They were quiet for several moments as Alexandra’s eyes followed the movement of her hands. Dip, stroke, stroke. Her fascination was almost amusing. Alexandra viewed other women as nothing more than competition, but, like quite a few straight women, she made an exception for Skyler, instead seeing her as a challenge.
She moved to the wall of saddle racks and pretended to study the equipment. Licking her lips, she lowered her voice to a husky Lauren Bacall timbre. “So, Sky, I thought my husband would be happier if I had a female trainer.”
Skyler paused, lifting her gaze from the saddle to Alexandra’s full red lips. “Did you?”
Alexandra sashayed over and ran a manicured nail along Skyler’s tanned forearm. “I’ve never had a female trainer before. I’ve been thinking lately that maybe a woman might be an interesting change.” She watched as Skyler resumed her swirling strokes across the gleaming leather. “So, I’ve talked to Kate about transferring my mare to Creek Barn. I’m betting the fact that I have a jealous husband doesn’t bother you in the least.”
Skyler took a deep breath and leaned back. She brazenly ran her eyes over Alexandra’s voluptuous figure before returning her shameless gaze.
“No, I wouldn’t have a problem with that, Alex. I feel sure you would prove to be an eager student.”
They both smiled at the double meaning.
A cloudless, blue sky hung over the sandy driveways that tied the Cherokee Falls Equestrian Training Center compound together. At the center of the farm was a huge, white two-story house with a porch, which, true to its Southern heritage, wrapped three-quarters of the way around the structure. The long, main drive to the house was flanked on one side by a large outdoor riding ring and on the other by an indoor arena of equal size. Five twelve-stall barns and an indoor pool/gymnasium building were positioned on the perimeter of the compound like spokes on a wheel. Green enameled metal roofs gleamed atop each oak-sided building. Past the barns were a thousand acres of paddocks, pastures, and forest.
The grand matriarch of the Parker family had established the center two generations ago. Old money made from a once-booming tobacco operation on the Virginia property now rested in an endowment that provided for the equestrian center and its heiress, Katherine Leigh Parker—Kate to her many friends. Although the task of running the facility fit her perfectly, the role of rich heiress wasn’t exactly descriptive. Her deep, sometimes booming, voice had loosened more than one rafter at the local country club in her wild, younger days, but time had softened her demeanor. Loose gray curls cut up over her ears were an attractive contrast to her tanned face and electric blue eyes. While she was still a formidable figure with an equestrian’s grace and erect posture, the once muscular shoulders of her tall frame had softened and were now, like her waist, slightly more padded.
Sitting behind the steering wheel of her golf cart and staring across the Cherokee Falls compound, she paused to soak up the good weather and the tranquility of the moment. The smell of freshly mown pastures and the nickering of contented horses as they drowsed in the spring sun were as close to heaven as she could imagine. She sighed as her eyes settled on the Creek Barn, and her mind turned back to the task before her. So much for peace and quiet. She’d delayed this conversation but she couldn’t wait any longer to spring her news on Skyler. Resigning herself to an uneasy discussion, she pressed on the accelerator and guided the cart toward the barn.
She found Skyler exactly where she’d expected. Skyler was the only horse trainer she knew who loved cleaning tack. It was the grunt work usually imposed on low-paid stable help.
“I don’t know why you just don’t delegate that to the barn help,” Kate said.
Skyler flashed a smile that showed white against her tanned face. “It keeps me out of trouble.”
“Then we need to haul a hell of a lot more tack down here for you to polish. I saw Alexandra leaving just now. If that’s not trouble, I don’t know what is.”
The two women shared a grin of acknowledgment before Skyler returned her attention to her task. “I love the smell and feel of the leather.”
Kate’s shoulders shook with a deep chuckle. “I wouldn’t spread that around. That would drive some of the women around here crazy.”
Skyler’s mouth curled in a slight smile as she stood to hang the saddle on its wall rack. She wiped her oily hands on a soft cloth. “Well, all done here. Want to saddle up and take a ride with me to the south pasture? One of the boarders said they saw a broken fence board near the oak grove.”