Chapter Twelve #2
I got myself a bottle of water from the room’s fridge and kept my eyes glued on the arena.
Two more teams completed their trot ups, and it was time for ours.
Sage ran first, impressing the fuck out of me as she managed to keep Seraphina in a straight line so the judges could see her physique.
I don’t know how she did it, but she’d managed to get that mare to respect her, a mighty feat if there ever was one.
I’d written Seraphina off as untrainable.
Leon had believed he could find a rider to harness her level of crazy.
I had to give it to my friend: He’d done it.
I couldn’t help but smirk when Atticus came out next, dressed in a checked shirt, jeans, and boots.
Barnaby was as impressive as always, and Atticus smiled and winked his way past fellow riders, spectators, and inspectors, giving them the grin that meant he rarely slept alone.
Taking out my phone, I took a video, zooming in on his face and sent it to the cousin’s group chat.
It was only seconds later when my phone buzzed in my hand.
Forrest: I was just eating, and the sight of my brother’s ugly face has just spoiled it. Thanks.
Felix: I hope you’re not near his room tonight, Jas. You know Atti gets loud the night before a competition.
Me: Not near his room but have earplugs just in case.
I slipped my phone away when I saw Hallie walk Huxley into the tunnel to await her turn.
An assistant gestured for her to join a lane, and I stopped breathing as she began to trot.
Dressed in a Knighton checked shirt, jeans, and brown suede, knee-length country boots, she looked incredible.
Her raven hair fell down her back in waves, but it was the smile on her face that I couldn’t look away from.
Huxley was perfect, keeping pace with Hallie’s every step.
I could see her mouth moving as they turned and trotted back.
She was talking to him, and it reminded me of the day I saw her training him in the arena when Dahlia got loose.
Hallie had a God-given gift where horses were concerned.
I wasn’t sure she quite saw it, but from the way people were watching her, everyone else could.
A smile crept onto my face as I watched the inspectors nodding and conversing among themselves.
They were impressed. My years of doing this told me so.
But that happiness quickly fell away when I spotted Alexis Hobbs near the tunnel, watching from the stands. I leaned forward, and anger surged through me when I saw she was watching Hallie. My fury only increased when Jake McGowen and Camille Dubois joined her.
Camille Dubois, a French rider, wasn’t quite in the same narcissistic lane as Alexis, but it was close.
She and I had history—something I was glad was in the past. She, unfortunately, was not.
The fact that Camille and Alexis were friends, and now seemingly cozying up to McGowen too, wasn’t ideal.
No, it was a fucking shit show. These three were the biggest antagonists in the sport, and nothing good would come of their allying with one another on this tour.
Hallie slowed Huxley from a trot to a walk, and my fists clenched when Camille pointed to Hallie from the stands and said something to Alexis that made them both laugh.
Hallie was none the wiser to their cruelty and walked Huxley from the arena and back to the stables.
Mila joined her, but I fixed my eyes back on the nightmare trio to keep an eye on them.
I was suddenly happy that I was here. Hallie, as feisty as she was, was a newbie on this tour, and it was my job to keep these people from treating her like shit.
I had to protect her, as her boss, but also because I couldn’t stand her name being sullied because of me.
I needed to get out of here. It was a heady mix, being pissed at Alexis, Camille, and McGowen but so turned on by the sight of Hallie that I felt like I was being pulled in a million different directions. Leaving the box, I walked out of the executive stands to calm myself down.
Flashbacks of my youth circled my mind, Camille Dubois beneath me. Next, Alexis’s knowing glint in her eye when she caught me watching Hallie at Golden Oaks, and finally, McGowen seeking her out just now.
Then, Jasper . . . Jasper! I heard Hallie moan in my mind. I exited the stand and went to the large trailer that held my Knighton Equestrian samples for the teams and sponsors to browse and to order our apparel as their official riding attire next season.
I began to sort through bridles, reins, saddle pads, and bits, just to try to not focus on the fact that at the dinner tonight, the fuckers on this tour would be circling my pretty new riders like sharks smelling fresh blood.
I lifted a saddle off the saddle rack and placed it on the mannequin horse.
Leaning against it, I said to myself, “You can’t go.
You don’t want to go.” But then I pictured what Hallie might be wearing, and that prick McGowen making his play, Alexis and Camille making their move, and it made me spitting mad.
