Bareback(3)
“Not right now,” Kate said. “I came down here to tell you that we’ve got a new horse coming in for your barn, and they should be here this afternoon. It’s a stallion, so I want you around to help out in case he’s a handful.”
“Whose horse is it?”
“Jessica Black is the owner.”
“Jessica Black?” Skyler frowned. The name was familiar, probably another spoiled debutante whose trust fund allowed her to play with horses rather than get a real job. Just what she needed. “Is she going to be training here or just putting her stallion in training?”
“You’ve got a problem with Jessica?” Kate’s blue eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you… Just how well do you know her, Sky?”
Whoa, where did that come from? Skyler raised her hands in surrender. “Not at all, Kate. I swear. I’ve never actually met her. I’ve just heard on the circuit that she’s a real handful.”
Kate’s expression relaxed, but she still seemed wary. “Jess is just very intense, and something of a perfectionist, exactly like you, Sky. Her goal is to make the next Olympic team. And she was well on her way, too, until her horse slipped on the cross-country course.”
“I think I heard about that. Her gelding was put down, wasn’t he?” News of a horse being euthanized on the course traveled fast around the world of competitive eventing.
Kate nodded. “The fall broke his leg and hers, too. Pretty badly. She’s had two surgeries and six months on crutches.”
“That’s rough.”
“Yeah, well. This horse shipping in here today is her chance to get back on the circuit. He’s been campaigned by another rider and is in good enough shape to make the trials. But Jess has to get herself into shape and get to know her new mount. I’ve promised to help her.”
Skyler stared at the saddle, her hands completely still. There was nobody she would like to help more than Kate Parker. She owed her. But she knew what this meant. It meant going back to the circuit that had banished her as a professional rider several years ago. It meant probably running into Sarah again. “Kate, you know I’m not the right choice for this.”
But Kate’s tone left no room for argument. “I’m putting her in your barn because I want her to have the best trainer available. You’ve been there, Sky. You know how to get there again.”
Yeah, she remembered the hard work, seven days a week. The relentless push for perfection. The egos. The politics. She shook her head. “Plenty of trainers know how to get there.”
Kate held her gaze. “You can’t hide here at Cherokee Falls forever. One day, you’ll have to go back, and this is the best reason you’ll ever have. Trust me, please.”
Skyler released a drawn-out breath. Each trainer who supervised a Cherokee Falls barn was given full authority over the horses and riders assigned to that barn. But the Parker Foundation owned the training center, and Skyler realized that Kate’s insistence was a gentle reminder of that. “All right. I’ll give them a look.”
Kate smiled her relief, then waggled a stern finger in Skyler’s direction. “And…I love you, old friend, but I’m here to warn you that this one won’t be another notch on your bedpost.”
“She’s that cute, huh?” Skyler grinned, glad for the move back to a lighter subject.
“Beautiful, just like her mother.” Kate grew serious again. “Really, Jess is like a daughter to me, and she’s coming here to recover.” After a brief pause, she said, “Her mother means a lot to me. I promised Laura I would take care of our kid.”
Our kid? Skyler was surprised. It was the first time she had ever heard Kate mention her only serious relationship. She knew there had been someone in Kate’s life, but during those years Skyler had been a rider for hire, traveling the eventing circuit to make a name for herself. By the time she returned to Cherokee Falls, Kate was a confirmed bachelorette again and never spoke of what had happened.
Keeping private thoughts private was something Skyler understood and she had no desire to pry further, so she smiled and executed a mock bow. “Enough said. I’ll be a perfect lady.”
Kate laughed. “That I’ve got to see.”