Jessica blushed. “I’m sorry. I guess I’ve just got something on my mind.” More like someone.
Tory cocked a questioning eyebrow. “Care to talk about it?”
Skyler had said Tory was a friend. Would it be wrong to ask her some questions? Jessica needed to understand why Skyler was pushing her away. She knew if she didn’t get answers she wouldn’t be able to relax and enjoy the rest of the night.
“You may not want to talk about this, but I was wondering what the real story is on Skyler. What exactly happened that got her blacklisted from the circuit?”
Tory gave a deep sigh. She wished she could go out with just one woman who didn’t ask the same question, but Jessica was more than just another Skyler groupie wanting to know her whole life story. Tory collected her thoughts. She didn’t want to send Jessica rushing back to the Creek Barn to try to “save” Skyler from herself. She’d tried that once, herself, to no avail.
“Skyler was one of the first kids to go though the equestrian program at Cherokee Falls,” she told Jessica. “She’s an exceptional rider, and with the Parker family backing, she was working in no time as a professional. But she has a wild streak. Her downfall was rich, straight women. Seducing them was a conquest for her, these rich women throwing themselves at a kid from the wrong side of the street.”
“Like Alexandra Rourke,” Jessica said quietly.
“Yes, and dozens of her ilk. Skyler overplayed her hand, though, when she went after Sarah Berrington Tate. She made the mistake of falling in love. Sarah wasn’t married, but they didn’t hide their affair very well, and Sarah’s father found out. He gave Sarah an ultimatum. Either she drop Skyler or he would cut off all her money.”
“That’s appalling.” Jessica could imagine how effective that threat would be for many of the people she met on the circuit, who lived lives of privilege.
“Sarah wasn’t anxious to share a barn apartment with Skyler and have to work for her money. Skyler was crushed. Old man Tate went a step further. He managed to convince the rest of gentry that Skyler was a sexual predator and he got her blacklisted on the circuit. Nobody would hire her as a professional rider, so she had to wait tables, groom horses, muck stalls, or whatever else.”
“That’s when Kate came to her rescue?”
Tory nodded. “She gave Skyler a job training horses and equestrians. But Skyler was still devastated. She’s never returned to the circuit and rarely goes to any of the shows. She hasn’t seen Sarah since. At least, I don’t think she has.”
“That really sucks,” Jessica said sadly.
“I’ve known Skyler since we were in high school.” Tory took a sip of wine. “Sarah really, really hurt her. Since then, Skyler has stuck to one-night stands or married women who won’t leave their husbands’ money.” Her eyes sought Jessica’s. “Don’t underestimate how damaged she is. It’s more than a broken heart. Skyler’s father was abusive. I think the first time she ever let herself open up to another person was with Sarah.”
“Quite a betrayal,” Jessica sighed. Now that she had a context for Skyler’s behavior, she should feel optimistic. But she wasn’t confident that Skyler was the kind of person who could just “get over it.”
“I’m not sure she could trust someone enough to fall in love again. Some really good women have tried, but only been hurt. Skyler knows her limitations. She values your friendship too much to encourage anything more. You should respect that.”
“I guess that was what Kate’s been trying to tell me, too,” Jessica said.
“However, I would love to cultivate more than a friendship with you.” Tory smiled warmly and held out her hand to Jessica. “Would you like to dance?”
Jessica smiled and took her hand. Tory was an excellent dancer and they glided smoothly across the floor. Her arms were strong and Jessica felt safe and relaxed in her embrace. There was no denying that the veterinarian was very attractive. Many of the women in the bar had been eyeing both of them all evening. Tory pressed warm, soft lips against Jessica’s forehead. Jessica smiled weakly and responded with a soft kiss to Tory’s lips. The sensation was pleasant, but it did nothing to ease the pain or chase away the sad thoughts of her tall, blond trainer.
Across town, Skyler stepped into a dimly lit bar not quite as upscale as the piano bar Tory had picked out for Jessica. The black walls and ceiling vibrated with the dance music spun by a disc jockey in a booth overlooking a strobe-lit dance floor. At one end of the bar, a pool of light illuminated denim-clad women gathered around four pool tables and leaned casually against the wall to watch the action and the dancers. Her faded Levi’s and thin, sleeveless Lycra shirt accented Skyler’s athletic physique, and many eyes followed her from the door to the bar.
“So, Skyler Reese is on the prowl tonight,” teased the bartender as she poured the neat Bourbon Skyler asked for.
“Pickings are getting slim around the barn, Mindy.”
The bartender ran her fingers through her short dark hair. “There’s not much here you haven’t already had or turned down.” She laughed. “There is a really cute blonde I haven’t seen in here before. Seems to be single, just hanging out with friends.”
Skyler’s eyes traveled to the table Mindy indicated with a subtle nod of her head. She shrugged her disinterest. “Not what I’m looking for.”
“One day, you’re going to reach a point where you have to go out of town to find what you’re looking for.”
Skyler’s eyes settled on a short woman leaning uncertainly against the wall near the pool tables. “That’s more my style tonight.”
Mindy’s eyes followed her stare. “Hold on, Ace. She’s just here for the weekend, and Robbie is already working that one. In fact, I think she’s trying to impress the girl right now with her billiards expertise.”
Skyler glanced toward the stocky woman bent over the pool table. Robbie sank a bank shot and tossed a grin at the short woman. The woman returned a weak smile.
“Give me another bourbon and one of what she’s drinking, Mindy.”
“Shit, Skyler. Don’t go starting anything. We make all our money on the weekends. I don’t need the cops hanging around here and scaring my customers off.”
“No sweat. I’ll whisk that girl right out from under Robbie before she notices.” Skyler took the two drinks and made her way across the room. She leaned against the wall next to the woman. “Are you waiting a turn at the pool table?”
“No. I’m just watching,” the woman said tentatively. She didn’t have Jess’s sexy voice, but she was cute enough. Her eyes were blue and they moved over Skyler with interest.
“Looks like you could use another drink.” Skyler turned a brilliant smile on her new acquaintance and replaced her empty glass with the one Mindy had just filled. “The bartender told me what you were drinking.”
The blue eyes softened with amusement. “Oh, you’re smooth.”
Skyler rewarded her with her cutest, crooked smile. “I’m Skyler Reese. And you are…”
“Kelly Thompson.”
“Ah. What are you doing in Cherokee Falls, Kelly Thompson?”
“I install computer systems for a software company. I’ve been in town all week to install a new system at the Savings and Loan on Fifth Street. I’m heading back to Seattle soon. That’s where I live.”
Skyler smiled. Perfect. Short-term and no strings attached. Her maneuvers had not gone unnoticed, unfortunately. Robbie glowered at them as she missed a shot at the eight ball and proceeded to lose the game.
She threw her cue down and stalked over as the deejay began a new dance tune. Ignoring Skyler, she asked, “How about a dance, Kelly?”
Kelly handed her drink to Robbie, who took it, obviously thinking Kelly wanted her to put it somewhere safe for her. “Actually, I had just told Skyler here that I would dance with her. You seemed tied up shooting pool. Do you mind holding my drink for me?”
Robbie stuttered in surprise as Skyler took Kelly’s hand and guided her expertly to the dance floor.
“You’re pretty smooth yourself.” Skyler chuckled.
Kelly turned out to also be a very good dancer, mimicking Skyler’s timing. She watched Skyler through her thick eyelashes and moved her hips in perfect sync. They danced through two songs while Robbie still glowered from the edge of the dance floor, and then Skyler pulled her close when the third song slowed the tempo. Kelly’s eyes were hungry, and Skyler kissed her deeply as she pressed their bodies together.
“Let’s get out of here,” Kelly suggested. “I’m staying at the Marriott.”
Skyler smiled her agreement, and they headed for the door.
“Hey, Reese. Just where do you think you’re going?” Robbie moved between them and the exit.
Skyler was nonchalant. “Well, Robbie. Kelly here has invited me up to her hotel room, and I accepted. So, if you’ll excuse us.”
The stocky woman held her ground. “I’m sick and tired of you waltzing into this bar like you own it and every woman in it.”
“I’m not looking for trouble. We were just leaving.” Skyler was navigating a path around Robbie when the woman’s fist connected with her left eye.
Mindy was immediately at her side, restraining Robbie and hustling her to a nearby chair. Another large woman who worked as the bar bouncer stood over Robbie, assuring she would remain seated.
“Tell me you don’t want to press charges, Sky,” Mindy pleaded.
Skyler touched her cheekbone to feel the swelling, but shook her head. “No. Just keep her in here until we can get out of the parking lot.”
“You got it.” Mindy sighed in relief. “You should put an ice pack on that eye. You’ll probably have a pretty good shiner tomorrow.”
“Great.” Skyler nodded and nudged Kelly toward the door.
Skyler had forgotten about her eye until she crept home just before feeding time and looked in the mirror after climbing out of the shower. Damn. Robbie had sucker-punched her a good one. Lots of alcohol and a burning desire for the elusive raven-haired rider with pale blue eyes had fueled a sex-filled night. But the encounter hadn’t quelled Skyler’s need, and only left her feeling worse. There was no substitute for the woman who haunted her every thought.
Her bad mood lifted when she heard Jessica’s voice downstairs near Rampage’s stall, but sank again when she saw it was Tory, not Rampage, Jessica was talking to while she mucked the stallion’s stall.
Tory grinned when she spotted Skyler. “Whoa! Who gave you that shiner?”
Jessica’s head jerked around.
“That new colt head-butted me when I was working him in the round pen,” Skyler lied.
Jessica walked over for a better look, grasping Skyler’s chin to turn her face toward her. “Maybe you should have a doctor look at that.”
Skyler looked away, afraid her eyes would reveal more than she wanted. She grasped Jessica’s slender wrist, holding it for a moment before pulling her hand away. “I’m fine,” she replied gruffly. “No reason to see a doctor for a simple black eye.”
Jessica looked to Tory for help, but the vet only shrugged. They watched Skyler quickly tack up the colt she was breaking and head for the round pen.
Chapter Ten
Fall had begun to turn the center’s hardwoods into an artist’s palette of red, yellow, and gold before the mild winter put a nip in the air that energized both riders and steeds. Because Jessica’s knee didn’t seem to bother her as much anymore, Rampage’s training sessions lengthened. Skyler would saddle Con Air to share their exercises, and both women relished the hours they spent riding and talking together. They didn’t speak again about Skyler’s black eye, and the tension between the women began to ease once Skyler seemed assured Jessica wouldn’t press the bond that continued to grow between them into something more than friendship. It was Jessica’s relationship with Tory that didn’t seem to be going anywhere. While every day was a struggle not to fall into Skyler’s arms and kiss her senseless, Jessica was content to keep her physical relationship with Tory limited to a few innocent kisses. She’d noticed that Skyler was keeping a low profile. She seemed to have lost her lust for one-night stands. Instead, she’d thrown herself into the youth equestrian program, spending additional hours training the kids and their horses, swimming with them in the center’s pool, and helping them with their homework in the afternoons.
Jessica had followed her to a paddock behind Creek Barn an hour earlier, to watch a group of kids testing their mounts at barrel racing. The object of the contest was to run their ponies the length of the arena, loop tightly around first one then a second barrel, and race back across the arena in the shortest time.
Jessica’s smile faded when she saw Scott showing a short whip made of braided rawhide to the other boys. He waved to the boy holding a stopwatch, mounted his horse and headed for the barrels. He whipped the pony with the rawhide quirt around the first barrel and aimed for the second. The pony was running hard, but slipped coming around the second barrel and struggled to recover. When he was back on his feet, Scott flogged him hard to make up the lost time.
“Skyler,” Jessica began, but the woman next to her was already heading across the paddock, her face flooded with anger.
Scott quickly dismounted and, holding the colt by the reins, he whipped him repeatedly across the face. The young horse dragged him several feet, trying to escape his tormentor.
“Scott!” Skyler grabbed for the whip, but Scott was quicker. He brought the quirt across Skyler’s face, its rawhide cutting into her cheek.
“Stupid bitch! Get out of my way!” he screamed. He was out of control.
He swung again at Skyler, but she was ready this time and ducked, grabbing the hand that held the whip. She twisted Scott’s arm to force him to the ground on his stomach, and put a hard knee in his back.
“I had better never, ever see you raise a hand to one of our horses again. Never, never, ever,” Skyler growled through clenched teeth. Her face was scarlet as she held the boy’s face in the sand.
Scott struggled underneath her strong grasp. “Get off me, dyke! You just let me up and I’ll take care of you. No woman is going to tell me what to do.”
Worried for both of them, Jessica was about to intervene when Charlie came running from West Barn with Clint in tow. “Skyler,” Clint called. “Let him up. I’ll take care of him.”
She stared up at Clint for a long minute before recognition began to register in her glazed eyes and she relaxed her grip.
Clint grabbed the boy by the collar and snatched the whip from his hand. “That’s it, Scott. Let’s go find Kate. It’s time we talked about whether you should be here at the center.”
Jessica followed as a dejected Skyler led the colt to the barn and cross-tied him in the wash stall. Skyler’s sure hands and low voice calmed the anxious animal as she examined his head and eyes closely for injury.
“Well, he looks okay, but we better keep an eye on him,” Skyler told Jamie, who stood at her elbow. “How about rubbing him down for me and putting him in the last stall for tonight,” she told the girl.