But I would stay away.
I didn’t want to cause a commotion. And I didn’t want to be seen.
My decision was made.
As I knotted my bow tie, I met my reflection in the mirror and spat, “Pathetic.”
Dinner had been going on for ninety minutes, and a single glimpse of Hallie in a floor-length gold dress, her raven hair falling down her back in soft waves, had me abandoning my desk and throwing on the tux I’d brought with me just in case.
Atticus had “felt” the need to keep me up to date on my team.
Wanker.
I looked at the picture that now filled my phone screen. In it, Hallie was smiling at Sage, drinking champagne, and looking like she was thoroughly enjoying herself.
When I looked at her, I was fucking breathless.
She was stunning. But it was the men in the background subtly checking her out that had my arse moving.
Yeah, I was a jealous fucker tonight. And color me surprised because I’d never felt like this before.
Toward anyone. But one picture of Hallie Oakley had me dressed in ten minutes flat and taking the elevator down to my private car, ready to smash all my self-imposed rules to smithereens.
I wasn’t even thinking of all the gossip my appearance would cause, the questions that would be pressed upon me. All I could see was raven hair, a golden dress, and a woman that was no fucking one else’s but mine.
In this moment, I was actually questioning my sanity. But the need to be there and make sure no one fucked with her had taken the reins, and I was simply going along for the ride.
Traffic was light, and twenty minutes later, I was walking into the foyer of the arena’s party room. There was only one person out here—Gordon Greenwood, the coach of Team GB, who did a double take when he saw me approaching.
“Jasper?” he said and beelined for me. I shook his hand but readied myself to bypass his questions. “It’s so good to see you, son,” he said, but all I could see was the double doors that hid the dining room from sight.
Atticus had told me the meal had ended, and the mingling and dancing portion of the night had begun. He’d also sent me a line of laughing emojis when I’d told him I was on the way.
“What are you doing here?” Gordon asked.
“I flew out with the team. I wanted to make sure everything was set up and okay.”
He sighed. “No sign of you coming back to us then?” I could hear the edge of hope in his voice.
I wanted to say yes, but I’d hardened myself to these questions tonight.
I’d prepared myself to not feel pain every time I had to declare I was still retired.
One thing I was good at was building high walls around myself to keep people out.
“Afraid not,” I said. I gestured to the door. “Excuse me, Gordon, but I’m needed inside. We can talk soon, okay?”
“Okay, son. Good to see you,” he said, and I could see by his expression that he had another bunch of questions to ask me. I supposed that happened when you mysteriously retired from the circuit at the peak of your career.
I tapped Gordon on his arm and, on a deep breath, walked through the double doors. Music was blaring and there were round tables scattered around the room, where riders from all over the globe were sitting. I caught the hushed, shocked whispers from those nearby.
My name floated in the air around me, but I didn’t pay anyone any mind, my gaze roving over the crowd, looking for a certain angel in gold.
A couple moved off the dance floor, and behind them, Hallie and Sage came into view.
They were sitting at a table, talking to other riders from Germany and Belgium, if my memory served me well.
I cut through the crowd, making a beeline for Hallie, only for Atticus to walk into my path. “Hello, Cousin,” he said, with an arrogant smirk on his lips.
“Atticus,” I said on a sigh. He glanced around us.
I didn’t follow his journey. “Looks like you’ve caused quite the stir.
” I finally flicked my gaze around me, to see hundreds of eyes focused on me.
Anger filled my veins when Alexis Hobbs stopped in her tracks on the way back from the bar and a smirk pulled on her red-painted lips.
I made sure to keep my eyes on Atticus and just watch Hallie from my peripheral.
“Jasper!” Spencer Franklin, from the Franklin Stud, slapped me on the back. “Long time no see, friend!” I smiled as Spence stood before me. He looked good. I hadn’t seen him in ages.
“Good to see you, Spence,” I said, and his sister Lucy appeared next. I hugged her too. When I was competing, Spencer was who I spent most of my time with outside of Atticus. He was a great guy and fierce competitor.
“I’m so sorry about the attack on your stud,” I said, and Spencer and Lucy nodded solemnly.
“At least whoever did it was stopped.” Spencer shook his head. “I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if they’d succeeded.”