into the hay.
“Are you crazy! It could be rabid. I’ll call one of the ranch hands to come move it.”
“It’s just a baby, Weston,” she scoffs, getting closer to the potentially feral beast.
“Hailey, I’m not messing around. Leave it alone.”
“You’re so dramatic,” she says, rolling her eyes as she continues to reach into the hay, pulling out a tiny raccoon that can’t be bigger than the size of my palm.
“Hey little guy, what are you doing in there?” she asks, tucking it into her chest as if it were some fluffy kitten.
“For goodness sake, put the damn raccoon down, and let me at least go grab some gloves.”
“Is he bothering you?” she asks the tiny creature. “Don’t mind him,he’s just being a big wuss.”
It’s my turn to roll my eyes now as I pull my t-shirt over my head, handing it over to her.
“Here, wrap him up in this. I don’t want you touching that thing with your bare hands, you don’t know if it has fleas or—”
She kisses the damn raccoon.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I exhale.
“What should I name him?” she asks, completely disregarding everything I’ve been saying as the little thing steals all of her attention.
“You can’t be serious?”
“I’m thinking maybe bandit, or rascal? No, not rascal, he seems too sweet for that. Oh, what about Poncho!”
“Poncho?”
“I don’t know, it’s kinda cute. What do you think, little guy? Are you a Poncho?”
I shake my head in exasperation.
“I guess welcome to the Hidden Creek Ranch, Poncho.”
Chapter 22
HAILEY
Casino dances beneath me, my mare amped up and ready to run as I hold steady on the reins. The air inside the arena hums with restless energy, thick with the scent of dirt, popcorn, and horses.
I adjust my cowboy hat on my head, taking in a breath and holding it in for a few seconds as I feel the adrenaline building up in my veins, the pair of us in sync. Slowly exhaling, I push my reins forward, squeezing my legs as we take flight.
My eyes lock on the first barrel as we reach the arena, the crowd a distant roar as I set Casino up for the barrel, pushing her with my inside leg and leaving just the right amount of distance before swinging the reins, grabbing onto the saddlehorn as we swing around the turn, my knee centimeters away from the barrel.My eyes lock on the second one before we even make it through, my brain thinking ten steps ahead as we shoot out of the turn and race to the second barrel.
We make a clean turn, the third barrel straight ahead and calling our name. I grab onto the saddlehorn, swinging her around as the crowd goes wild, the two of us sprinting to the finish with the wind in our hair.
I hear the announcer call out my time as I cross the threshold, cheers breaking out as I bump Lisa Hart out of first, taking the winning spot.
