Champion, Skyler thought once again. But this time, she was looking at the gold medal hunger written on the younger woman’s face. Maybe they could make this work. “He does seem to have what it takes,” she conceded. “But, like I said last night, going for the gold takes a lot more than just talent. It takes a lot of discipline and hard work. Are the two of you mentally and physically ready for that?”
“I know he’s ready. And I think I can be ready, too.” Jessica could feel Skyler’s hesitation. It was time for some real honesty. This would never work unless they learned to trust each other. “Look, I know coming into the trials just recovering from an injury like mine isn’t ideal, but I’ve got this gut feeling that this is it. I know I can do this.”
“The physical demands are a strain for a rider in peak fitness.” Skyler glanced down at Jessica’s injured leg. There was no mistaking the doubt in her eyes.
“Just give us a chance.” Jessica needed Skyler to believe in her and Rampage. “God knows, you must know what it is like to have everybody saying, ‘She can’t do it.’ Help me prove them wrong again, Skyler. I know Rampage and I can do it with your help.”
Skyler looked out past the paddock and into the darkening woods. This woman knew nothing about her, she thought bitterly, or perhaps she wouldn’t be so convinced she could be counted on. With a deep sigh, she said, “No sugar-coating. I want to see that leg. And I want to see how well you can ride with that injury.”
The brilliant smile that lit Jessica’s face nearly took her breath away. Beautiful. Skyler couldn’t help but smile back at her.
“I’ll show you my knee and give you a full medical report.” This would be the real test, Jessica knew. She just hoped Skyler wouldn’t back out once she saw fresh scars and the still-swollen joint. Besides breaking her femur in the accident, she had twisted her knee so severely that she’d torn most of the ligaments. The ACL, one of two ligaments that provide the stability to the knee, was so damaged that a new one had to be fashioned from her patellar tendon and grafted into her knee. The break in her femur had taken longer to heal, but was solid now. While the ligament had initially begun to heal quickly, it still remained painful as Jessica rushed her return to strenuous activity.
“Okay, we can meet back at the house and I’ll have a look at your leg.” Skyler held out Rampage’s halter and lead rope, making it clear who would be tucking the stallion into his stall.
Jessica heaved an overly dramatic sigh. “I don’t know why nobody wants to touch my pussycat of a horse.” She whistled softly to Rampage, who trotted over.
Skyler grinned. She liked this more relaxed side of Jessica much better than the haughty debutante from the day before. She didn’t want to be charmed by Kate’s pet, but damn it all, Jessica was hard to resist.
Jessica pulled a folder from the leather attaché that held her laptop and handed it to Skyler as they settled onto the couch in the living room. “These are the records I’m supposed to give to the physical therapist who will be working with me here.”
Skyler opened the file and began to read. She did not have a medical background, but her years as an athlete and her experience working with horse athletes gave her enough knowledge of sports injuries to understand much of the report. After several minutes, she said, “This type of injury would be career ending for most athletes. If you were a horse, I would have immediately put you out to pasture.”
Jessica had expected the sympathetic tone, and the fact that Skyler would pull no punches. She stared hard into Skyler’s eyes. “When she first dreamed of the Olympics, Wilma Rudolph was a skinny girl recovering from polio. They said she would never walk again without braces. But she didn’t give up. She limped until she could walk, then walked until she could run, and then ran until that gold medal was hanging around her neck.”
“That was almost fifty years ago,” Skyler said. “The competition is even tougher now.”
Jessica was under no illusions about that. “Maybe my knee won’t hold up. But maybe it will. Either way, I’m not going to spend the rest of my life wondering. I intend to find out for sure.”
Skyler laid the medical records aside. “Let’s see that knee, then.”