33. CT
33
ct
The warm-up arena was stiflingly hot.
I walk Poco around to allow her to cool down after a hell of a good run. My mare is really enjoying this new life. She loves showing. Loves chasing the cows for sport. I wasn’t sure she would after only training with me a short time, but she sure as hell has proven herself.
I exit the arena, Dani waiting on the sidelines for me, a tired smile on her face. We didn’t get much sleep last night.
“That was amazing,” she says again as we walk to the stalls.
We were in Loveland, Colorado, today at a show. This time we hauled the horses in together with the intention of sharing my trailer for sleep and showers.
It was a much better situation.
It’s been a couple weeks since I moved out to the apartment, and Dani was over almost every night, forgoing the nights before she had to be up early at the bakery. I hate those nights. It’s always cold and boring. I ached for my woman to always be by my side.
But I hadn’t told her that, not wishing to put any pressure on her when she wasn’t ready.
I was ready.
Hell, I was ready to go down the aisle with her.
“You ready for your turn?” I ask, banishing the thoughts in my mind for a later time and tying Poco up to start undoing her tack.
She nods. “They changed the pattern, or they misprinted what they wanted, but I think I’m ready still.”
There is a whole book of patterns that the judges use for shows, they all have a number, and most people memorize them all. People like Dani.
Me, I study the lineup of the week and then work on the patterns they’re asking for rather than memorizing the whole book.
I look over at her, gauging her answer. She looks confident, so I give her a wink. “You got this.”
Dani helps me get Poco untacked, and then we pull out Lady. There are no classes between ours, and Dani is draw two, so we hustle to get her ready.
We get Lady cleaned up, then Dani gets dressed, and I help her with her chaps. I forgo taking advantage of the situation even though I can now. We’ll have to get her ready earlier on her next run.
I help her get on Lady before we head back toward the arena.
I spot Tommy right away and give Dani a look, nodding for her to go warm up.
She rolls her shoulders back, completely ignoring the dickhead and starts walking her around. After a few minutes, she starts to pick up speed.
Unfortunately, Smith is leaning against one of the arena walls like I am. We’re on the outside, just where we can see the riders. So Dani has to ride right past him.
He does nothing, just smirks across the arena at me, but I stand, arms folded, as I watch Dani carefully.
She gallops, her attention focused solely on Lady and herself, the way she should be. They make large circles around the arena, staying with the flow of the other riders, and when she rides by Tommy, Lady suddenly jumps to the left, almost losing her footing, nearly running into another rider and making my heart stop in my chest for a moment .
“Hey! Watch it!” the rider yells at Dani, who’s trying to calm Lady down. Lady is still dancing in place. Fear is taking control of the horse, but Dani is able to get her to chill out.
I look over at Tommy, and he’s smiling now. He catches sight of me, and something in my expression must spook him because he suddenly turns and walks out, tucking his hands in his pockets.
Dani walks Lady toward the gate, and I meet her there.
“You okay?” I ask, grabbing the reins near Lady’s head and rubbing on her neck, calming her down even more.
Dani blinks, licking her lips, clearly flustered, but she nods and rubs on Lady. “It was right as I rode past him.”
I look at her. “Did he say anything?”
She shakes her head, and I look back to the spot where he was.
“Lady remembers him then.”
“I guess.” She slumps, disappointment on her face. “What did that asshole do to her?”
“Hey,” I say, reaching over to grab Dani’s ankle. “You’re not going to make yourself feel bad, not right now. You have a job to do. Lady is fine. Whatever happened is on his conscience, not yours.”
She nods. “I know. I just…she’s my responsibility.”
“I know, and you did the best you could in the situation.”
Dani looks at me, absorbing my words. “When did you get so smart?”
“My girlfriend taught me a thing or two.”
She smiles, her breathing finally evening out. A few moments later, her name is called over the loudspeaker. “Shit.”
“You’re fine.” I look her in the eyes and nod. “You got this.”
They make their way over to the gates, and I follow behind, leaning against the gates after the attendants have closed them behind them.
Dani and Lady do their run, and when the reining portion is over, I breathe a little easier. They did great.
But I’m relieved too soon. The cow comes out, and Lady tracks it perfectly, letting Dani help guide her through it. Back and forth they go. When she sends the cow down the fence, however, Lady rears up all the way, spinning and trying to get away from the cow.
“Oh shit,” I mumble, motioning for the attendant to open the gate. He ignores me, and I’m about to knock some sense into him when Lady comes back down, and Dani is still atop her, pulling her reins to one side so Lady doesn’t start bucking.
She gets her calm enough to dismount, and the attendants on the other side of the arena get the cow out.
Dani rubs on Lady for a moment before making her way toward the gates I’m standing at. She’s visibly upset, but I can tell she’s holding back.
She shows her bit to the judge, and he nods, giving her a sympathetic smile before he moves out of the way.
Dani doesn’t say anything to me—what is she supposed to say?
“Dani,” I call as she walks off with Lady behind her. She stops near the warm-up gate and gets back on Lady, who’s much calmer now. “Dani, are you okay?”
“Not really.” She nudges Lady forward, and I let her walk off.
I know how frustrating it can be to get disqualified at a show. It’s happened to us all.
If it wasn’t suspicious, I would go find that dick right now and show him how pissed I was. Dani could have gotten hurt .
Seriously hurt.
The thought doesn’t sit well with me, and I can picture her in a hospital bed, the light from her eyes slowly draining out…
Fuck . I take a moment to breathe through that thought. It’s not real, and it’s not happening. Breathe, CT.
After about twenty minutes, all three of us are much calmer as we make our way back to the stalls. We quietly unsaddle Lady and get her put away.
I help Dani out of her chaps and hang them up while she changes out of her show shirt, leaving her jeans, boots, and spurs.
It’s at the moment her shirt comes over her head that the tears start to fall. “Oh hey,” I say, stepping closer to her and pulling her into my arms. “Hey, you’re alright.”
“I’m so pissed,” she mumbles against my shoulder, her arms coming lazily around my waist.
“I am too,” I reply, kissing the side of her head, grateful that she’s not hurt. “I could go knock the shit out of him right now.”
“Don’t,” she replies, pulling back. “Don’t risk your business for him. It’s not worth it.”
“He deserves it,” I reply, then rein it in. This isn’t about me. “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, right?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m embarrassed. I feel bad for Lady.” She shakes her head, deep in thought. “I’m hopeful that as long as I stay away from Tommy, we can get back to where we were.”
“If you think I’m letting that fucker anywhere near you again, you’re wrong.”
Dani smiles up at me. “You can’t always be there.”
I shake my head, lifting her chin up to me and looking into her eyes. I give her a soft kiss on the lips. “That’s where you’re wrong.”