Chapter Twenty #2
Her eyes fluttered closed. “You’re being nice. I need to be much faster if I want to have a chance in the big leagues.” She stepped out of his reach and turned Ricochet toward the barn.
Gravel path groaned underneath their boots and four hooves as they walked.
“What’s considered to be a good time?” Mitch asked.
“Anything under sixteen seconds is all right. That qualifier Colt mentioned in Stephenville? Last year the rider who won it hit 15.53.”
“I take it every millisecond counts here, same as swimming?”
Jackie gave him a stiff nod, looking ahead. “Exactly. So, you understand now that almost eighteen seconds is laughable.”
Mitch considered his words before replying. He could tell her some bullshit, that it was still good, but he knew if he was in her shoes and felt bad regarding the times he was hitting on his sprints, nothing anyone could say would make it better.
He glanced at her profile, took in her hard-set jaw and fire burning in her cornflower blue eyes. She was tough. She didn’t need his useless white lies and comfort. “Okay, yeah. But you can still get better, right? You have another weekend before the qualifier.”
“Not much time.” Jackie shook her head when she saw Mitch turn toward the barn entrance. “We’re going to hose her down first. Need to cool her off before she goes back to her stall.”
Mitch followed her to the paved area where a thick hose was attached to a water pump, at the east side of the barn.
Jackie put the saddle over the fence and passed Mitch the reins. “Hold these.”
Ricochet neighed, craning her long neck back, as Jackie sprayed her down. Once she finished, she filled a big bucket with water and took the reins from Mitch. “Can you carry this with us to her stall? I know she’ll have water already in there, but I want to make sure it’s fresh and cool.”
“Sure.” He grabbed the bucket and followed her.
They reached the barn entrance, and Mitch stopped to let Jackie and Ricochet pass. The horse snorted in his direction on her way in.
“What happens if you don’t qualify in Stephenville?” Mitch asked.
Jackie shrugged. “I don’t get to compete in the main event. But I can still try other qualifiers for the winter indoor ones. And then there’s the open, smaller, rodeos starting up in spring again.”
She led Ricochet into one of the freshly mucked stalls and looked around, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “You did a great job. I was a bit worried this might be too much for your first taste of the ranch life, but …” She faced him, beaming. “You did well, cowboy.”
Mitch leaned against the gate. “Ali’s a good teacher.”
“Is she now? I didn’t get a chance to spend much time with her. She started here not long before I moved to Austin.”
He nodded. “She told me.”
Jackie unclasped Ricochet’s bridle and took it off. “You’re such a good girl. I’ll need to go and find you an apple, or two.” She ran her hand behind the horse’s ears, scratching the spot that must’ve been Ricochet’s favorite, as she snorted happily.
“You two make a good pair,” Mitch remarked.
She looked at him, a smile still firmly etched on her lips. “So do you and Diamond. How are you finding him?”
Mitch rested on his heels right in front of her. He hooked both of his thumbs in her belt loops, tugging her to him. “I can’t wait to go riding with you.”
Jackie bit the corner of her lip. Her eyes glimmered in the light streaming into the barn through the windows. She put both her palms against his chest, cocking her head to the side with a sway of her high ponytail.
“I think you need to practice a bit more before we can venture further out,” she said. “Are you serious about wanting to work here over summer?”
He released his grip on her belt loops, his hands traveling to her lower back. “Deadly serious.” His fingers slipped lower. “I have nothing to go back to in Portland.”
“Won’t your parents be upset when you don’t come home for summer?”
“My mother might miss me a bit, but she can come and see me in Austin. My father will be glad I’m hard at work. He’s always admired self-made men.”
Jackie’s brow went up and she made a face. “He’d hate me, then. A snotty hotel heiress.”
Mitch pushed his hands down even lower, stuffing them inside the back pockets of her jeans. “No one cares what my father thinks, least of all me. And you’re not even close to being a snotty heiress.”
She smoothed the fabric of his T-shirt over his hard chest, her jaw clenching. “Well, I think my dad’s going to love you. Do you play golf?”
“No.”
“Really? I thought your father would play … Seems like a thing a judge would do.”
He coughed out a laugh. “Oh, my father plays golf all right. He’s never bothered to teach me. Or even offer to take me with him to the course.”
Their eyes met. Enraged fire burned low in hers, her lips pinched in disgust. “His loss. But promise me you won’t play with him after you learn how to.”
“Do you play?”
Jackie huffed, moving her hands to his shoulders. “I don’t. But Dad loves golf. I’m sure he’ll teach you.” She smiled at him. “It can be your thing, you know.”
“You might be overestimating the impression I can make on your parents. Your grandma wasn’t all that enamored.”
“Mimi’s fine. She likes you, even if she doesn’t know it yet.” She shrugged. “Same goes for Dustin. He’ll love you in time, too.”
“You’re confident.”
Jackie moved her head from side to side like she was bobbing along to soundless music.
Her hair swished, glossy onyx strands reflecting the light.
“I am confident and I’m proud of that. You got to be confident to make it in life.
Your confidence meter’s been tipping in the right direction lately too, cowboy. ”
Mitch pulled her close, so close that their chests touched. “It’s the Jackie effect.”
She opened her mouth, slid her tongue out and ran a slow trail between her lips, which formed a cheeky grin. “You’ve seen nothing yet. But tonight, I’ll show you.”
His breath caught in his throat. He was very aware of how hard he was, but unsure if that was caused by her closeness or what she’d said, the velvet promises weaved through each word like a ribbon of new experiences. Or perhaps it was everything.
He knew one thing: tonight, she’d fully be his, and he’d be fully hers.