Jessica looked doubtful, but the gentle stroking against the top of her thigh was distracting. She found herself mesmerized by the slow smile that creased Skyler’s handsome face.
“We can surprise them in a few months when they find out you and Rampage are really their worst nightmare.” Skyler held Jessica’s gaze a moment longer. God, those blue eyes are gorgeous, she thought. She held out the cane again, and this time Jessica accepted it without protest.
Kate didn’t like what she was seeing. The affection on Skyler’s face was obvious as her eyes followed Jessica’s descent down the bleachers. Kate loved Skyler like a younger sister, but she also knew her shortcomings. She loved Jessica in a different way, as a parent with a fierce protective urge that surpassed her regard for her close friend.
“Don’t even think it,” she growled in Skyler’s ear.
Skyler flinched, then leaned back, resting her elbows on the vacant bench behind her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I can see what’s developing between the two of you.” Kate watched Skyler’s gaze flick once again to Jessica’s trim frame before settling down at her own feet. “The chemistry needs to be good between you two to be a successful threat in the show ring, but Jessica is young. She may not know how to draw the line to keep it professional, not personal. You need to draw that line.”
Things never changed. Kate Parker had always treated her as an equal, but she was still a blueblood from the right side of the tracks. Apparently she didn’t want a mutt like Skyler coming after someone in her family. “Good enough to be her trainer, but nothing else, huh, Kate?”
“Sky, it’s got nothing to do with how worthy you are. You know I love you. You’re a great trainer and a really good friend.” Kate sighed. “But we both know you can’t stick to one woman. If you need to scratch an itch, I’m asking you to do it with someone other than my Jess.”
What she felt for Jessica wasn’t an itch to be scratched. It was more, and that scared her. Truth was, Skyler herself was afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle those feelings, and she would end up hurting Jessica. That mattered to her a whole lot more than Kate’s concerns. Yet it hurt worse that her mentor didn’t trust her, that she seemed to think Skyler would use Jessica. Skyler stared darkly into the crowded bleachers. She hated herself for not being worthy. And, at that moment, she hated Kate for pointing it out. And she resented Jessica for being so beautiful and talented and wonderful…and, hell, sexy, too.
“There’s nothing going on between us but work,” she told Kate. “But now that you mention it, maybe I do need to scratch an itch.”
She’d spotted an old conquest she knew would be more than eager for a scratching session. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans. The idea of chasing after a bed partner didn’t seem all that appealing, but she started down the bleachers anyway. “Don’t worry about me after the show. I see my ride home,” she threw over her shoulder at Kate. Then she paused and turned, the old Skyler leer firmly in place. “Do me a favor and ask Clint to feed for me in the morning. I probably won’t make it back to the farm until tomorrow afternoon.”
“Sky, wait!”
But Skyler ignored Kate’s call and stomped down the bleachers.
“Shit.” Kate knew Skyler’s choice to have only casual sexual experiences was a form of self-punishment, a way of reminding herself that she wasn’t worthy of anything deeper and permanent. It was typical behavior, resulting from physical abuse as a child, but after years of careful nurturing from Kate’s mom, she had seemed to overcome her low self-esteem. She’d fallen deeply in love with Sarah Berrington Tate, and her career as a rider took off. She was at last something other than the abused, belligerent waif the Parkers had rescued.
But Sarah’s betrayal had crushed her, and Kate had doubts that Skyler could ever recover. It was a hard choice: protect Jessica or trust Skyler’s fragile emotions. Jessica was the only daughter Kate would ever have. The only part of Laura, the woman who would always own Kate’s heart, Kate still possessed. She would not allow Skyler to damage her.
On her way back from the restrooms, Jessica took some time to watch the contestants in the warm-up ring. Rampage had it all over these horses, she gloated. Their workouts had been going really well, and the knee was still holding up. Skyler really had been able to sharpen their performance.