Page 25 of Maverick
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” he says, jerking open the passenger door to his truck. I climb up inside and look at him, standing there, one hand braced on the door, the other on the door frame. His eyes are intense as he looks up at me, and I feel something shift in my chest. Then he lets out a heavy sigh and slams the door shut. And I’m left staring through the window at the neon green cactus sign.
Then he opens the driver’s side door. He gets in and turns the engine on. It’s just the two of us. I wonder if he has a hotel room tonight. I wonder if there’s someone staying in it with him. He looks at me, and for a moment, his eyes drop to my lips. It’s a small moment, almost imperceptible, but I feel it. My stomach tightens. What would he do if I asked him to take me back to his room? What would he do if I offered myself to him specifically?
“I have a horse,” he says.
“I…” It’s such whiplash that even as he reverses out of the parking lot, I can’t quite get my bearings. “You…you have a horse?”
Is that a euphemism for him having a giant cock? Because I could see that. My jaw feels tense just thinking about it.
“Yeah. I… I have an Olympic-caliber dressage horse. He’s ten years old now. And I’m getting anxious to get him competing.”
“That’s so random.”
“It’s not. It’s just that you haven’t been sitting in my head for the last week. I’ve been considering talking to you about it, especially because I knew that your season might be over. Mine is over until the championship. I’m headed back to my ranch, and I’m getting antsy to do something with him. I know he’s about the right age to actually start doing higher-level competition.”
“Has he competed before?”
He nods. “Yes. I’ve had someone working with him for the past few years, but they aren’t a serious competitor. You are.”
“How did you even… Get into all that?”
“It’s a long story, but the end result is I have a horse that I can’t do anything with. And I know enough to know that you’re an excellent horsewoman. I’d like for you to see if you think that you’re compatible with him, and if you want to consider getting back into dressage.”
“It’s not going to be a straight line to the Olympics.”
“In what sense?”
“I mean, I’m going to have to get back, and you have to collect wins over the course of years and… I’m rusty.”
“Yeah. And there are three years until the next games.”
“Yes,” I say. “I know that. I mean, I’m deeply and keenly aware of that, considering that my sister is…”
“She’s been before, right?”
“Yes. She didn’t quite make the team, I mean, she didn’t end up riding in any of the events, but she was there. Technically, she has a medal from a team win.”
“But not an individual.”
“No.”
“Well, do you want to see if that might work for you?”
“What exactly are you suggesting?”
“Is there a reason that you couldn’t come and stay on my ranch until October?”
“No,” I say.
“Well, then, I’ll hire you. You can train him, work with him, you can board your horse there.”
“I just… Where would I stay?” I fight against the image that I have of the two of us sharing one bed, him without his cowboy hat firmly over his eyes, wrapping his arms around me as he pulls me into his embrace.
“I have a cottage on the property. I’ll pay you for your time.”
Well, that’s better than any situation I’m in at the moment, where my meager winnings from this year are going to make it difficult for me to survive. But… I don’t know how I feel about getting back into dressage. I’ve been feeling bad about barrel racing. And anyway, my season’s over regardless. Taking the time to see what I think about this horse, to see if I want to jump back into that world, well, it seems like the most risk-free way to do it. Because this would be private, and my parents wouldn’t know that I was considering it. If I used them to find a horse, then they would know, and if I changed my mind, then it would just confirm to them that I am incapable of sticking with something. That I’m unreliable.
This is less stupid than betting my virginity in a poker game. In fact, this is the best opportunity I’ve had for a good long while. It’s just shocking to me that it’s coming from him.
