Page 73 of Shared on the Ranch

He cleared his throat. “You’re sure there’s nothing you’re not telling us? Nothing we need to know?”

She shook her head at once, copper hair flying. “No. No, sir.”

Chandler’s heart sank. But what could they do? She already had a bottom that would be hard to sit on for the next few days. To take it any further would be a bad idea. All they could do was be there for her, wait, and hope she’d eventually let them in.

* * *

Chyanne

It was a new morning, and determined to make the most of it, Chyanne had dressed early, bid each of her men goodbye—Chandler had insisted on watching her eat a Nutri-grain bar before he would even consider letting her go—and made her way to the stables. She was now two days behind, and trying not to feel defeated before she even began.

You just have to make up for lost time is all. You can do this.But with every step she took, she fought off feelings of doubt.

She’d left the first day of practice before she’d even seen her horse. And after the spanking she’d gotten, there was no way she could make practice on the second. It was easy to understand why her belly felt leaden with defeat, and the old Chyanne might have given up before she even started.

No, she would throw some shit around and scream a bit, then give up,she silently amended. She could feel her lips stretch into a grim, humorless smile.

But she was a new woman. The men in her life had seen to that. And she was just going to have to make this work, no matter how hard it might be.

I might feel differently if I wasn’t riding against other people, she thought bitterly as she neared the stables.When it was just me, I didn’t feel anywhere close to this anxious. But now…

She loved competition, but only because she loved winning. When the winning was in doubt, well, it brought out a less than stellar side of her.

“Mornin’,” she was greeted by the man in the stables. His eyes lit up. “I’d begun to wonder if you’d left early.”

She shook her head. “Nope. Just… had other things to do first.”

“You’re with Chandler?” He chuckled softly. “I bet you did.”

“And Master Aaron.”

His eyes widened. “Oh. Wow. Well, are you ready to meet your horse?” His expression was one of pure respect, and it helped her relax.

“Yes, please! More than ready.”

* * *

Chyanne leaned forward, and her mount, Sunflower, thought she was being urged on. Really, her rider was just enjoying feeling the wind in her face, the sunshine on her back, and completely, utterly at peace.

At first, she had winced with every jolt of the saddle against her tender bottom, but that was in the beginning when she and Sunflower had been getting to know each other. Now that she was done going through her paces, they were just enjoying the wide stretch of land open for the two of them to explore.

If only every moment could be like this… just like this…

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Chyanne amended it briefly. She could almost picture them—a smiling, jovial daddy and a smirking master, the three of them quite literally riding into the sunset together.

Then, almost as though she had summoned it from her imagination, she heard hooves. Chyanne snapped out of her daydream and strained her ears. As soon as she did, she caught a glimpse of another rider in her periphery. Whipping her head around, she saw that there was someone trying their hardest to catch up with her.

Looking the other way, she saw another rider, and they couldn’t pass for either of the men she would have been excited to see. Brow furrowing, she directed her mount to turn back for the stables, but before Sunflower could obey, the other riders were blocking her way, forcing her to come to an abrupt stop. Her poor, irritated horse jolted, and Chyanne came slamming back down in the saddle, which hurt like hell considering her bruised tail. Before she could stop herself, she yelped at the pain.

An infuriating, familiar chuckle reached her ears. Now the other riders were stopped, circling her and still blocking her escape route.

“Move,” she gritted out between clenched teeth.

“Now,” Lance replied in a scolding voice, “is that any way to greet an old friend?”

She rolled her eyes so hard, she was surprised it didn’t hurt. “I’ll let you know if I happen to see one.”

“Very funny,” he replied, his expression amused.

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