“Sky?” The girl hesitated. “All the other kids are afraid of Scott. We’ll be glad if you guys throw him out of the program.”
“That will be up to Kate.” Skyler stared at her boots. “I shouldn’t have handled Scott that roughly. I would never intentionally hurt one of you kids. You know that, don’t you, James?”
“We all know that, Sky. Scott is so big and strong, there wasn’t anything else you could do.”
When the girl led the colt away, Skyler leaned her forehead against the wall of the wash stall and closed her eyes. She flinched when Jessica laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, you okay?”
After a moment, Skyler turned. She didn’t speak, but the haunted look in her eyes communicated more eloquently than words.
Jessica touched the blood oozing from the welt on her cheek. “That’s a nasty cut. We better clean it up. Do you have something more than horse first aid stuff in the office?”
Skyler cleared her throat. “In my medicine cabinet upstairs.”
“Come on. Let me take care of that for you.” Jessica took Skyler’s hand and guided her up the stairs. She sat her on the bed and went to find the supplies she needed in the bathroom. When she returned, Skyler’s shoulders were slumped and her head bowed. Tears trickled down her tanned cheeks.
Jessica knelt before her and spoke softly as she wiped at a tear with her finger. “Hey, what’s this, tough stuff?”
Skyler gave a hard shake of her head. “I never should have roughed him up like that. Scott has a lot of demons to deal with, and he can’t control his temper tantrums yet. I’m supposed to be the one who stays in control. Instead, I give him the same rough treatment that put him in the program in the first place. Just like my father, I just can’t seem to stop being a fuck-up.”
It tore at Jessica’s heart to see the strong trainer so emotionally fragile. She sat on the bed and gently grasped Skyler’s hand. “You can’t save them all. Scott needs more help than a few good role models and horses to play with. It has nothing to do with you failing him.”
When Skyler didn’t answer, Jessica reached for the medical supplies she had set on the bed. She gently cleaned the welt with a peroxide-soaked cotton ball, using her soft hands and low voice the same way Skyler did moments earlier, to gentle the injured colt.
“You are so good to these kids, Sky. Jamie and Charlie idolize you. You’ve helped so many. You shouldn’t beat yourself up because one came along who needs professional counseling.” She laid her hand on Skyler’s damp cheek and gently turned the anguished face toward her. “You have such a big heart. I don’t know why you spend so much time trying to convince people you’re such a rascal.”
Skyler raised her eyes to Jessica’s and felt herself drowning in a sea of pale blue. “I am a rascal,” she said with a small smile.
Jessica leaned close to touch her warm lips to Skyler’s mouth. Skyler hesitated, fighting the confusion spinning in her head. “We can’t do this,” she said. “I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can,” came Jessica’s soft, firm reply. “I believe in you, Skyler. Please. Take a chance on us.”
Skyler wanted to take that chance. God, she needed Jessica. This was the one woman who seemed to ease her self-doubts and fill the empty places left by an abusive father and a lover’s betrayal. “You’re seeing Tory.”
Jessica’s eyes were pleading, her face flushed with desire. Her voice was husky. “Oh, Sky. It’s you who makes my mouth go dry and my heart race, no matter how much I try to deny it. It’s you, not Tory, that I want. I don’t care if you don’t want me tomorrow.”
Skyler jumped up, nearly throwing Jessica onto the floor. “You deserve better, Jess. Kate knows it. Tory knows it. Hell, I know it.”
Jessica stood and moved quickly so that she was toe-to-toe with Skyler. “You’re wrong, Skyler Reese. You are dead wrong. You are what I need. You are what I want, no matter how hard you and everybody else try to change my mind. Am I wrong to think that you may feel the same way about me?”
She wasn’t wrong. There was nothing Skyler needed, wanted, more than to feel Jessica’s arms around her, holding her tight.
“Just tell me that you don’t want me,” Jessica said softly. “Tell me you don’t dream about me at night like I dream about you. Tell me there is no part of your heart that wants to open up to me, and I’ll leave you alone. No matter how much it hurts me, I’ll leave you alone for good. We’ll just be trainer and rider.”
“I’m scared.”
It was a whisper so soft, Jessica almost missed it. She reached up to cup Skyler’s face in her warm, delicate hands. “Why, Sky? Why are you afraid of me?”
The dark eyes that met hers were enough to break her heart. She waited as Skyler worked to get the words to her lips. “I’m scared because you’re not like the rest. I can’t just sleep with you and move on. I’m scared because it will rip me apart if I let you in and then you move on.”
Jessica drew Skyler’s head down for a gentle kiss. It was a kiss of affection and promise. She stroked the still damp cheek, her eyes holding Skyler’s. “That’s good. Because I’m absolutely crazy about you,” she whispered, guiding Skyler to the bed.
Jessica straddled Skyler’s hips and pulled her into another kiss, a sweet kiss of longing and desire. Leaning back, Jessica pulled her shirt and bra off over her head, then slipped her hands under Skyler’s shirt. Skyler arched up so the garment could be stripped from her, and Jessica sighed at the golden skin now exposed, the soft swell of breasts under the white sports bra. She laid her face against Skyler’s warm chest and closed her eyes to focus on the heart beating wildly beneath her cheek.
Skyler trembled beneath her as Jessica began a journey to taste the smooth shoulders and the graceful curve of her neck. Her nails raked gently across the ridged abdomen, drawing more shivers.
“Oh God, Jess. I don’t know about this.”
“What don’t you know, baby?”
“What if I fuck this up? What if I can’t be what you need, like everybody says? What if wanting each other isn’t enough?”
Jessica held Skyler’s face in her hands and looked deep into her anxious eyes. “I thought we had this cleared up. Forget what the others think. I believe in you, Skyler. I believe in us. I’ve felt it since that day I froze at the downhill jump. You’re so strong, and I felt so safe in your arms. We don’t just want each other, Sky. We need each other.”
Jessica planted small kisses along Skyler’s jaw and lipped her sensitive earlobe. She pulled off the sports bra, removing the last barrier between their upper bodies. She leaned in and they both moaned as skin met skin, breast caressed soft breast, and nipples tightened.
“No barriers between us, Sky. Not our past, not what other people think. I want to be the one to touch you in places no one else is allowed,” she said, placing a warm hand over the heart thumping hard in Skyler’s chest. “I want to let you into the places I let no one else.”
Skyler blocked out the warning sirens sounding in her head as her warm, tanned skin pressed against the pale, flushed skin of the woman she ached for. She hungrily sought Jessica’s full lips, moaning her passion. Jessica cupped the soft swell of Skyler’s breasts, squeezing slowly, taking delight in each touch. She moved away after a few exquisite moments, sliding down and pulling off Skyler’s riding boots.
She reached for Skyler’s belt, but paused before unbuckling it. “Bareback, Skyler. I want to feel all of you on all of me,” she said in a husky voice. “I want to be so close that I can feel your thoughts, and you can hear mine.”
They were naked in moments. Caught off balance by the younger woman’s assertive seduction, Skyler gave in to sensation. The loss of control was dizzying, but she was helpless to stop it. Jessica’s kisses grew more urgent, stoking a fire Skyler thought had been long dead inside her. A quick flip and their positions were reversed, but Skyler found she felt no more in control on top than when she’d been on her back.
She looked in awe at the blue-eyed, raven-haired beauty. “You are so beautiful. I can’t believe how beautiful you are.” She covered the smaller body with hers and worshipped it with soft, caressing kisses. She took each taut nipple into her mouth, one at and then the other, tasting and stroking with her tongue. Jessica’s body arched to meet her while her gentle hands caressed Skyler’s breasts.
Skyler slipped her arm underneath Jessica’s arched back and stroked her firm buttocks, pressing Jessica’s hips against her own. She nudged one hard thigh between Jessica’s legs and groaned at the wet heat she found there. She jerked as Jessica’s hand caressed her aching clit.
“Oh, Jess,” Skyler breathed.
“Don’t tease,” Jessica begged as they moved against each other.
Skyler cradled Jessica in her arms and thought her heart would burst at the sound of her pleading. “I just don’t want to miss even one inch of you.”
She slid down to taste the soft inside of Jessica’s thigh. Nuzzling the dark curls, she inhaled her lover’s musky scent. Her own desire was threatening to explode with every caress of her tongue across the throbbing sex that arched up to meet her lips. When she felt Jessica nearing climax, Skyler slowly dipped her fingers into Jessica’s soft core.
Jessica gasped and stiffened. “Yes. Oh, Sky. Sky,” she moaned as her orgasm washed over her.
Her body had barely stopped jerking with the aftershocks when Skyler moved up to latch on to a swollen nipple and buck her hips against Jessica’s wetness. Reading her intent, Jessica brought her knees up and spread herself wide, fitting Skyler’s slim hips between her legs and using her heels to guide Skyler’s need closer. Skyler reached down to expose her hardened clit to Jessica’s welcoming heat. Their hips moved together in a perfect, rhythmic dance, and in moments both cried out as release flooded their sweat-slick bodies.
They lay without speaking for a long time as they struggled to slow their breathing. Skyler rolled over on her back and pulled Jessica up to rest the dark head on her shoulder. Wrapping her arms around the slender body, she softly caressed Jessica’s warm back. After a long moment, Skyler found her voice.
“Jess, I…”
“Just let it be, Sky. Let’s just don’t analyze this and let this go where it will. I don’t want to hear any more doubts.” Jessica fit her body closer, hugging her tightly. “Believe in us, Sky. I do.”
Skyler stroked her hair. “I was just going to say that you make my mouth go dry and my heart beat fast, too.”
Jessica’s smile was brilliant. She slid her body along Skyler’s to reach the lips that beckoned her. She captured Skyler’s mouth and hungrily probed it with an insistent tongue. She began to blaze a slow trail of kisses and caresses downward as Skyler’s legs trembled and her breathing rasped.
“God, Jess! I think I may be done for the moment.”
“I’m sure you can hold up, stud,” Jessica murmured before parting those strong thighs and sucking hard on the clit that pulsed between them.
Chapter Eleven
It was well after midnight when Jessica finally left Skyler’s sleepy embrace and headed up to the house. She crept up the stairs so she wouldn’t wake Kate and Charlie, but when she opened her bedroom door, there was a small boy sleeping in a tight ball on her bed. She took a quick shower, pulled on some soft flannel pajama pants and a clean T-shirt, and crawled into the bed beside him.
Charlie snuggled into her arms. “Where were you? I’ve been looking for you.”
“I’m here now, Charlie. Did you have a bad dream or just feeling lonely?” She softly stroked the dark head.
The boy began to sniffle. “Kate said my uncle is coming to get me in the morning. I don’t want to go. I want to stay here with you and Kate,” he sobbed.
Poor Kate. She’d had a lot to deal with today. First Scott, then telling Charlie his uncle was coming to take him.
“Oh, Charlie. We both wish you could stay, too. But you need to give your uncle a chance. From what I hear, he really wants you to come live with him.”
Charlie tightened his grip around Jessica’s ribs as if he could stay by holding tighter. “I don’t even know him. He and Mom would talk on the phone a lot, but he never came to see us. Mom said he lived really far away. What if he takes me really far away and I never see you again?”
“Honey, your mother must have trusted him very much to leave you in his care. Tell you what. I’ll stick close to you all day, okay? If your Uncle Mark doesn’t seem like a great guy, I’ll personally tell him you are a horrible boy and cause lots of trouble so he should leave you here. How’s that?”
Jessica hoped for a smile, but got only a sniffle and a trembling “Okay” from her young friend. She rubbed his back until she felt him relax and drift off the sleep. She closed her eyes, too, and fell into a deep, restful sleep laced with dreams of a certain blond trainer.
Jessica worked to keep the breakfast conversation lively, hoping to take Charlie’s mind off his impending departure. But as they finished off huge stacks of pancakes topped with syrup and strawberries, Charlie grew quiet.
“We’re expecting your uncle a little later, sometime after lunch,” Kate said after taking a phone call. “He’s already had the stuff from your mom’s house shipped to his home in Atlanta. Do you have your clothes packed?”
“Yeah. I’m all packed,” Charlie said glumly.
Jessica brightened. “Atlanta? Hey, Charlie. Remember I told you my mom lives there? I can come see you, if you like, when I go to visit her.”
Charlie’s face brightened. “That would be great.”
“And you know what? How about we pack a picnic and take a trail ride this morning, since we have some extra time. We can ride up to Skyler’s sunbathing spot and picnic there.”
“Can Sky come with us?”
The vision of Skyler’s nude body stretched out beneath her brought a warm flush to Jessica’s cheeks. “Only if she promises to keep her clothes on,” Jessica mumbled under her breath.
Thirty minutes later, they were headed to Creek Barn with a scrumptious lunch packed in the saddlebags slung over their shoulders. Jessica wondered if Skyler would be sleeping in, since it had only been a few hours since she had left. But they found Skyler in the tack room, a small smile on her face as she worked the saddle leather. The smile broadened to a delighted grin when she saw them standing in the doorway.
“Hey, Sky,” Charlie said excitedly, “we’ve got a picnic packed and we want you to go with us on a trail ride. Kate said we could.”
