“Damn, girl. You’re at it early.” I looked up to find Reagan with a sleepy grin on her face.
“Just tryin’ to get a jump on the day. I wanna start training with Oakley today and I needed to get chores out of the way first.”
“Cassidy Mae, I told you I would help with your chores. I meant what I said.”
I drug my feet along the dusty barn floor. “I know, but I’m living here now. I can’t just disregard my chores because I would rather do something else. How else am I gonna pay for the room you’re lettin’ me use?”
She cocked her hip as she spoke to me. “Hey, that room is yours for however long you want it. I’ll help you with chores from now on. I told you I would and I intend to do it. No ifs, ands, or buts, Cassidy Mae. You let me help you, ya hear?”
Knowing Reagan, she wouldn’t let up on this at all, so I relented.
“Ok, Rea. I’ll try to let you help, but I gotta do this for myself. I need to prove that I can do it on my own. I don’t need to use you or Beau as a crutch.”
“Well, I certainly don’t mind. We’ve been friends for years now, Cass. I don’t know when you think that would’ve changed. And, Beau, on the other hand… definitely wouldn’t mind being used for his crotch…”
I’m sure my eyes bugged out of my face as Reagan just laughed it off and walked away. We got started on our other chores for the day and before long I was finished and ready to start working with Oakley.
I wanted to start her out slow. So, for today, I was simply using a halter rope, saddle, and lunge line. As we strode out to the arena, I caught a glimpse of Beau. Out in the field, shirtless atop a bright red tractor mowing the field. Ripped muscles everywhere you looked. I need a cold soak of water because was it me, or was the man hotter than a desert in the middle of summer?
I shook away the thoughts and proceeded to the arena. She hadn’t been sitting in a stall without being ridden for months so I didn’t need to go back to basics with the hotwalker. I saddled her up. We started out slow at a walk gradually turning up the heat to a trot. I trotted her for five minutes total in both directions for the first day.
By the end of the week, we had reached ten minutes with intermittent directional changes. She was doing well.
Beau started coming around to watch us train over the weekend and I’d finally relented and agreed to let him help me train Oakley.
Cassidy Mae said I could help with getting Oakley back in shape for barrels. I was over the moon. Helping her train meant I could be close to her and get to know her all over again. Hopefully, I could get her to trust me and lean on me for support. Over the time she’s been here, she’s slowly gotten less jumpy and more open and cheerful.
We’d never heard anything about what happened to her bastard. I refused to call him her husband. It left a bad taste in my mouth. In fact, if it was up to me, I wouldn’t even grace him with a name but I realized that even though I hated him, things were still up in the air on account of the jackass.
I’d just successfully put the saddle on Zeus and now he was bucking around the ring. Trying to figure out if he could rid this odd contraption from his back. What he didn’t know is that it wouldn’t come off. I’d cinched the girth just enough to make sure the saddle stayed on, but not as tight as I would have, had I been ridin’ him. I just wanted him to be able to move in it and get the gist of this new thing I was asking him to do. We’d finally made it the whole way around the ring without one single buck and now he was trotting along. That’s when I saw her.
My girl.
Leading Oakley out to the arena to train for the day.
I’d gotten used to the daily tank tops and jean shorts she’d been sporting around the barn. But nothing could prepare me for the sight of Cassidy Mae in Levis that hugged every curve of her backside. I was jealous of the blue jeans she was wearing. They were holding her so tightly and damn I wanted that to be my job. The combination with the skin-tight tank top left nothing to the imagination and I had to stop myself from droolin’ right down my face. Turning back to Zeus, I thought about all the ground we’d covered today. He’d willingly let me put a saddle on his back and only spent a minute or two bucking before finally accepting it.
Progress.
Now, to go work my charm on the woman of my dreams. She was the entire compass of everything I was looking for in a woman. Smart, sexy, caring, and loving. Cassidy Mae had been the popular girl growing up, the homecoming queen a time or two. I remember those days. Boys would
