CHAPTER 31 #2
“I was told she was a drop out, but yeah. I found her at the auction last night. There was a pen full of them and a guy told me she was one that didn’t really buck so I could probably make a riding horse out of her.
I know dealers are full of shit but even they probably aren’t willing to lie for what she cost.”
Johnny stared at her a few seconds before saying, “You buy this horse for me?”
“Do you want her?”
“I got two horses.”
“You can’t ride either of them.”
“I can’t ride this one either, and I can keep my ass in the saddle long enough to convince a horse to give up, but I ain’t really a trainer.”
“I can do some of it or help out.”
Again Johnny fell quiet, still thinking it through. “Can I go in and pet her?”
“She’s pretty skittish, but you can give her some hay as a bribe.”
Victor grabbed some hay from a bale he threw to the side of the pen and handed it to Johnny.
Johnny opened the gate and stepped inside, which made the mare immediately lift her head and snort.
The moment he took a step toward her, she tossed her head and trotted to the furthest point from him, rear end facing him.
She looked very tense, and it didn’t improve the closer Johnny got.
Johnny was taller than Victor and maybe a bit clumsy in his approach, but Victor couldn’t figure out the difference in reaction for a minute before it hit him.
“Johnny, your hat! Take off your cowboy hat.”
Johnny did as asked, crossing the pen to hand it to Victor.
This time when he approached, the mare wasn’t as nervous, though she still ran from Johnny’s extended arm.
Clearly she’d been manhandled a bit by men in cowboy hats, so that was one part of the equation.
But it was also clear that Johnny had never approached a feral horse before, so Victor had to offer him advice.
“Don’t look at her when you offer her hay. Keep your gaze down and just extend your arm. She should come to you eventually,” Victor instructed.
Johnny didn’t argue and did as asked. The mare turned to face him, ears flicking forward before she let out a loud and forceful snort.
Victor watched her caution and her curiosity battle it out on her expression for a moment before she took a few steps closer to Johnny.
When she got close enough, she stretched her neck as long as it could possibly be stretched and grabbed the smallest tuft of hay to eat.
She was still very wary of Johnny, and it could be the size of him that triggered her.
Johnny was more apprehensive, and obviously she could feel that, too.
Within ten minutes, she was willing to take the entirety of Johnny’s hay, though when he reached to touch her, she darted back, hunger forgotten.
Considering all the confidence and swagger he typically brought to horses, Victor was surprised to see Johnny so clueless as to how to approach a horse not already tamed and tested.
Johnny returned to the gate once his handful of hay was gone. “I don’t think she likes me very much.”
“Nonsense. She just doesn’t know you all that well.”
“I wanna see you do it.”
So they swapped positions, with Johnny leaning on the fence and Victor in the pen.
Victor didn’t bother with the hay, considering Johnny had already treated her enough.
Instead Victor approached back first, offering her a hand to sniff while he kept his gaze on his boots.
Victor loved how curious she was; even if she balked and trotted off, she was always interested in reaching out instead of shutting down and avoiding him.
Every time she touched him, Victor stepped away to relieve the pressure of his presence.
She picked up the game lightning fast, and within ten minutes, she was following him around the ring, even though she wouldn’t allow more than nose touches.
“You’re really good at this, aren’t you?” Johnny asked when Victor returned to the gate, the mare following him only a stride behind.
Victor shrugged. “I do it for a living, so yeah.”
“You’ve got more patience than I do. My daddy used to just rope these kind of horses until they gave up. That was how cowboys did it in those days.”
“My dad used to do charros, which are Mexican rodeos. His dad had been a vaquero, and his father before him. They also did that sorta thing. But the older my dad got, the more he loved horses and less he could handle making them suffer. So he learned how to train them in more gentle ways, and meeting my mom helped. That’s how they taught me. ”
Johnny leaned his arms on the top rail of the pen and watched the mare in silence for a few moments before asking, “Why’d you sell me a buckin’ horse and then go out and buy another one?”
Victor spent a few seconds formulating an answer, because he wasn’t even sure himself.
“The last one had been trained by somebody—badly, clearly, but her habits were ingrained. It’s hard to overwrite bad training.
But at least she was looked after. This one…
” Victor looked over his shoulder into the big black eyes of this shaggy twice-branded bucking horse watching him.
“She’s never really belonged to anyone. I guess I want to give her a chance.
” Victor curled an arm through Johnny’s, rubbing a thumb along the light hairs on the side of his hand.
“I think it’s a perfect match—retired rodeo rider with retired rodeo horse. ”
“I don’t have the money to pay you for her right now.”
“That’s fine. I’ll cover her expenses for the first few months of training. It was my decision to buy her. Maybe tomorrow you’ll decide you don’t want her. That’s fine. I’ll do what I can and just resell her.”
Johnny looked down at Victor’s thumb on his skin before curling his hand around and weaving his fingers through Victor’s. “Can’t believe you bought me a fuckin’ horse.”
Victor snorted and leaned his temple on Johnny’s bicep. “Happy two-month anniversary.”
“Most people just buy flowers.”
“Shouldn’t date someone like me if you want flowers instead of horses.”
Johnny smiled and leaned down to rest his forehead on Victor’s temple.
Victor turned and tilted his head up to catch his mouth.
Johnny hadn’t shaved in two days, so it made the kiss scratchy and got Victor’s terminally gay heart more excited than a simple kiss warranted.
When the kiss ended, Victor reached up to cradle his jaw with a hand to keep him close.
Johnny’s face was pinkened with mild sunburn and in this light the scars on his face were more evident than ever, but to Victor’s infatuation-addled brain, he was probably one of the most handsome men in the world.
One horse was nothing. Victor would buy and train a thousand for this man.
Maybe Johnny saw that in Victor’s eyes, because he cleared his throat and pulled away from Victor’s touch.
“You didn’t have to do this,” Johnny muttered, Adams apple bobbing.
“I like horses and I like you. I didn’t give it much thought.”
“That’s real thoughtful of ya.” Johnny reached up and scratched the back of his neck. “Um. I should probably go inside and shower. I still smell like cows.”
“Okay. I gotta finish up in the barn.”
Johnny nodded and walked off without another word, hands shoved deep into his front jean pockets.
Victor watched him leave, a touch hurt but unwilling to dwell on it.
One thing with Johnny was that he required patience, and fortunately for him, Victor had that in spades.
He just wanted to know how long he would need to play this game before Johnny, like a skittish horse, finally stretched out and asked to be touched.