Skyler’s eyes traveled to Jessica. “A picnic? Well, if Kate said we could, I don’t know how I can refuse that. You should have called me, though. I’ve already turned Trekker out. You’ll have to go down to the pasture and bring him back up to the barn.”
“Okay.” Charlie grabbed a lead rope and ran toward the pasture.
Jessica smiled. “His uncle is coming to get him this afternoon. Kate thought it would be a good idea to keep his mind occupied until then.” She paused. “Actually, I think Kate wanted some time alone, too. She’s trying to hide it, but I can tell she’s taking his leaving pretty hard.”
Skyler walked over and placed a hand on the wall by Jessica’s head. She leaned in close and said in a husky voice, “I need something to keep my mind occupied, too, so I’ll stop playing last night over and over in my head.”
“Last night isn’t something I want you to forget, not even for a moment,” Jessica whispered as Skyler’s warm lips caressed her own.
Their kiss deepened to a passionate exchange, only to be curtailed by the sound of hooves nearing the barn. Jessica held Skyler’s glazed stare a moment longer. Maybe I’m breaking through that tough shell after all, she thought.
There was enough of a nip in the air to chase away the pesky deer flies that torment both horses and riders in the summer. Still, a cheerful sun shone from the deep blue, cloudless sky to warm their backs as they rode along the mountain trails littered with fallen leaves. They raced across the meadows, laughing and jumping logs and ditches small enough for Charlie to handle. When they reached the mountain trails, Jessica and Rampage led the way with Charlie and Trekker, Skyler and Con Air following. The happy warmth that radiated between them seemed to soothe the anxious youngster.
When they turned down the path to Skyler’s ledge, they dismounted and Skyler loosened the horses’ saddles and replaced their bridles with halters to make them more comfortable before tying them to nearby trees. Jessica cast a smug glance at her, and received a warm stare in return. Charlie didn’t miss the exchange, and lowered his head as a light blush colored his cheeks. Jessica enlisted his help to spread a blanket on the smooth ledge, then unpacked their lunch. The sun shone warm on the exposed ledge, and Skyler began to remove the sweatshirt she wore over a short-sleeved polo shirt.
Charlie’s face blanched when he looked up. “Jess. Sky…” he sputtered but could not put his thoughts into words.
Jessica was at a loss at first to understand his distress. “Oh,” she said as realization dawned.
Skyler stopped while she still had one arm in her sweatshirt. “What?” she questioned as she looked at her companion’s faces. “What’s the matter?”
Jessica failed miserably in her efforts to look stern. “I think Charlie was hoping you would keep your clothes on this time. Skyler’s mouth dropped open and Jessica gave up her effort to look serious. “Charlie was with me the day Scott showed us your sunbathing spot. I think he’s afraid you’re changing into your usual attire, or lack of it, for this location.”
Charlie’s face had turned a deep red. “I didn’t look once I realized it was you, Sky,” he mumbled.
Skyler’s shock turned to amusement. She walked over and kneeled next to him, placing an arm around his shoulders. “I’m sure you didn’t, Charlie. I was just taking my sweatshirt off because it was getting bit warm for me, but I want to explain something.”
“Okay.” Charlie’s relief was apparent.
“Not that I would want people going around naked all the time,” Skyler said, “but the human body is nothing to be ashamed of. Neither you nor I should be ashamed that you caught me sunbathing, because you were a real gentleman by not staring once you realized you had by accident imposed on my privacy. Your mom would be so proud of you for being thoughtful.”
“Scott looked.” Charlie grimaced.
“I’m sure he did. But you don’t want to be like Scott, do you?”
Charlie shook his head vigorously.
“You’re a handsome young man, Charlie, and, in a few years, you’ll have plenty of girls interested in knowing you better.”
He wrinkled his nose at the prediction.
“No. I’m telling you the truth. You’ll be interested in them, too.” Skyler chuckled. “When you find that happening, I want you to remember what a gentleman you were with me, and I want you to make me proud by treating those girls and their privacy with the same respect. Any guy can be a man when they reach a certain age, but not every guy is a gentleman. That’s what will make you a real man, okay?”
The boy looked thoughtful. “Like Clint?”
Skyler smiled. “Exactly like Clint. He’s a real gentleman.”
Jessica’s eyes filled as she watched the two. She loved the nurturing side that came out when Skyler was around the children. “Hey, I don’t know about you guys,” she said, reaching into the saddlebags. “But ham sandwiches sure sound good to me.”
Charlie’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, I could eat two.”
The lunch went by quickly and it was well past noon when Jessica looked at her watch and announced that it was time to head back. Charlie’s face turned glum immediately.
“Hey, buddy, don’t look that way,” Jess said softly. “I have a good feeling about your uncle. You need to give him a chance. Your mom would have wanted that, don’t you think?”
He nodded and attempted a small smile. “Okay, Jess.”
“Okay, then. I bet the horses are getting tired of being tied up. Let’s get everything together and head back to the center.”
After repacking their saddlebags, they rode back slowly, each seemingly lost in thought. Skyler gave Charlie’s shoulder a little squeeze after they dismounted.
Staring anxiously at the strange SUV parked in front of the house, he asked, “Is that him?”
“I guess,” Skyler said.
They were tying the horses to the hitching posts in front of the barn, when Kate walked out of the barn trailed by a thirty-something, dark-haired man with the same brilliant blue eyes as Charlie.
“God, Charlie. Your uncle looks just like you…only older,” Jessica said.
The young man knelt down and beckoned the boy. “Hey, Charlie. I’m your Uncle Mark. You probably don’t remember me. I used to come visit you and your mom when you were little. Then I was out of the country because of my job. But your mom used to write long e-mails, telling me all about you. She sent lots of pictures.” His eyes filled with tears. “I wish she had told me she was sick. I really miss her.”
Mark held his arms and Charlie moved to him and began to sob into his shoulder. “I miss Mom so much, too.”
They hugged tightly and Mark said, “I know you don’t want to leave Kate, but the last time I talked to your mom, I promised her that you and I would take care of each other. It’s what she wanted for both of us.”
Charlie nodded, his tears slowing to sniffles.
“I’m going to be working in Atlanta nine months out of the year while you’re in school, but I’ll have to do some overseas traveling during the summer months. I thought you could spend summers here until you’re old enough to travel with me.”
Charlie’s eyes grew wide and he asked Kate, “Can I?”
Kate held her arms out and he shyly walked into her bear hug. “Your uncle and I had a good talk. You can come every time he’s away till you’re tired of all this.”
“I’ll never get sick of being here,” Charlie said solemnly. “I love it.”
“And we love you,” Kate said, wiping some tears.
At that very moment, a blood-curdling yowl came from the depths of the barn that sent them all rushing in to see what horse was standing on Peach’s tail. Every hair stood out straight on the battle-scarred old tom as a chubby, black Labrador puppy jumped playfully around him.
“Look out there, fellow.” Skyler laughed as she scooped the puppy up out of the reach of angry claws. “Peach probably isn’t the best playmate for you, little guy.”
Mark stepped forward and took the squirming puppy from her. “Oh, so that’s where you got off to.” He held the puppy up, facing Jessica and Skyler. “I’d introduce this little rascal to you, but he doesn’t have a name yet. That’s going to be up to Charlie because this is his new puppy.”
“Wow! He’s mine?” Charlie beamed as Mark handed the puppy to him. “Thanks, Uncle Mark. I’m going name him Rascal.”
“That’s a great name.” Mark turned to the women as they watched the puppy joyfully lick at Charlie’s face. “I don’t know much about being a father, but I’ve had a lot of experience being a boy. I’m counting on that to get me and Charlie through without my sister here to supervise us.”
“Why don’t we go sit on the porch for a while so we can get to know each other?” Kate suggested.
“Skyler and I will take care of the horses,” Jessica said. “Then I’ll join you.”
Jessica and Skyler made quick work of rubbing the horses down and turning them out in the paddocks to relax before they were brought in to the barn for the night. Their eyes met often, and they exchanged smiles as they went about their tasks in the barn. Skyler turned the last horse out and headed to the tack room to hang up the halter and lead rope in her hand. When she stepped through the doorway, Jessica reached out and grabbed Skyler’s shirt, pulling her close.
“Seems like I’ve been waiting all day to kiss you again, and I just can’t wait any longer.” Burying her hand in Skyler’s sun-streaked locks, she kissed her deeply.
Skyler pressed her body against Jessica’s and they both moaned. When they finally broke the lip-lock, Skyler touched her forehead against Jessica’s. “Think you could find your way back here later tonight?” she begged softly.
“I thought you didn’t backtrack down trails you’ve already ridden,” Jessica teased.
“I think this trail will need lots more exploration.” Skyler’s voice was also teasing, but her eyes were serious.
“Leave your door unlocked, stud. Maybe you’ll get lucky.”
This time it was Skyler who initiated a passionate kiss that made Jessica’s knees go weak and her face flush with desire.
“I sure hope so,” Skyler whispered.
The house was quiet when Jessica slipped down the stairs after everyone had retired for the night. The cool night air and the fact that she hadn’t injected her knee that day made her leg ache. The pain, though, was no match for her desire to be with Skyler again. She marched down the drive with a determined limp, her heart racing with the anticipation of lying next to Skyler’s nude body.
She climbed the stairs to Skyler’s apartment quietly and slowly opened the door. The apartment was dark except for flickering candlelight coming from the bathroom. “Skyler?” she called softly.
“In here, Jess,” came Sky’s low, husky voice.
When Jessica stepped into the doorway a slow smile spread across her face. Skyler was sitting chest deep in a whirlpool bathtub full of bubbles. The warm light of nearly twenty candles illuminated her sculpted features. She smiled at Jessica. “Join me?”
Jessica slowly began to strip off her clothes as Skyler’s eyes followed every graceful movement. When she finally stood before Skyler completely naked in the flickering light, Skyler sighed. “God, Jess. You are so beautiful.”
She held out her hand and Jessica took it in hers before stepping in the tub and sliding down to lay her body on top of Skyler’s. They drank each other in. Skyler reached up to release Jessica’s French braid and let the silky dark locks spread across her shoulders. They pressed their seeking mouths together.
“Let’s go slow tonight,” Skyler whispered. “I want to savor every moment with you.”
“I’ll bet you say that to all the girls?” Jessica teased.
Skyler stiffened. “No, actually.”
“I was just flirting. There was nothing behind that remark,” Jessica said with concern. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. You are too special to me.”
Skyler’s face was serious. “Do you say that to all the girls you’ve been with?”
Jessica gazed lovingly into her eyes. “No.” She took a deep breath and decided to plunge forward. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.” She stroked Skyler’s cheek. “I know you’ve been hurt badly in the past and find it really hard to trust. So, I’m going to stick my neck out first and let you know exactly how I feel.”
“Jess, you don’t have to. I trust you.”
She touched her fingers to Skyler’s lips. “No, I do have to. Not telling you won’t make it any less painful if you choose to turn away.” She took a long breath and looked deeply into Skyler’s eyes. “I’m in love with you, Skyler. You are always on my mind. I dream about you. When we are together, I feel complete, like I’ve finally stopped looking for something.”
Skyler’s eyes filled with tears. Jessica’s heart fluttered as Skyler looked away for several long, tortuous moments, a mixture of feelings crossing her handsome face. When she finally looked back into Jessica’s eyes, her voice was strained. “Jess. I’ve tried not to fall in love with you. Everybody told me it was wrong, that I’d mess it up. I think…thought I would mess it up, too. But scared as I am, I just can’t help it. I can’t think of anything but you. Nobody has made me feel that way since… well, for a very, very long time. I really didn’t think I had it in me to be in love again.”
Jessica leaned forward into a kiss, but her leg slipped in the tub and she grimaced as pain shot through her knee.
“What’s the matter? Skyler said anxiously.
“I just hit my knee wrong. It’ll be okay in a moment,” Jessica said through clenched teeth.
Skyler took her shoulders and turned her around so she could straighten her legs out and rest her back against Skyler’s chest. “Let’s just relax a minute,” she whispered in Jessica’s ear, then ran some more hot water to warm the tub.
They relaxed back when the temperature was right again, their bodies sliding sensuously against each other.
The bare skin was too much for Skyler to resist, and she began nibbling the neck that lay exposed before her. Their bodies pulsed from the warm bath and building passion as they caressed and kissed various sensitive areas.
“I can’t help myself, Jess. I just can’t keep my hands off of you,” Skyler purred.
“I think we need to continue this in the bed,” Jessica gasped.
The night was a long marathon of slow, tender lovemaking, stroking hands, plunging fingers, exploring tongues, undulating bodies, breast against breast, and heart against heart as they reached ecstasy time and time again. Finally, they fell into an exhausted slumber, their hearts secure and their bodies sated.
Skyler shook her head to stop the ringing in her ears before she woke and realized it was her cell phone next to the bed. Shit! It was almost eight a.m.
She grabbed the phone and put it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Sky, you still asleep?” It was Kate on the other end. “Charlie and Mark are about to leave. I thought you might want to come say good-bye. You okay?” There was a pause. “Or are you just not alone?”
As Skyler tried to extricate herself from Jessica’s warm embrace, she met with resistance. In her sleep Jessica snuggled closer, frowning.
