“Feel that?” Red asked quietly from his perch on top of the metal gate.
“No.” Trace looked confused a moment before Lad shied and took a few quick steps to the side before he could control him again.
“He signaled his discomfort before he made the move. That’s when you have the chance to make the difference. Before they take flight or react. You have to be more in tune with the horse.”
“Easier said than done when it’s not your usual mount,” Trace shot back, obviously annoyed.
“Course it is,” Red replied easily, not at all bothered by the snippy attitude. “But that’s your job as the rider. Wanna make you both look good? Pay attention. Still your own body, cancel out your own mind.”
Trace shook his head but brought Lad to a full stop again. Peyton walked up quietly behind Red, listened to him talk to himself in low, almost nonexistent tones.
“There. Right there. The ears first, then the—yes. Yes. Now watch how his—got it.” Jumping down from the rail, he approached horse and rider. “Much better. You felt it that time.”
“Yeah.” Trace gave Lad a nice pat on the neck. “Just had to do that mind thing you talked about first. Never thought about it that way before.”
Wrapping one hand around the horse’s bridle, Red nodded. “Most don’t. You ride a horse long enough, you come to expect their moves. But a brand-new horse doesn’t work that way. Gotta make the effort. Easier for me to see it on the ground sometimes.”
“Nice work, you two.” Impressed, Peyton bent at the waist, slid between two railings, and approached as well, coming to the other side of Lad. “I think this is the most still I’ve ever seen this guy.”
“Just needs some attention. Don’t you, boy?” Trace gave him another affectionate pat.
“Mind if I see you on Ninja next? I want to take a few pictures to put up on the website before you head out to the event.”
Trace glanced at Red before looking back at her. “Uh, right. First, we were thinking—well, actually I wasn’t thinking but we started talking and then the topic got brought up—Actually it’s more like—”
“He’s taking Lad, not Ninja,” Red cut in. “Might as well grab your camera since they’ll be working for a while yet.”
“What?” Blindsided, Peyton took a step back. “Is Ninja okay?”
“Yeah, he’s fine,” Trace assured her quickly. “It’s just Red thought that Lad might give a more . . .” He shrugged. “You tell her, it was your idea.”
Red smiled at the accusation in Trace’s tone. “You were doing fine.”
“Someone tell me something.” When neither man spoke, she shoved one braid over her shoulder, away from her neck where it tickled. “We’d already decided on Ninja.”
“I’m the expert you hired to help get things back on track.”
“They’re my horses. And Trace has been working with Ninja.”
“It’s my job.”
Narrowing her eyes at him, she almost bit out a laugh when Red mirrored the expression back at her. “Trace?”
Trace held his hands up in the sign of surrender. “I’m staying out of this one.”
Lad took a few quick steps to the left, bumping Red out of his way. Sensing the horse was picking up on her agitation, Peyton moved back a few more feet and tried a calming breath. “Let’s take this into the office.”
“Sure thing.” Red released the bridle and made a circle motion with his hand. “Keep working on those circuits, and this time shut your mind off to the garbage and tune in to him. See how much better that works for you.”
“Got it.” Trace led Lad over to another corner of the ring as Peyton stalked off to the trainer office, Red trailing behind.
She waited until he shut the door and leaned against it, arms crossed, like he didn’t have a care in the world. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to kick his arrogant legs out from under him . . .
“I can’t do my job if you don’t trust me.”
She stared at him a moment. “Trust?”
He nodded. “Trust.”
“Huh.” She walked to the side of his desk and stared at the blank wall. No pictures up, no framed awards or certificates. Nothing tangible to prove his success. Nothing that made the space his. “Trust is . . . not easy. I haven’t been able to trust anyone with this place. Daddy, God bless him, wasn’t sure what to do with the business. Mama was worthless. Nylen was a cheat and a jackass. When I could have used some help, my brother and sister took off. All the people in my life I was supposed to be able to trust. So sure, we can talk about trust until the cows come home. But in the end all you’ll have is a pasture full of cows and nothing more. This place is my responsibility.”