Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
JASMINE
Jacek: Who’s the red headed MILF in the power suit?
Jasmine: That’s Gabe’s ex-wife, you pig. Leave her alone. She’s far too classy for you.
Jacek: She looks like she could hog tie a man, smack his ass with a crop, and he’d asked for more. Oink. Oink.
Rowan: Jace, nobody wants to hear about your dominatrix fantasies. Keep that shit to yourself.
Jacek: Oh, come on, big bro. Don’t act like you wouldn’t let her tie you up with those apron strings and tell you your sourdough starter is too watery. You’d be crying “yes, Mistress” in no time.
Rowan: Now you’ve gone too far, bringing Bread Favre into this. See if I make you any more blueberry scones.
Isnorted a laugh at my brothers’ antics.
Rowan, my six-foot-seven former defensive lineman brother, took his sourdough very seriously.
He was the kind of person who liked to bake when he was stressed, but instead of cookies and cupcakes, he made bread.
Every single version of sourdough you could think of.
And, of course, Jacek never passed up an opportunity to tease him for it.
Nash was, unsurprisingly, silent in our group chat.
He didn’t contribute much to it these days, opting instead for solitude as much as possible.
Ever since Audrey’s death, he’d been withdrawn, but whenever he was around, you could sense the turmoil simmering beneath his skin.
He was restless, heartbroken, and understandably angry.
His childhood sweetheart was taken from him tragically, and he didn’t know how to cope. What teenager would?
We were all worried about him but didn’t know how to help.
Hell, we hardly saw him, and he barely spoke to any of us.
He did his chores on the ranch, trained for the rodeo, and spent his evenings doing God only knew what.
All I knew was that Dad had been down to the local police station to pick him up more than once in the past six months.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Rory chirped as she stepped out of the tack room. Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I turned to take her in. I’d managed to dig out some of my old gear for her to wear while riding. The helmet and protective vest were damn near a perfect fit.
“Let’s get you on a horse,” I said, grabbing a saddle and leading her to the stall with our gentlest mare.
She was an American Paint we rescued a couple years ago, the first of many that started Rowan’s passion for horse rescue.
He was in the process of starting a horse sanctuary.
Now that Gabe was back as a trainer, I suspected the program to rehabilitate and rehome rescued horses would take off.
“She’s so pretty,” Rory marveled as she rubbed her hand from Petunia’s forehead down to her nose. Petunia leaned into her touch and stretched her neck out to get a sniff of Rory’s hair, eliciting a giggle from her.
“Are you ready?” I asked, and she nodded exuberantly.
I helped guide her foot into the stirrup and boosted her into the saddle.
After going over a few last-minute instructions, I grabbed the reins and led her out of the barn.
Gabe was there, waiting for us to emerge and dutifully holding the carrier for Rory’s pet chinchilla.
She told me all about him on our way into the barn and while I searched for her gear.
I now knew more about chinchillas—like how they’re native to the Andes Mountains, hence his name—than I ever cared to.
To my surprise, Celeste had stuck around.
A tiny zing of jealousy shot through me at the sight of them standing so close together.
There was a noticeable level of comfort between them, and the animosity one would expect to see between two people who were recently divorced was absent.
Did that mean that they were both happier apart?
Did that mean that Gabe was completely over her?
I didn’t let myself dwell on the answer. It would do me no good because even if he was over her, it didn’t mean he’d suddenly be interested in me, someone he still thought of as a kid.
I led Petunia around the training ring, pointedly ignoring the spot on the gate where I’d fantasized about Gabe kissing me. We did two full loops before I handed the reins over to Rory after ensuring she was comfortable taking control.
“Are you ready to trot?” I asked after she’d gone around a few more times. She truly was a natural. I hadn’t needed to make any corrections to her posture or form. She was more advanced than I’d expected based on what Gabe had told me.
“Yes,” Rory chirped, nodding enthusiastically.
This time she made several loops, and when Petunia sped up slightly into a lope, I instructed Rory to slow down.
She followed my commands and came to a stop right in front of Gabe and Celeste.
Both of them clapped for her, and she beamed under their praise.
“That was incredible,” Celeste lauded. Rory’s smile grew, and her face brightened. “I didn’t realize you rode so well.” A frown tugged at my lips and my brows dipped in confusion. Had she never seen her ride before?
“Daddy never lets me go that fast,” she replied indignantly. “He doesn’t even know how good of a rider I am.” She scowled at Gabe like he’d been holding her back from greatness. He chuckled good-naturedly, unbothered by her deriding him.
“From now on, when we do your lessons, I’ll let you work on loping,” Gabe promised.
“But I want to do my lessons with Jasmine,” she said with a pout. Gabe’s gaze flicked to me, a slight look of panic filling his eyes.
“Sweetheart, Jasmine’s got a pretty full schedule.
She might not have time. Besides, you’re only here on the weekends, and Jasmine probably has other plans.
” I would make time for her, regardless of what I had going on, but I wasn’t about to make that offer in front of Rory.
He was the parent. It was ultimately his decision, and I didn’t want him to look like the bad guy if he said no.
“But she’s the best, and she knows how to race,” she said in rebuttal.
“Who do you think trained her?” he asked, a little affronted. I pinched my lips together to conceal my amusement.
“But, Dad,” she drew out dramatically, “you’re old. And you’re a boy. I can relate to Jasmine.”
That was it. I couldn’t hold it any longer. A snorted laugh escaped my throat. Gabe shot me a glare, but the corner of his lips twitched.
“Fine,” Gabe said, a glint of mischief sparkling in his eyes, “but you have to ask her yourself.”
Damn. Way to put me on the spot. I was more than willing to take on her riding lessons, but he didn’t know that.
Rory turned those big sparkling blue eyes on me and folded her hands beneath her chin in a pleading gesture.
“Jasmine, can you pretty please be my new riding instructor?” She asked so sweetly there was no way I could deny her. She didn’t even wait for my response before adding, “With sugar on top.” How could I say no to that?
I looked to Gabe for any indication of how he wanted me to respond. This could have easily been his way of placing all the blame on me if Rory didn’t get her way. I’d be the one disappointing her instead of him. His expression gave nothing away, so I gave the answer I wanted.
“Of course.”