“Uh, you’re right, Kate. I do want to see Charlie off,” Skyler said quickly, avoiding Kate’s question. “Just give me ten minutes to get dressed.”
“Wait. Have you seen Jess this morning?” Kate asked before she could hang up the phone. “I thought she was sleeping late but when I went up to wake her, the bed was already made.”
Skyler shot a panicked look at Jessica, who blinked sleepily. “Maybe she’s up at the gym.”
Jessica grimaced and grabbed the phone. “I’m here with Skyler, Kate. We’ll be there as soon as we get dressed.” She ended the call without waiting for a response.
Skyler covered her face with her hands and groaned.
“What? Are you ashamed for Kate to know about us?” Jessica demanded.
Skyler lowered her hands. “No! I’d just like to stay alive and employed. Kate warned me not to even think about putting my hands on you, and I promised her I wouldn’t.” Even before her explanation was finished, her eyes had already strayed and hands caressed the smooth curve of Jessica’s hip. “As much as I respect her, I just couldn’t keep that promise.”
Jessica wiggled her eyebrows. “I happen to like the way you put your hands on me.” She grinned. “Kate is a bit protective, but I can handle her…that is, if you’re afraid of her,” she teased.
Skyler jumped on top of Jessica and began tickling her. “My blood will be on your hands if she murders me or throws me off the farm.”
“She’s going to murder us both if we don’t get cleaned up, dressed and up to the house in the next ten minutes.” Jessica laughed, and on that note, they both jumped up and raced to the bathroom.
“Skyler, I want see you in my office,” Kate said as soon as they’d waved good-bye to Charlie and Mark.
Skyler started to follow, but Jessica grabbed her arm and stopped her. “No, Kate. I know this is about me, so you can say anything you have to say to Sky in front of me.”
The big woman’s normally cheerful face darkened. Few people had ever seen Kate angry, but Skyler had and she wasn’t anxious to see it again.
“Okay,” Kate said in a low voice. “Just what the hell do you two think you are doing?”
“Kate…” Skyler began.
“Don’t ‘Kate’ me, Skyler. I made it perfectly clear that Jessica wasn’t up for grabs. I trusted you to train her as a rider and condition her horse. You repaid me by violating that trust. Don’t you have any control over yourself or was our friendship just not special enough for you to keep your promise?”
Skyler hung her head, but Jessica’s eyes blazed as she stepped between them. “Kate Parker, you’ve been a second mother to me since I was a baby, but even my own mother hasn’t had a say in my love interests since I started high school. As much as I value your opinion, my love life isn’t your place to decide. And I really don’t appreciate you talking to Skyler like I’m not even here or don’t have a will of my own.”
“This is about a promise Skyler made to me before you got here,” Kate yelled. “It’s about violating a trust between friends.” She turned to Skyler. “Didn’t I stand beside you when nobody else would give you a job? Haven’t I looked the other way when you bedded half the female clients of this farm?”
Skyler dug the toe of her boot in the dirt as Kate’s tirade continued.
“I don’t intend to see you use Jess right under my nose like you do all the other women you sleep with.”
Jessica’s temper unfurled even further. Stepping within inches of Kate’s face, she said, “If I want to sleep with Skyler, then I will. If you want me to leave the farm, I will. But I won’t stop seeing Skyler.”
“Just wait a minute here.” Skyler grabbed Jessica’s shoulders and pulled her away from Kate. “Now you guys are talking about me like I’m not here. I’m not going to be the one who comes between you. You mean too much to each other. You both mean too much to me.”
“Looks like you thought of that too late, Skyler,” Kate spat.
Skyler decided it was time to take her chances. Things couldn’t go much worse than the way they were heading now. “You’re wrong about this, Kate. I mean, you’re not wrong about me breaking my promise to you. I deeply apologize for that. But I won’t apologize for being with Jess. This is different.” A hot blush flooded her face. “I love… I’m in love with her.”
“Love?” Kate scowled. “Give me a break.”
Skyler stood her ground. “It’s true, Kate. I never thought I could lose my heart again after Sarah, but Jess is different. If you hate me for this, then I’ll be very sad to have lost my best friend.” Skyler took Jessica’s hand and pulled her in close. “But if you make me choose between our friendship and what I feel for Jess, I’ll have to choose Jess.”
Kate’s brow knit together as she pressed her lips in a tight frown, considering Skyler’s words as if really hearing them for the first time. “How can you know that? You couldn’t have been sleeping together long. I would have known it. You can’t know you’re in love, just like that.”
“That’s where you are wrong again,” Jessica said. “I mean, you’re right that we haven’t been sleeping together, but Sky and I have just spent months getting to know each other. I think that’s what people should do before they form a lasting relationship, don’t you?”
Kate turned a skeptical eye toward Skyler, but she seemed to be softening.
“Kate, I need… we need you to believe in us,” Skyler begged.
Kate stared at her for a long time. “I never thought I’d hear those words coming out of your mouth again after Sarah tore your heart out, Sky.” Then she raised her voice and jabbed her index finger in the air under Skyler’s nose. “But if you hurt Jessica, I’m going to personally kick your butt from here to California. Is that clear?”
The new couple released simultaneous sighs of relief, and Skyler looked down at Jessica with unguarded adoration. “No chance of that. No chance of that at all.”
Chapter Twelve
Jessica was working on her last set on the thigh machine when she heard the gymnasium door open and close behind her. Her smile grew as quiet footsteps came closer. It was always hard to rise for her early workouts, but pulling herself away from Sky’s warm embrace every morning was even tougher. She’d thought Sky would sleep longer for sure. Couldn’t stay away, huh? Maybe I’ll get you naked in the whirlpool with me.
She purposely pretended she didn’t hear the stealthy steps until they were almost upon her.
“We’ve been apart way too long, lover,” she said in a sultry voice. She smiled as she heard her stalker abruptly stop. She completed her last leg lift, but still didn’t turn around. “And I’m glad you’re here.” She reached to point out a spot on the back of her neck. “I really need a kiss right there.”
After she felt warm lips caress the back of her neck, she closed her eyes and turned her head to capture those same lips with her own. Her eyes flew open when she realized the mouth tasted familiar, but not like Skyler’s.
“Wow, I should go out of town more weekends if that’s the greeting I’m going to get when I return.”
“Tory! I… I didn’t know. What are you doing out here so early in the morning?”
The vet’s grin began to fade and confusion washed over her face. “I got in late last night, but I just had an emergency call out this way so I thought I’d drop in. I knew you’d be up here starting your daily routine.” She began to frown. “If you didn’t know it was me, exactly who did you think it could be?”
Jessica’s mind raced. She hadn’t had time to think about how to tell Tory they could only be friends.
The tall vet stiffened at Jessica’s hesitation. “I know we just had a few casual dates, but I thought you would have mentioned if you were seeing someone else, too.”
At that moment, the gymnasium door swung open. Jessica rolled her eyes. Apparently her workout had become Grand Central Station. Skyler hesitated when she saw Tory.
“Tory just finished up an emergency out this way.” Jessica knew her voice sounded strained.
Tory’s green eyes turned angry as realization dawned. “Oh, I see. I’m gone only one weekend and the resident fox has been in the hen house.” She started for the door.
“Tory, please wait,” Jessica pleaded.
Tory stopped her retreat and paused for a moment before turning around. The hurt was evident in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Jess,” she said stiffly. “But don’t come looking for me when Skyler jumps to the next woman. I don’t take her leftovers. It would keep me way too busy.”
“Okay, I deserve that,” Skyler said. “But, Tory, this is not like that.”
“Are you telling me I’m mistaken, and you two aren’t sleeping together?”
“No, but—”
“That’s all I need to know.” Tory strode out the door.
Skyler crossed the room and took Jessica in her arms. “That didn’t go too well, did it?”
“It’s not your fault.” Jessica relaxed into her lover’s embrace. “I should have told her.”
“Don’t worry, babe. Tory has a good head on her shoulders. After a while, she’ll realize that we are really in love. She’ll understand that this has nothing to do with her. Besides, she has women lining up. Someone will take your place.”
“I didn’t think I could be that easily replaced.”
Skyler laughed at her pout. “Speaking as your lover, you, my delicious vixen, could never be replaced.”
“Good answer,” Jessica purred.
“But, speaking as your trainer, you have to get back to work and I have a barn full of horses looking for their breakfast.”
“Slave driver,” Jessica replied, tilting her head for another kiss.
At lunchtime, Jessica limped up the stairs to her bathroom to inject her knee before Rampage’s afternoon gallops. The knee was swollen and bruised from the constant injections. But it was only a few months until Christmas, and, after the holidays, Rampage’s workouts would begin to grow shorter so that he would peak at the March trials.
When her knee began to numb, she headed for the kitchen to make a sandwich. As she placed the makings on the kitchen island, she noticed Kate sitting alone on the patio. She had taken Charlie’s leaving very hard, and seeing her and Skyler so happy together probably made her feel even more alone. Jessica frowned. She’d been pretty insensitive.
She grabbed a couple of sodas from the refrigerator and went to join Kate.
“You miss him pretty bad, huh,” she said after a while.
Kate cleared her throat. Her blue eyes were watery. “Yeah, I guess so,” she replied softly. “The kids come and go, but Charlie lived here for nearly a year while his mother was sick. It was nice to always have someone around to share the mornings and evenings with. Somebody around who needed me. I guess I needed him more than I realized.”
“And now, when you need me, I’m spending all my time with Skyler,” Jessica said softly.
Kate patted her on the knee. “You don’t need to be worrying about me. Kate Parker has always taken care of herself. But I do hope you aren’t making a mistake with Skyler. Even if she is sincere, it doesn’t mean she is capable of being the woman you deserve.” She gave Jessica a wan smile. “But don’t listen to me. I just get a little blue when the house is empty. You should enjoy every moment of being in love while you can. There’s nothing like that feeling.”
“Have you ever really been in love, Kate?”
“Oh, yes. Infatuated several times. Deeply, seriously in love only once.”
“What happened?”
Kate stared at her for a moment, then dropped her eyes to study the bricks of the patio. “She was worried that having two mommies would make her daughter the subject of ridicule.”
Jessica’s jaw dropped. “You mean… Mom? When you left, it was because of me?”
“Oh, honey. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. We both loved you too much to put anyone else first. I’ve never really loved another since her.” Kate cocked her head and smiled again.
“Does she know that?” Jessica asked, turning this revelation over in her mind.
Kate shrugged. “It’s water under the bridge, now. Promise me you won’t say anything to her, Jess. I lost her as a lover years ago, and don’t want to lose her as a friend because she doesn’t feel the same way.”
Jessica studied Kate, wondering at the years of longing she must have suffered. “Okay. I promise. I was going to ask Mom to come up for visit because I haven’t seen her for months. I can’t go see her because Rampage trains six days a week. Now, I don’t know. I certainly don’t want to have her come here if it is painful for you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course Laura can visit. I’d love to see her.”
Jessica threw her arms around Kate’s neck and held on tight. “Oh, Kate. You’ve been such an anchor in my life. Mother’s not nearly as strong as you are.” She laid her hands on Kate’s tanned cheeks and gave her a smacking kiss on the mouth.
Kate’s hearty laugh warmed her heart. “You better not let Skyler see you smooching on me. She always was the jealous type.” She shooed Jessica toward the house. “Get out of here. I’ve got paperwork to do. You two can come up later for lasagna.”
The sight of Skyler’s drop-dead sexy smile temporarily erased Kate’s request from Jessica’s mind.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Skyler purred. “How about if I saddle Con Air and we make Rampage’s afternoon gallops an outing for both of us?”
“Only if you stop looking at me like that. I won’t be able to concentrate enough to stay in the saddle.”
They saddled the horses and headed for the maze of wide, dirt trails that wound around the paddocks and through the surrounding woods. Skyler carried a stopwatch and timed four- and five-minute slow canters with three-minute rests in between. The horses pranced and pulled at their bits, eager for something more vigorous.
The morning had brought the first icy breath of winter, a sharp change from the previous day’s warm sun. Jessica’s cheeks were pink from the cold, and her eyes glowed with the energy radiating from her steed.
“These guys really are geared up today,” Skyler called to her. “Why don’t we just let them get it out of their systems? Follow me and see if you can keep up.”
Con Air lengthened his stride and veered to jump a paddock fence. Rampage followed close on his heels. A zigzag race across the meadow took them over a stream and a large fallen tree trunk before they leapt the fence again and headed down a lane through the woods. When the path widened, Rampage edged next to the gray. Just as the bay was taking the lead, they broke out of the woods and Skyler turned Con Air sharply to the right. Not expecting the turn, Jessica and Rampage lost ground when they made a wide loop to alter their direction. The big stallion pounded the ground hard to catch Skyler and the gray. They were steadily gaining ground as they trailed Con Air over several fences. Glancing over her shoulder, Skyler hunkered down on Con Air. Man, that bay was some horse.
She eased the pace a little, and Jessica nudged Rampage into the lead. Skyler pulled Con Air back to give Rampage room to take the jump ahead, but stayed close enough to keep up the pressure of the contest. She saw Jessica’s head lift a little in surprise. The water jump. Skyler had led them intentionally onto the cross-country course.
