Rachel entered the barn together.
She was gazing up at him with a faint smile on her lips. Her hair bounced on her shoulders when she nodded in response to something he'd said. I watched her with an odd mixture of love and sadness. I no longer cared that I'd gone from attraction to infatuation to love faster than was healthy. I loved her, and if she didn't feel the same, then I would just have to hope she'd catch up.
She said something I couldn't hear.
'That's right,' Michael said, 'and eventually the horse will respond to the release, which is absolutely phenomenal.'
She smiled at him and brushed the bangs from her eyes. 'I can imagine.'
'Ask for a little shoulder-in and counter bending to get him soft, and like I said earlier, do lots of transitions within the gait to keep him focused.'
I turned away from them and stared at one of the clinic horses without really seeing him.
They paused alongside me. 'Rachel tells me you're going to lock the place up tonight.'
'Yep.'
'I'm going to sleep in the trailer. That okay?'
I jerked my head around. 'You're kidding?'
'No. I always ask for the hotel's rate to be paid directly to me, so if I want to cut corners and keep the money myself, I can. Right now, every penny counts, and I'm used to sleeping just about anywhere.
… Don't look so surprised. Even with good sponsors, I'm still scrambling to pay the bills.'
The thought of Michael staying on the grounds overnight normally wouldn't have bothered me one little bit. But nowadays… I could just see it: 'Top Dressage Instructor Murdered at Local Horse Farm: details inside.'
No one expects trouble until it's too late. I'm sure that woman in Pennsylvania never thought something so horrible would happen to her.
'You're welcome to stay in my apartment,' I said. 'I don't have a spare bed, but you could use my sleeping bag.'
'I have one, but that's okay. I'll be comfortable enough in the trailer.'
'It still gets cold at night, especially after midnight.'
'I'm used to it.'
'You'll be more comfortable in the apartment, even on the floor. In the morning, I'll drive you back whenever you want.'
Michael frowned. 'Do I have time to squeeze in a ride?' His face was flat, without emotion, but there was an edge to his voice that I hadn't heard before.
'Sure,' I said.
'Your apartment it is, then.' Michael spun around and walked down the aisle to get his bay horse ready.
He'd hauled two of his horses with him, and he'd only had time to work one of them during his lunch break.
Rachel stepped closer and peered at my face. 'Is everything okay? You seem,' she shrugged, 'I don't know, tense.'
'Not me.' I jerked my head in Michael's direction. 'You're impressed with him, aren't you?'
'He's great. Very insightful. He picks up on everything, the smallest detail. Everyone wa-' She frowned. 'You're jealous.'
'No, I'm not.'
'Yes, you are.'
When I didn't respond, Rachel slid her arms around my waist and pulled me against her. I grabbed a handful of her silky dark hair and kissed her hard on the mouth. There was a subtle shift in her demeanor, and it took me a minute to realize what it was. She may have been taken off guard, but she wasn't scared. Wasn't backed off by so much overt, irrepressible emotion.
She rested her head on my chest. Her mussed hair brushed against my chin. I kissed her sweet-smelling hair and whispered, half afraid to say it out loud, 'I love you, Rachel.'
She slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were dark and unreadable. 'But you don't really know me.'
'I know you well enough.'
She slid her arms up my back and pulled me down to her level. She kissed me with passion, and I felt relief flood through my body. Maybe I wasn't totally off base after all.
I could have stayed there all night, but Michael, looking somewhat amused, wordlessly led his horse down the aisle and broke the spell.
Rachel stepped back and combed her fingers through her hair. 'I'd better go, or I'll end up falling asleep on the drive home.'
We walked out of the barn and headed down the lane. As we stepped beyond the protection of the buildings, a westerly breeze cut across the parking lot. Rachel wrapped her sweater tighter around her chest. Before she unlocked the door, she turned to face me, and I took her into my arms and kissed her again.
I wanted her so bad, I hurt, but I needed to stay in control. If all she felt from me was lust, she wouldn't believe in the love, and I wouldn't blame her.
Easier said than done.
She felt perfect in my arms, a perfect fit with all those wonderful curves that are so uniquely female. I stopped before I blew it, but she was smiling just the same. Amazing how the slightest tension, a subtle movement, little more than thought, could be sensed by an observant partner. I said good night before the love turned into good old-fashioned lust.
I watched her taillights disappear around a curve. She hadn't said 'I love you.' Not yet.
But I could wait.
Wait forever.
I didn't have to wait for Michael. By the time I'd finished checking the buildings, he was ready to go. I dumped his gear in the bed of my truck and cleared a space on the front seat. He climbed in without comment, and I drove past the gates.
After I'd locked them and pulled onto Rocky Ford, Michael said, 'They must be a nuisance.'
'Yes, but a necessary one.'
He looked at me for a moment, then changed the subject. 'That woman, the one who brought my dinner. She's a trip.'
I grinned. 'She is that. I saw her follow you to the barn. How'd you get rid of her?' I asked because Michael had returned to the arena almost immediately.
Michael chuckled. 'I told her I preferred men…'
My fingers tightened on the steering wheel. 'And do you?'
He chuckled. 'Shit, no. Don't have a coronary on me, now.' He leaned back in his seat and yawned. 'I've dealt with women like her before. It's a weird sort of groupie thing. As soon as you're even moderately well-known, they put the make on you. Young girls, too.'
My eyebrows rose. 'I had no idea.'
'Oh, I don't know about that. She got to you, didn't she?'
I glanced at him, and the Chevy's back tire dropped off the edge of the road. I gripped the steering wheel hard and dragged the truck back onto the pavement.
'Why do you think that?' If he could see it, so could everyone else. So could Rachel.
'I saw your face when you first caught sight of her. You looked, well… like you do now.'
I sighed. 'I didn't realize it was so obvious.'
'Oh, don't get me wrong. It was just a timing thing. After that initial look of pure terror, I wouldn't have suspected a thing. Let's put it this way. I knew something was up, just didn't know what.' He chuckled. 'I was hard pressed to keep a straight face when I saw what had you shittin' your pants.'
I groaned.
'She's somethin' else, I'll say that.' He shook his head and shifted on the seat. 'Enough to make you come just lookin' at her.'
She was that.
'I take it Rachel doesn't know?' he said.