It took only that split second for Jessica to determine it was too late to abort the jump without risking injury. She leaned close to Rampage’s neck and urged him forward with her hands and legs. Rampage responded immediately and sailed confidently over the jump and through the water. Piece of cake. Skyler and Con Air followed closely behind.
“We did it!” Jessica yelled as she pulled the big bay up. She turned an accusing glare on Skyler. “Very crafty, Ms. Reese.” Rampage snorted in agreement. “How about I beat you back to the barn.”
“How about we walk the horses back to let them cool down.” Skyler smiled.
They walked the horses side by side for a while in companionable silence. Skyler reached over and took Jessica’s hand.
Jessica soaked up the adoring gaze directed at her. “Have I told you how much I love you?” she asked.
“I never mind hearing it again,” Skyler replied.
The young horse shifted away uncomfortably as Skyler’s dandy brush ran over his coat with the same tense speed as the thoughts racing through her head. “You’re telling me that I have to meet your mother with no advance notice? Shit, Jess. I really don’t have a good track record with in-laws.”
Jessica snatched the brush from Skyler’s hand.
“Skyler Reese, I never would have imagined you could be such a coward. First of all, my mom is going to love anybody I do, and secondly, I was just trying to find a way for her and Kate to quit dancing around each other and talk about how they feel. That’s why I asked her to come.”
“Do you really think Kate’s ready for this?”
“She’ll never be ready at the rate she’s going, and neither will Mom. They’ve wasted years of their lives because they were too chicken-shit to face things together.”
Skyler smiled at Jessica’s stern posture, elbows out and hands on her slim hips. “You’re beautiful when you’re angry,” she teased.
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Okay. You win. When is she getting here?”
“She just arrived. I’m going to go see her now and you’re joining us for dinner.”
“So I can at least get a shower and change into clean clothes? That’s a relief.”
A quick image of Skyler in the shower turned Jessica’s gaze from angry to sexy. The corners of her mouth curled in a seductive smile. “Wear what you had on the night of the fund-raiser. I could hardly keep my hands off of you at that party.” She trailed a finger down Skyler’s shirt, tracing a path between her breasts and finally hooking her finger into Skyler’s waistband to pull her closer. “Maybe I could use a shower, too.”
After a quick glance to be sure they were alone, Skyler followed Jessica’s tug and kissed her lover deeply. “Race you upstairs,” she whispered before lunging to get a head start.
Laura Black was an older version of Jessica. She had the same dark hair, but peppered with gray and cropped in a short style more fitting her age. Her eyes were the same unusual blue as Jessica’s.
“Hey, baby. How is your knee?”
“I’m doing fine,” Jessica said. The numbness from her earlier injection was wearing off, but she could still walk like she’d never been injured.
“Kate seems worried, but you aren’t even limping.”
Jessica waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Kate and Skyler are just worry warts, Mom. I’m fine. The knee just looks a little bruised from the last steroid shots I got and they’re freaking out over it.”
“Well, that’s good to know. Now, tell me about this Skyler I’ve been hearing about.”
Jessica blushed. “Skyler’s my trainer and, well…Mom, she’s the love of my life.”
Laura’s eyebrows arched. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you use that phrase when referring to a person rather than a horse. I was starting to worry.” She glanced at Kate, who was sitting next to her on the couch with her eyes shining. “Is it true?”
Jessica grinned. Having Kate and her mom together really made her feel like she had a whole family again. She wished Kate hadn’t made her promise not to say anything. Her mother hadn’t lived with anyone else, man or woman, since Kate. Jessica was convinced she must still love her or she would have hooked up with someone else during all these years.
Kate raised her hands in a “hands off” gesture. “I’m definitely not getting in the middle of a mother-daughter thing. All I’ll say is that I’ve known Skyler since she was a kid. She’s the best trainer I’ve got and more committed to the youth equestrian program than anybody who works on this farm. And,” she took a deep breath, “they both seem to think they’re head over heels for each other. I feel like carrying a bucket of ice water around to throw on them a couple of times a day.”
Jessica laughed. “Skyler’s tough on the outside, but a real marshmallow when it comes to the kids.” She walked behind the couch and leaned over to wrap her arms around her mom’s shoulders. “She’s also tall, blond, and incredibly sexy. You should see her in riding breeches.”
“Quick, Kate. Get your bucket of ice water.” Laura laughed, laying her hand on Kate’s arm. “Seriously, Jess. Come around here and sit down. I want to talk to you.”
“Oh God, Mom. This isn’t the sex talk, is it? If it is, you’re about ten years too late.” Jessica caught a warning look from Kate and realized her mother was struggling with whatever she had to say. She sat on a chair opposite her and said more seriously, “You’re okay, aren’t you, Mom? You’re not going to tell me you’re sick or something, are you?”
Her mother gave her a weak grin. “No, honey, I’m just fine.”
Jessica glanced at Kate again. “Are you going to tell me you’ve met someone, too?”
Laura gave Kate a quick, reassuring look. “No. It’s nothing like that. It’s just that…well, Jess, falling in love with another woman isn’t an easy lifestyle. I know you’ve had relationships with both men and women. I’m concerned that something I’ve done has made you take this direction in your life.”
Jessica let out the breath she was unconsciously holding. “Is that all?” She moved to take her mother’s hands, squeezing them firmly. “Mom, you know as well as I do that being gay isn’t a choice. My few relationships with men were really either close friendships or just experiments. You’ve given me every opportunity to choose men over women.” She paused and glanced at Kate. “I’m afraid that you may have given up too much for my sake. All these years you’ve never lived with anyone since Kate.”
The Parker heiress shifted uncomfortably in her chair and looked off into the distance, mumbling, “Let it go, Jess.”
Don’t worry, Kate, I’ll stop short of telling her how you feel. Carefully, she said, “I’ll always be grateful to you for bringing Kate into my life. You know how much I love her. She’s been a wonderful second parent even though she has spoiled me rotten over the years.”
Laura’s eyes filled with tears. “I just had to know, Jess. I’ve always worried that you would be influenced by my life and find it as hard as I have.”
“I’ll tell you what I have learned from you, Mom. I’ve learned not to let what other people think keep me from being happy.”
Laura looked up sharply.
“Mom, millions of heterosexual couples raise homosexual children, and the reverse is true, too. If you did anything to contribute to my sexual orientation, it was just passing along a gene that makes me love women. That doesn’t upset me.” Jessica waggled her finger at her mother. “But if I end up getting your high blood pressure gene, I’ll surely be pissed about that. But I’m glad you brought this up. I want to say something you’ve needed to hear for a long time.”
Her mother looked puzzled.
“Mom, your life has only been hard because you made it that way. I love you to death, but if you hadn’t been so freaking paranoid about how things would affect me, you may have been able to have someone to share your life with other than me.” She turned to a wide-eyed Kate. “Dinner at seven as usual?”
Speechless, Kate nodded.
“Good. I’m headed to the barn. Skyler and I will join you later for dinner.” She planted a quick kiss on her stunned mother’s cheek and strode off to Creek Barn.
Kate and Laura stared after her.
“I just can’t get used to her being a grown, opinionated woman instead of my little girl,” Laura said.
“You and me both,” Kate said uncomfortably.
The aroma of a roast with carrots and potatoes filled the room and made Jessica’s stomach growl. Watching the two older women working together to prepare the meal, she wished she could have been a fly on the wall to hear what they said to each other after she left for the barn. She hadn’t planned to trek all the way back, but she wanted to leave the house for a while to give them a chance to talk. They seemed to be doing fine.
Laura, as usual, looked elegant, even in casual clothing. She wore gray pants and a pale pink cashmere scoop-necked sweater. Kate wore a dark blue nylon running suit with a silk tank top under the jacket. As always, her sleeves were pushed up her strong forearms.
“Mom, Skyler’s very nervous about meeting you, so please try to make her feel at ease,” Jessica said. “I feel like a teenager waiting for my prom date to show up.”
Laura smiled at Kate. “She makes it sound like I’d actually be something other than a gracious hostess.”
Kate chuckled. “You do sort of have that steel magnolia face on tonight. You’re going to scare my poor horse trainer to death.” She turned to Jessica with a big grin. “Don’t worry, Jess. I’ll rein your mother in if I see Skyler start to panic and head for the hills.”
“I can see you’re both enjoying this immensely. If you don’t behave, I’ll make you sorry later,” Jessica said with mock sternness.
She heard Skyler’s knock at the front door, and shot one last warning glare at Kate and Laura before heading down the hall. Jesus, Skyler was nervous. She never knocked. She usually just stuck her head in the door and hollered.
Skyler stood on the porch, shifting from foot to foot, in the fading light. Jessica ran her eyes appreciatively over her lover’s lean body. She made faded jeans look so sexy.
“Hey, good looking. If you don’t already have a date for tonight, I’ll bet I can find you one.” Jessica paused as her appraisal reached Skyler’s footwear. “Hey, where are the boots you wore at the party?”
Skyler looked down at the topsiders she’d chosen. “Come on, Jess. I don’t want to appear too butch when I meet your mother for the first time.”
Jessica wrapped her arms around the tall trainer. “Baby, there’s nothing butch about you. You are way too beautiful.”
Skyler tried to slip out of her embrace. “What if your mom sees us?”
“Skyler,” Jessica said in an exasperated voice. “My mom is gay, too, you know. She won’t find anything uncomfortable about us touching each other. And, besides, she already knows I’m crazy about you.”
Skyler relaxed a little and hugged Jessica tight. “I like your outfit. What is that perfume you wearing?”
“Opium.”
“It’s never smelled that good on anybody else.”
“You better not be smelling other women anymore,” Jessica teased.
Skyler planted a quick kiss on her lips. “What other women? I only have eyes…uh, and a nose for you, dear.”
“Good. I have a little present I picked up for you the other day.”
“A present for me?”
“Actually, it’s for me because I get to look at you when you wear it.” Jessica pulled a gold chain from her pocket and fastened it around Skyler’s neck. A small, 24-carat gold horse head charm hung from it. “That’s why I asked you to wear that V-neck sweater. I knew you’d look stunning in it, and you do.” Jessica stepped back to take in the fine gold chain draped over her lover’s perfect collarbones.
“Well?” Skyler asked.
Jessica placed her mouth in the sexy hollow of her lover’s shoulder, then continued along her graceful neck to tug gently at her soft earlobe.
Skyler blushed. “You’ve got to stop, Jess. It’s tough enough to have to meet your mother for the first time. I don’t need my legs to wobble when I walk into the house.”
At that moment, Kate opened the door and stuck her head out. “Dinner’s ready. Are you two going to stay out here all night, or have you worked up the courage to come in? Or do I need to get my bucket of ice water?”
Jessica laughed at Skyler’s puzzled face. “Come on, tough stuff. My mom really doesn’t bite.”
Laura was in the dining room, putting the last of the food on the table. Jessica held tight to Skyler’s left hand as she led her into the room. Kate brought up the rear.
“Mom, this is Skyler. Skyler, my mother, Laura.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Black.” Skyler offered her free hand.
“Please, call me Laura.” The older woman smiled warmly and took Skyler’s hand in both of hers. “You know, this may be the first time we’ve been introduced, but I’ve seen you ride many times. In fact, Jessica and I were in the stands when you won that gold medal. You had quite a ride that day.”
Skyler began to relax. Talking horses was familiar ground. “Con Man was quite a competitor.”
“I’ve always been curious. What happens to horses like him when they’re past their prime?”
“Stallions and mares are usually retired to breed.”
“But your horse was a gelding, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah. He didn’t belong to me. The owners sold him to a fairly well-known writer. Now he lives on a Virginia farm where he only has to fox hunt once in a while. Most of his days are spent grazing in lush pastures with a warm stall to snooze in at night.”
“Sky owns a full brother to Con Man now, Mom,” Jessica said. “But he can’t keep up with Rampage. You’ve got to see him jump.”
“I’ll see him jump tomorrow,” Laura said.
“Enough horse talk,” Kate commanded. “Let’s eat and see if any of us know something about anything other than horses.”
The conversation did move away from horses for a while, but not far. The four talked at length about the center’s young equestrian program and the potential applicants Kate had asked Jessica and Skyler to help her interview. Jessica persuaded Skyler to explain her bareback lesson she gave to each group of kids, then thoroughly enjoyed retelling the picnic incident in which Charlie thought Skyler was disrobing.
“So, Laura, how long are you going to be able to visit?” Skyler asked.
“I don’t really have a schedule.” Laura glanced over at Kate. “I have a bit of news I haven’t had a chance to tell Jessica yet. I’m in the process of selling my public relations business in Atlanta. The deal won’t conclude until after the first of next year, but the buyer has already taken over management. I was thinking of traveling a bit.”
“Really?” Jessica smiled. “It’s about time you did something for yourself, Mom.”
“So,” Kate said slowly. “If you don’t have an office to get back to, why don’t you just stay here through the holidays?”
“Well, I had thought of that, but I didn’t want to wear out my welcome.”
“Honey, you are always welcome here, for as long as you like,” Kate answered breathlessly.
“Okay, then,” Laura said softly, her eyes never leaving Kate’s.
“Excellent. It’s settled.” Jessica squeezed Skyler’s hand painfully tight in her excitement. “We can Christmas shop together.”
Skyler and Kate looked grateful that the shopping plans didn’t seem to include them.
Finally, a yawn from Jessica reminded them all that the farm woke up early, about five a.m. The evening was no longer young. Skyler announced she should be heading out to the Creek Barn and Jessica stood with her.
“Walk me out?” Skyler asked.
“Walk you out? I’m going with you just like always.”
Skyler blushed. “I just thought since your mom was here.” Her voice trailed off and she glanced nervously at Kate for help.
“It’s okay, Skyler,” Laura interceded. “At twenty-six years of age, Jessica has been a consenting adult for a while now.” Her eyes narrowed in mock sternness. “But before you carry my daughter off to your bed, I do want to know what your intentions are.”
“Mom.” Jessica gasped. “I can’t believe you said that.”
Skyler smiled. “That’s an easy one, Laura. I intend to make your daughter as happy as I can for as long as she will have me. I’m crazy about her.”
Then and there, Jessica fell in love all over again. God, she was really afraid her mom would scare her off. Well, that’s one hurdle they’d made it over. She didn’t even want to think about the ones down the road.
“In that case, you have my blessing,” Laura said. “Now get out of here. You two are keeping us old ladies up way past our bedtime.”
Chapter Thirteen
The holidays went by quickly with Laura staying until mid-January, when she returned to Atlanta to wrap up the sale of her business. She was back at Cherokee Falls six weeks later, just in time to travel with them to Southern Pines for the entire month of March. One of the last things to be taken care of was a final vet exam for Rampage. They were pulling out for North Carolina the next morning. Con Air would be coming along, too, so Skyler could accompany Jessica on Rampage’s workouts. The trip would take about three hours and they planned to drive straight through to keep the time the horses would spend in the trailer to a minimum.
Skyler, Jessica, and Laura were standing in the hallway of the barn when Tory’s truck pulled up next to the outdoor ring.
“Let me talk to her first,” Jessica said. Tory had been sending associates out to the center ever since their uncomfortable parting, but Kate had persuaded her that the exam was too important for her to hand off. “I’ll wave to you when she’s ready for you to bring Rampage out to the ring,” she told Skyler.
Tory was pulling instruments and syringes from the cabinets in the back of the truck when Jessica approached. She didn’t acknowledge her right away. Jessica remained silent, waiting until she was ready to speak. After a cool greeting was finally offered, she asked, “Are you still angry with us?”
Tory let out a long sigh. “No, I guess not. I talked to Kate. She said you guys are serious. I guess it was fate, not Skyler’s normal carousing after all.” She gave Jessica a tepid smile. “I mean, I know we weren’t sleeping together or anything. I’m just sorry it was Skyler that snagged you, not me.”
“Can’t we still be friends?”
Tory nodded and smiled. “Sure. I’d like that. I’ll even give your damned trainer the benefit of the doubt, I guess. But I’ve got to warn you, I lied when I said I wouldn’t take her leavings. If Sky ever walks away, I want to be the first person you call.”
Jessica smiled. “You’ve got yourself a deal there, lady.” She grabbed Tory in a quick hug.
“Hey!” Tory juggled the syringes in her hand. “You better be careful. I almost got a sample of your blood rather than Rampage’s.”
Jessica laughed. She was relieved they had mended their friendship. She really liked the amiable veterinarian. She waved the all clear for Skyler to bring Rampage to the ring. Laura trailed behind them.
“Hey, Sky,” Tory drawled as Skyler led the stallion up to the truck. “You can drop that deer in the headlights look. Jess has talked me into putting my scalpels away.”
“I’m really sorry about how everything happened,” Skyler said. “But I’m not sorry about being with Jessica. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Well, let’s check this big guy out,” Tory said as she walked around to his neck to draw some blood.
“He’s already got a negative Coggins test. How come you are drawing blood?” Jessica asked.
“The Olympic folks have gotten so drug-test crazy with their athletes, Kate and I feel it wouldn’t hurt to test his blood ourselves before he leaves, and right before and after he competes. It’s our insurance in case the tests get mixed up or return a false positive. The Olympic vets will draw blood right before the trials begin and test random horses at the Sunday morning vet check before the show jumping concludes the event.”
“Then you’re coming to the trials?” Jessica asked hopefully.
Tory smiled. “Sure, I wouldn’t miss it.”
Skyler interrupted. “Hey, Tory. Do you have an extra bottle of Bute in your truck? Clint says he is getting low, and that old pony still founders on him every once in a while.”
“Yeah, I think so, but you better take it now or I’ll forget it later.” Tory turned to Jessica. “Jess, can you look in that bottom right drawer and grab it? I need Sky to help me with the flexibility tests.”
Jessica nodded and walked to the rear of the truck where a cabinet full of drawers held medical supplies and equipment, while the others headed inside the ring for the testing. “Did she say left or right?” She pulled a few drawers open and glanced through the tubes and syringes. Another drawer was filled with vaccines and a dozen vials of…Carbocaine!
Jessica glanced nervously at the group. They were all engrossed as Tory flexed and felt Rampage’s legs. Jessica had never taken anything in her life. Well, there was that piece of bubble gum at the drug store when she was six years old. She had later tearfully confessed it to her mother and returned to pay for it.
But she was down to her last bottle of lidocaine and they would be in North Carolina for a whole month. There was a lot of money and months of hard work at stake here. She quickly palmed two of the vials and slipped them into the pocket of her jacket.
“Did you find it, Jess?” Tory called. “Be sure you get the one that isn’t opened yet.”
Jessica quickly pulled out the bottom right drawer and located an extra bottle of the big white anti-inflammatory pills. She held it up for Tory to see. “Got it right here.”
Tory was meticulous and the exam lasted for more than an hour. She listened to Rampage’s heart, his stomach, felt his legs, X-rayed his front feet and legs, and then completed a long series of tests in the ring to check for any sign of lameness.
“Well, I think I’ve never seen a horse in better shape,” she said when she finally put her clipboard down. “The blood test will take a day or two, but since it’s just for the record, it won’t keep you from leaving for North Carolina tomorrow. I’ll go develop the X-rays and call you this evening to let you know if they turned up anything we should be concerned about. But I don’t expect to find anything.”
“Thanks, Tory,” Skyler said sincerely. “It makes me feel better knowing you’re going to be with us in Southern Pines.”
Tory smiled. They’d been friends too long to let Tory’s disappointment come between them. “I know you two have worked very hard for this. I wish you both the best of luck at the trials…and personally.”
Skyler gave her friend an affectionate hug. “Thanks, buddy.”
Tuesday morning was a great day for traveling. Mild temperatures and cloudless skies promised an easy trip. Skyler drove the farm’s new Ford 350 truck that pulled the two-horse gooseneck show trailer. The front of the trailer was a camper complete with a small kitchen, half bath, and room to sleep four. They would get hotel rooms, of course, but there was always a field where the horse trailers could be parked to provide refuge during the long days of the competition. Those who didn’t have trailers with campers would pitch open tents to lounge under while they waited their riders’ turns.
Behind the camper were a tack compartment and padded stalls. Jessica rode with Skyler. Besides the fact that the two women seemed inseparable, Jessica was designated navigator for the trip. Kate and Laura followed in Jessica’s Explorer, pulling a trailer filled with hay and feed. Skyler was always careful to carry their own feed so the horses wouldn’t have any change in their diet.
Virginia’s winter-bare hardwoods gave way to lush ever-green pines as they neared North Carolina’s Sandhills area, named so because of the sandy soil that made it ideal equestrian footing.
Skyler expertly pulled the big rig onto the field where a few early arrivals like themselves were setting up. Kate and Laura had stopped at the training center to register and get their barn assignment while Skyler and Jessica walked the horses to let them stretch their legs and graze on the winter rye grass around the trailers.
“Wow, this place is everything they said it would be,” Jessica said.
“I guess you’re more used to soggy fields that end up being mud quagmires in the spring,” Skyler said. “It is great down here. This is where Con Man and I trained. The sandy soil here dries out fast. That’s what makes it so ideal for horses.”
The Explorer pulled up next to them, and Laura climbed out of the passenger seat and stretched from the long ride while Kate issued orders. “Okay. The boys will be in that first barn over to your left. Here are their stall numbers. They said the stalls are already bedded. Laura can take Con Air and go with Jess to the barn. Skyler, you and I will unhook this U-Haul and load some feed and the tack trunks into the back of the Explorer and drive it up to the barn.”
Accustomed to traveling, the horses settled quickly in their large stalls. This barn was only for geldings or stallions. Mares were housed separately. When Kate and Skyler joined them at the barn, a thin, grizzled man wearing a security uniform stood smiling at Jessica’s side. She carried out the introductions, explaining, “Fred is the head security guy for this barn. Fred, this is my trainer, Skyler Reese, and my sponsor, Kate Parker.”
The guard squinted at Skyler. “I know this young lady. How have you been, Sky?”
Skyler grinned at him. “Great, Fred. It makes me feel better to see you’re still around. You’re good, too, I hope?”
“Well, other than putting up with my arthritis, I can’t complain.” He went on to take down their phone numbers and explain the routine, pointing out that someone called Melvin watched over things at night. “We’ve both done time in the backstretch stables at Churchill Downs before we came here, so we know horses.”
Slipping easily into his role as head groom, he pointed toward the stalls.
“Any special instructions need to be written on the clipboard on each horse’s stall door. We walk the barn every hour, on the hour, to check on the horses. If we’re not walking around out here, we’re in that office right there. We got us a fancy security system now. It beeps every time anyone comes in any door so we know to stick our head out and see who’s prowling around.”
Kate nodded, satisfied the horses would be secure. “I think we’ll just settle our boys in and go check into our hotel. We’ll come back after supper to check on them before we turn in.”
Jessica tugged at Skyler’s arm. “Don’t you think we need to tell them about Rampage?”
Skyler nodded. “Right. Why don’t you write a warning on his stall clipboard.” She turned back to the guard. “Fred, that bay stallion doesn’t take kindly to strangers. In fact, he’ll bite a plug out of just about anyone he doesn’t know. The stable hands can muck the gray’s stall, but we’ll take care of Rampage. I don’t want anyone hurt or the horse upset before the competition. Oh, and as always, I’ll feed and water my own horses.”
“Whatever you say, Sky. Hey, is that Con Man you’ve got there with you?”
“This is his brother. He’s mine, but we’re not competing. I’m here as a trainer, not a rider this time. Jess here is one of the best riders you’ll see compete and that bay stallion is good enough he might have taken the gold from Con Man if they had competed against each other.”
“Well, I sure wouldn’t mind seeing someone different take the wind out of some of these bluebloods’ sails.” The old man scratched his chin. “Especially after the way they treated you.”
“Don’t sweat it, Fred. Things work out for the best. I really love what I’m doing now. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.” She glanced at Jess.
“Glad to hear it. Get on, now. I’ll see you after supper. If I’m not here, just introduce yourselves to Melvin.”
After putting the tack trunks away and locking up the horse van and truck, they checked one more time on the boys. Con Air and Rampage were contentedly munching their hay. Laura laughed when she spotted the orange cat curled up in the corner of Rampage’s stall. “I can’t believe you brought that cat. Aren’t you afraid he’ll run away?”
“He always sticks close to Rampage,” Jessica said. “I just hang the water lower so he can reach it, too, and he’s fine. The whole stall is one big kitty box.”
Laura smiled. “I guess I’ve seen stranger things, but I can’t remember when.”
The hotel, of course, was elegant since the small town was accustomed to hosting professional golfers and wealthy equestrians. They unpacked quickly and headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant. It had been a long day, but the conservation was pleasant. Before they left, Skyler ordered two double slices of bourbon cheesecake to go.
“You’re not going to fit into those sexy riding breeches very long eating like that,” Jessica teased.
“It’s not for me, thank you very much. It happens to be Fred’s favorite,” Skyler said. “When I was hiring out as a rider, I sometimes had to supplement my income with a kitchen job at some of Southern Pines’ finer restaurants. I would swipe a piece of bourbon cheesecake whenever I could for him. In return, he would tip me off when people were looking for a rider. He helped me through some lean times.”
“You never forget friends who look out for you,” Kate said, taking Laura’s arm. “We’re going to retire and leave you young people to go check on the horses.”
Jessica smiled as she watched them head toward the elevators. She knew Kate often stayed up half the night and still rose at the crack of dawn. It was cute to see her cater to Laura’s need for longer hours of rest.
“What?” Skyler asked, giving her a gentle nudge.
“Nothing.” Jessica hooked arms with her lover. “I’m just glad to have all the important women in my life in one place.”
“You know, you don’t have to go back to the barn with me if you’re too tired. I just want to check on the boys and give Fred his dessert,” Skyler offered as they waited for the valet to bring the SUV.
“In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m grafted to your side. You’re going to need surgery to get rid of me.”
“Good God, woman. You’re going to make me wreck this vehicle.” Skyler groaned, belting herself into the driver’s seat.
Jessica leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I don’t want you to wreck my truck, but I do plan to make you beg when we get back to our room.” She smiled at the blush creeping up Skyler’s neck. She enjoyed seeing her lover react to her touch.
Skyler’s blush deepened. “You are one naughty girl. And I think I like that.”
A thin face topped by a neat crew cut appeared when they arrived at the door of the barn office. “Hey, I heard the alarm system beep. I guess you are with the Parker crew?”
“That’s them, Melvin.” Fred’s face appeared next and the two old men emerged from the office. “This is Skyler, the one I was telling you about. And this is Jessica. She’s going to be riding that big stallion with the hands-off orders.”
Jessica extended her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Melvin.”
“That your orange cat?”
“Yes, but he shouldn’t be any trouble. He’ll stay in the stall with Rampage. For some reason the horse likes him, and behaves a lot better when that rough-looking old tom is around.” She held up a can of 9-Lives tuna. “We brought his supper.”
“Well, he’s not exactly in the stall right now.”
“He’s not? Do you know where he is?”
Fred broke into a wide grin while Melvin explained. “Well, it didn’t take long for him to figure his way out of that stall. He’s in the office.”
“I’m so sorry,” Jessica hurriedly apologized. “I thought he would stay in the stall. I hope he hasn’t been a bother.”
“No trouble,” Melvin deadpanned. “But I don’t think he needs that can of cat food.”
Fred began to chuckle, shaking his head. “Seems he dispatched two mice right away. He dragged them into the office for a trade.”
“Since I had brought in a mess of catfish for mine and Fred’s supper, we shared it with him,” Melvin said. “He’s watching the basketball game with us now.”
Jessica laughed along with them as they peered into the office at the cat lounging on his back with his feet sticking up on either side of his bulging belly.
Skyler produced her gift. “Guess what I found on the hotel menu, Fred.”
Fred’s eyes lit up. “I’ll be damned. That isn’t a piece of bourbon cheesecake, is it?”
“Even better,” Skyler grinned. “There are two pieces. But I wasn’t sure if you’d still be around this late.”
“Well, since both Melvin and I lost our wives some time ago, we kind of stick together. It’s a comfortable life for two old grooms getting close to polishing their last saddles.”
“I’m glad to know that. I remember when you lost your wife. I worried about you being lonely after that.”
“How about you, Sky? You were pretty low when I saw you last.”
“I’m absolutely great. You know me. I manage to land on my feet.” Skyler placed the bag of cheesecake on the desk just inside the office. “It’s getting late, and we’re keeping you from your ballgame. We’ll just make the horses comfortable and head back to the hotel.”
“Sure, Sky. Thanks for the cheesecake, girl.”
Skyler grabbed a muck bucket and pointed Jessica toward two muck rakes leaning against the wall. Jessica slid the door back on Rampage’s stall while Skyler entered Con Air’s, and they began to clean out any droppings so the horses could lie down comfortably.
“Well, one thing’s for sure.” Jessica laughed. “These guys sure do travel well. If you were worried about the trip bringing on a colic attack, you can relax. They’re both making enough manure for a herd of horses. Does Con need more hay?”
“No, he’s fine.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Jessica said over her shoulder as she headed out.
Skyler muttered to herself as she knelt down to feel Con Air’s front legs. “You’re not going to go lame on me, are you, buddy? You never were good at traveling. If you were, you’d be on the circuit right now.” She patted the gelding affectionately. “You look okay, but I’m going to rub a little liniment on you for good measure.”
She was kneeling beside the gelding and rubbing liniment into his front legs when a chillingly familiar voice drifted over the half door of the stall.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think that was Con Man you are rubbing down.”
Skyler froze for a moment, then stood up. “Hello, Sarah.”
The petite woman’s light brown hair shone as she combed long, manicured fingernails through it, pushing the shoulder-length locks back from her face. Her hazel eyes drank in Skyler’s tall form. “How’ve you been, Sky?” she asked softly.
“I’ve been just fine.”
Melvin stuck his head out of the office door.
“It’s okay, Melvin. It’s just me,” Sarah called out. He waved and disappeared back in to the office. She turned back to Skyler. “You here to ride?”
“No.” Part of Skyler wanted to be a bitch. Sarah’s betrayal still cut deep. But part of her said it didn’t matter any longer. “I’ve been working as a trainer at Kate Parker’s center since I left here.”
“I know. Believe it or not, I’ve sort of kept up with you through friends. I was glad when Kate hired you.”
“I wouldn’t have imagined that you even cared,” Skyler muttered.
“Okay. I deserved that.” Sarah sighed.
Skyler gave her a sharp look. She hadn’t expected…well, she didn’t know what she expected Sarah to be like if they met again. They both fidgeted as an uncomfortable silence fell between them.
Sarah finally cleared her throat. “That the horse you’re training?”
Skyler glanced at Con Air. “No. This is my personal horse. The horse I’m training for the trials is that bay stallion in the next stall.”
Sarah walked over and read the clipboard on Rampage’s stall. “I know this horse. Greg Knowles has been campaigning him. He’s not bad, but he’s inconsistent.”
“Jessica Black is riding him now. She and Kate co-own him.”
Sarah gave Skyler a sharp look. “Jessica Black? I thought that accident put her out of commission. Joe Sorenson mentioned it just the other day.”
Skyler smiled. She’d counted on the Sorensons to tell everyone about Jessica limping around on her cane. “For a while, yes. But she’s back, and you better be looking over your shoulder for her if you’re competing. They’re more impressive than any team I’ve seen on the circuit in a long while.”
Sarah stiffened. Before she could reply, Jessica strolled in with Rampage’s full hay bag slung over her shoulder. She slowed her stride to size up the scene she seemed to be interrupting. Sarah looked her over carefully.
“Hi.” Jessica stuck her hand out, and forced a gracious smile. “I’m Jessica Black.”
Too schooled in polite manners to respond any other way, Sarah returned a stiff smile and gave her hand a weak shake. “Nice to make your acquaintance. I’ve seen you ride. I’m Sarah Tate. Well, it’s Sarah Duke now, but I still use my maiden name on the circuit.”
Jessica felt her face freeze for a split second. So this was the famous Sarah Berrington Tate. No wonder Skyler looked like her dinner hadn’t agreed with her.
“I’ve seen you ride, too,” Jessica said smoothly. “Are you here to compete?”
“I am. I didn’t know you were back on the circuit. I’m surprised to see you recovered so soon.”
She turned to Skyler and gave her a warm smile. “I’ll see you around, Sky.” She nodded at Jessica. “See you in the arena, Jessica.”
Skyler didn’t return the smile. “Are you ready to go?” she asked Jessica. Without waiting for her reply, she set off quickly in the opposite direction of Sarah’s exit. Jessica quickly secured the hay bag, and then hurried to catch up. When she stepped through the barn’s doorway and into the darkness, a long arm grabbed her. Skyler leaned against the side of the building and pulled her into a tight embrace. Her mouth hungrily sought Jessica’s and her arms squeezed so hard, Jessica could hardly breathe.
“Sky, honey, are you okay?” she asked between short breaths.
Skyler relaxed her hold and buried her face in Jessica’s neck. After a moment, she spoke without raising her head. “I knew it would be hard facing this crowd again, but I guess I didn’t really know how it would feel.”
Jessica was quiet, but her heart was racing. “Do you still have feelings for Sarah?”
“I don’t know what I feel. A little sad, a lot angry, and at the same time somehow indifferent. Maybe I wanted her to look like she had suffered some, too. Like it had hurt her as bad as it hurt me. She tossed me away like a bad habit, though, when I stood between her and her father’s money.”
“She lost more than she gained,” Jessica said, feeling Skyler’s hot tears on her neck.
“Getting blacklisted on top of having my heart broken was just too much,” Skyler said. “I felt like the worst piece of trash you can imagine. It felt just like when my father would beat me while he screamed about how worthless I was.”
Jessica’s heart ached for her. “Sky, you shouldn’t need anybody to tell you what a great person you are, but I will.” She took Skyler’s face in her hands and looked deeply into her eyes. “You are the sexiest, most beautiful, most caring, wonderful lover a woman could have. I love to watch you work with the kids at the center. They all adore you. I adore you. Kate adores you. You have lots of real friends, and they’re not from a crowd whose friendships go only as far as money or last names. Hell, Rampage even likes you, and he doesn’t like anybody else but me and Peach.”
This drew a small smile from Skyler.
“You don’t have to be here if this is too painful,” Jessica said softly. “You’ve done your job. Rampage and I can finish this.”
Skyler brushed her lips with the softest of kisses. “I love you, Jess. I can face anything as long as you’re next to me.”
Jessica hugged her tight. “And that’s where I’ll always be, as long as you let me. Let’s go, baby. We’ve had enough excitement for the day.”
Skyler’s kiss was slow and deep and tender, and filled with promise, reassuring them both that their bond was growing stronger every day.
Chapter Fourteen
The emotional bonding of the previous night had clicked something in place between Jessica and Skyler. They seemed to anchor each other, unconsciously finishing each other’s sentences and tasks as they worked together to saddle the horses. There were sometimes long, comfortable silences because words were not necessary to feel their completeness.
Jessica felt Skyler had finally fully opened her heart to her. She had revealed two of her deepest hurts, her father and Sarah. Jessica considered that trust a precious gift. That’s why it ate at her that she still withheld a terrible secret of her own. She was terrified Skyler would again feel betrayed if she discovered the true condition of her knee and what she was doing to still be able to ride. She knew she had to figure out how to tell her.
But the morning was crisp and sunny as she followed Skyler and Con Air down the wide, sandy paths, and Jessica pushed those despairing thoughts aside while Skyler carefully timed Rampage’s gallops. The workout wound up with a long walk back to the barn to cool the horses down. The training facility had begun to teem with other riders, trainers, stable hands, and horses, but Skyler and Jessica didn’t hide their affection for each other. Skyler insisted she didn’t care who noticed. They’d already done their worst to her. Jessica thought she saw Sarah sitting with her trainer in the bleachers of the outdoor ring, watching another competitor practice over the show jumps. Her binoculars, however, had been trained on her and Skyler for the past few minutes. She studied them for a while longer before lowering the glasses and saying something to the man next to her.
After she walked away, leaving him there, he moved his binoculars to his eyes then dropped them with a jerk. He left the bleachers too, in the stride of a man who’d just seen something he didn’t like. Jessica concluded he must have recognized Skyler on a horse that looked just like Con Man. Her heart raced suddenly. She hoped coming here was not going to create trouble. Jessica knew, despite Skyler’s assurances, there were still people here who would stick a knife in her back.
Plenty of them were there to watch later that afternoon, when Jessica and Rampage floated into the dressage ring, relaxed and completely in sync. She took him fluidly through the elementary maneuvers usually required at a three-day event: medium trot, working trot, halt, salute, circle, half-pass, extended trot, circle—in a freestyle exhibition both horse and rider usually enjoyed. Others milling about outside the ring began to stop and lean against the rail to watch the superb stallion. Without even a glance to acknowledge the growing crowd of onlookers, Jessica asked Rampage to execute the more difficult movements required in at the higher levels of dressage, the piaffe and passage. The crowd was quiet, as though they were holding a collective breath.
Sitting next to Laura and Kate, Skyler said, “This isn’t part of their training. She’s just plain showing off now.”
The corners of Jessica’s mouth curled in a slight smile as Rampage smoothly transitioned into difficult flying changes, a skipping movement at a canter in which the horse changes his leading front leg every stride. Finally, after a flawless pirouette, the pair came to a halt in the center of the arena and saluted.
Jessica finally broke her stoic composure and a big grin spread across her face. The crowd smiled back and applauded their appreciation.
“Yeah, but can he jump?” one bystander called loudly.
Kate couldn’t resist. “Jump? Hell, that’s what he’s really good at,” she replied just as loudly.
Skyler shook her head and turned to Laura. “That daughter of yours, she’s just incorrigible.” But she could hear the pride and adoration in her own voice.
“Huh!” Laura sniffed, raising her chin in an arrogant gesture. “She’s just showing the competition what they’re going up against.”
Jessica’s heart soared with the applause as she and Rampage exited the ring. Waiting at the gate for their turn to practice was Sarah and her chestnut Thoroughbred mare. Sarah touched the end of her dressage whip to the bill of her riding helmet in a salute.
“He’s magnificent,” she said. “He never looked that good when Greg Knowles rode him.”
“Thanks,” Jessica replied with a gracious smile. “He and I just seem to click together.”
A trace of envy tinged with sadness briefly altered Sarah’s face. “You may be too hard of an act to follow,” she said before trotting off into the arena.
While the emotional high of the day had kept Jessica’s mind off the increasing ache in her knee, there was no mistaking that the most recent injection was quickly wearing off. Every step was becoming excruciating and she had to concentrate to keep the knee from giving way when she walked. It wasn’t unusual for her limp to return after a day of riding, but Skyler noticed her gait as soon as she entered the barn.
“Hey, Miss Invincible, I think you should go back to the hotel and take care of that knee. I don’t need the horse or you to go lame this close to the competition.”
Jessica hesitated at being separated from her lover even a few hours, but she could see from the expression on Skyler’s face there was no point in arguing.
“Go on now,” Skyler urged. “I’ll stay and take care of the horses. It will give me a chance to see who else is here to compete and catch up with my old buddy, Fred.” She pulled her into Rampage’s stall for privacy and gave her a long kiss. “I’ll be back at the hotel by seven if you can make Kate wait that long for dinner. I’ve got the keys to the truck. You guys take the Explorer.”
Jessica sighed and laid her head against Skyler’s breast. “How can I rest without my favorite pillow?”
Skyler gave her a light slap on the rear. “You’ll rest a lot better without me to tempt you into other things. Now go!”
Back at the hotel, Jessica leaned back and closed her eyes in relief as the pain pill kicked in. The knee was badly swollen, so she climbed onto the bed, elevated her leg on a stack of pillows, and piled on several ice packs.
Laura knocked lightly on the bedroom door before entering. “Hey, sweetie. How’s that leg?”
“It’s fine, Mom. I guess I gave it quite a workout today, and it’s swelling some. It will be fine.”
“Let me look at that knee Skyler and Kate are so concerned about.”
Jessica hunched protectively over her knee and shooed her mother away. “I just got comfortable with the ice packs in exactly the right place. You don’t know how hard that is. I’ll show it to you later.”
Laura looked suspicious. “You’re being evasive.”
“You guys going somewhere?” Jessica asked, changing the subject.
“Well, I wanted to do a little shopping, but Kate’s idea of shopping is a visit to the golf pro shop. So, I guess we’re going to the clubhouse for a drink. Kate says she wants to see who else is here. I really think that she just wants to go gloat after that display you and Rampage put on this afternoon.”
Jessica grinned. “I’m happy I could contribute to her fun.”
“Skyler’s right. You are incorrigible.”
After Kate and Laura left, Jessica was restless, having already napped earlier in the day. The hotel suite was too quiet. She iced her leg for nearly an hour, thumbed through a few magazines, then switched on the television. After an hour of flipping channels, she clicked it off. She missed her partner, damn it. She pulled on some loose sweatpants and called a cab to take her back to the equestrian center.
Skyler had rubbed Rampage down and strolled the competitors’ barns to see who else was showing up for the trials before joining Fred in the barn office to catch up on each other’s lives. Fred was impressed as Skyler chatted on and on about the Young Equestrian Program.
“It sure sounds like you like it there,” he told her.
“Things ever go sour for you here, Fred, you just call Kate or me. I can guarantee you a place on the farm if you ever want to move to Virginia,” Skyler said earnestly.
Fred clapped her on the shoulder. “Thanks, Sky. I’m happy right here for now, but I’ll always keep that in mind.”
“Well, it’s about time for me to feed the boys and think about heading back to the hotel. Kate’s good nature wears thin when she’s hungry. And when that happens, you don’t want to be the one holding her up from eating dinner.”
The old man followed Skyler into the barn’s wide central hallway. “Skyler, I’ve got to ask you something.” He shifted on his feet and stared at the dirt floor of the barn.
“Sure, Fred. Anything.”
The old man seemed to struggle to form his question. Guessing at his reason, Skyler assured him, “Jess isn’t like Sarah, Fred. She’s the real deal, the best thing to ever happen to me.”
He looked sharply down the barn hallway, as if checking to see if they were alone. “No, it’s not that. It’s just. Well, I’ve seen a lot of things when I worked the race track and…well, you’re not doping that horse, are you?”
In equestrian sports, it was the horses, not riders, who were forbidden from using drugs to hide an injury or enhance performance. Skyler was incredulous at the suggestion. “Doping Rampage? Whatever for?”
“Well, you see, Melvin was emptying out the trash in the tack room and found a used syringe. He’s insisting that nobody but you and your rider had been in there since he had emptied the trash earlier.”
“You know me better than that,” Skyler said. “I would never show a hurt horse. Rampage hasn’t had a lame day since he came in my barn.”
The old man straightened the slump in his shoulders. “That’s exactly what I told him. He’s just an old coot. Probably got mixed up and just thought he had emptied the trash earlier.” He scratched his head. “Still, somebody is shooting up something around here. Keep your eyes open, okay?”
“Yeah, sure, Fred.” Skyler’s mind raced through the possibilities. She turned toward the horses’ stalls. Surely not. Still, it couldn’t hurt to be as cautious as possible. “Hey, if you have that syringe, maybe you should get the head of security to test it to see what was in it. I don’t want to think this could happen, but maybe somebody is trying to sabotage the competition.”
“Right you are. Melvin should have thought of that himself.” He headed back to the office, mumbling to himself. “Old fart. Trying to say my friends were doping a horse. I should have busted his chops right then and there. He’s going to owe them an apology when we find out what was in that syringe.”
Skyler went immediately to the tack room to look around. There were other horses in the barn already, but only a couple of trainers were storing their tack boxes in that room. She unlocked the boxes that had come from the center. The first trunk carried leg bandages and vet wrap, halters, brushes, and other things for the horses. The second trunk carried the riding habits, helmets, and boots Jessica would wear in the competition. Nothing seemed to be missing.
Skyler lifted a pouch from beneath one of the jackets. A bottle of Carbocaine slid out into her hand. She’d helped vet enough horses to know it was a numbing agent. Why would Jess have brought this along? Was there something wrong with Rampage that she was afraid to mention? Puzzled over what she’d found, she poured the horses’ dinner into their feed pails and carefully checked each animal over. Maybe Jess’s showing-off had attracted some unwanted attention. It took a lot of money to campaign one of these horses to the top. People harbored resentments. Or maybe it was about her. Maybe someone was trying to set her up.
“That’s some pretty heavy thinking going on in there.”
Skyler turned as Sarah slid the stall door back. She walked over to Rampage and ran an admiring hand over his sleek shoulder. “You were right. He and Jessica are pretty hot in the ring.”
“Careful,” Skyler warned. “He has a tendency to bite anyone he doesn’t know, and he means business when he does.”
But the stallion only snuffled Sarah’s hand before he went back to his dinner.
“Well, how about that,” Skyler said, rubbing the back of her neck. “That is definitely a first. He never takes to strangers.”
“Maybe I remind him of Jessica.” Sarah stared at the stallion so she didn’t have to meet Skyler’s eyes.
“You are alike in some ways, but very different in others,” Skyler said.
Sarah stared at the floor, her expression bitter. “Different in the way that counts, I’m sure.”
Skyler didn’t know what to say. “We’ve both moved on.”
“No, Sky. I have to say this. I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I was a gutless debutante addicted to my father’s money.”
She swept watery hazel eyes up to Skyler. “Walking away from you was the worst decision of my life. I was just so scared. I could hardly live with how deeply I hurt you. What you don’t know is how bad I hurt myself by losing you.”
Skyler shifted uneasily. This wasn’t a memory she wanted to revisit alone here with Sarah. She wished Jessica were with her. “It’s not worth digging up old bones, Sarah.”
“I need you to know that, as painful as it was, it made me grow up a lot.” Sarah caressed Skyler’s cheek. “As much as it hurts me to see you with somebody else, I’m so glad to see you are happy.” Her sadness hung heavy over them as her eyes searched Skyler’s. “You used to look at me the way you look at Jess. I can tell how much you care for her.”
At that moment, Skyler realized her love for Jessica far surpassed what she’d once felt for Sarah.
Sarah’s hand left Skyler’s cheek and cupped the back of her neck. A tear trickled down her cheek as she planted a soft kiss on Skyler’s lips. “Just be happy, Sky. You deserve that more than anyone else I know.”
Skyler watched as Sarah turned and quietly left without looking back. “Good-bye, Sarah,” she said softly to no one but herself.
She felt stunned by Sarah’s visit. Stunned, but relieved. The hurt she’d carried around for so long could finally begin to heal. She realized that what had happened hadn’t been a cold, calculated betrayal. It had been the action of a scared, immature young woman. That revelation seemed to erase the small, lurking insecurity that Jessica could one day do the same. The thought of her lover filled her with an urgency to wrap her arms around her and hold her close.
Skyler checked the water buckets. Satisfied the boys were bedded down for the night, she latched their stall doors and turned to leave. At the last moment, she remembered the vial and syringe she had set on a ledge outside the stalls. Picking them up, she studied them in her hand. Before she could take a step, her cell phone vibrated against her hip. She frowned as she glanced at the unfamiliar caller ID and flipped the phone open.
There was nothing but silence. “Hello?” she repeated.
“Sky?” Jamie’s thin voice was plaintive. “You said to call you if…”
“Jamie, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
The girl began to sob. Skyler took a deep breath. Okay, one problem at a time. “Calm down, James, and tell me what’s going on.” Her concern grew urgent as the sobs continued. “Do you need somebody to come help you now? I’m not in town, but I can get Clint over there in just a few minutes.”
“I’m not at home. It’s so awful, I can’t stand it,” she wailed.
“Slow down, honey. Start at the beginning and tell me what’s happened.” She waited patiently as the sobs slowed to hiccups and sniffs. When the words finally came, they were so rushed she had to listen closely.
“Dad got a job driving a load to California, then another to Canada. He won’t be back for weeks. He and Mom had a big fight just before he left because she just couldn’t stand the thought of him being gone so long. Dad said he couldn’t turn it down because the pay was so good.” The girl’s voice turned bitter and old beyond her young years. “He was hardly out of the driveway before she opened a fresh bottle. She drank for a while, and I hoped she would just go to bed. But she just got madder and madder. She said it was my fault because I was growing so fast I always needed clothes and stuff. Dad is always gone, she said, because he has to make enough money to pay for my stuff.”
“You know that’s not true,” Skyler reassured her. “She just needs someone to blame. But finish telling me what happened.”
Jamie’s voice was strangled with tears. “She hurt me really bad this time, Sky. She broke my arm. A neighbor called the police. They took me to the hospital and Mom’s in jail.”
Skyler choked down the fury that welled up at the news. But Jamie didn’t need her anger right now. She needed safety. Skyler kept her voice calm. “Oh, James, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to stop her. Are you at the hospital now?”
“No. That was yesterday. Now they’ve taken me to some kind of orphanage or juvenile hall or something. They said they’re going to put me in a foster home until my dad gets back. Please, Sky. Come and get me. I’m so scared.”
“Don’t you worry, Jamie. I’m on my way now. Will you be okay there tonight? I’m in North Carolina, about three hours away, but I’ll be there first thing in the morning. I promise you, I’ll do something about this.”
“I didn’t know anyone else to call,” Jamie sniffed. “They can’t get in touch with Dad while he’s on the road. He only picks up messages during his rest stops. Mom is out of jail, but I can’t go home until Dad gets back.”
“You did the right thing calling me. Don’t worry, kiddo. You just rest easy tonight. I’ll be there in the morning. Kate and I will take care of everything.”
“Okay, Sky.”
Skyler ended the call and immediately phoned the hotel room, but got no answer. The next number she dialed was Kate’s cell phone. She was relieved when she heard her friend’s voice.
“Kate, thank God you had your phone on.”
“Something wrong, Sky?” Kate’s voice was overly loud and jovial. She’d downed several Manhattans as bragging rights had turned to friendly wagers with some old friends at the clubhouse.
“Damn. Where are you? I hope Laura hasn’t been drinking as much as you sound like you have.”
“Hey, I’m just having fun. We left Jess at the hotel. We’re at the clubhouse, laying down a few wagers.”
“How about letting me talk to Laura?”
She heard Kate hand off the phone to Laura, saying, “Spoilsport. She wants to talk to the sober one.”
“Sky? Something wrong? Is Jess okay?” Laura was sober and concerned.
“I guess she’s still at the hotel, but she must be asleep. She’s not answering the phone. Listen, Laura. I’ve had an emergency come up back in Cherokee Falls. I’ve got to drive back tonight.”
“What’s wrong? Shouldn’t Kate or Jess go with you?”
“No, Jess needs to stay here and stick to her training schedule. Kate needs to help her. I can’t go into details right now, but when you get back to the hotel, I need Kate to call me with the phone number for her lawyer, George Brumley. She can call my cell phone. If I’m out of range, tell her to call my apartment and leave the information on my answering machine.”
“Her lawyer? Are you in some kind of trouble, Skyler?”
“Not me, Laura. You just have to trust me.” Skyler didn’t know if she could say more because the Young Equestrian Program had strict confidentiality rules.
There was a short silence. “What do you want me to tell Jessica?”
“Tell her that I’ll be back late tomorrow or the next day. She knows the schedule we’ve mapped out for Rampage. Just some slow trots and walking tomorrow morning and a little jumping tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’ll tell her.”
What was that she heard in Laura’s voice? Doubt? Irritation? “Laura…”
“Yes?”
“Tell Jess I love her. She can call my cell phone tonight after you guys get some dinner.”
“I’ll do that, Sky. And dinner’s not a bad idea. I think Kate could use something to eat instead of another Manhattan.”
When the cab stopped at the gate of the equestrian center so the driver could talk to a security guard he knew, Jessica flagged him down. The sun had set quickly and clouds had moved in to make the night a very dark one. She sank back in the seat and asked the driver to take her to the Marriott. She was still shaking.
She’d been grinning at the thought of surprising her lover, as she’d neared the barn. Bright lights illuminated the interior. What she saw slowed her stride, then stopped her dead in her tracks. Sarah and Skyler were talking. Jessica watched Sarah caress Skyler’s cheek, and Skyler didn’t pull away. She saw the kiss, and Sarah’s upset expression as she’d walked away. She hadn’t jumped to conclusions. She knew Skyler’s heart. There had to be a good explanation.
Jessica took a couple of deep breaths to settle the green-eyed monster that was threatening to rise up again. It wasn’t the kiss that bothered her, but what came afterward when Skyler vanished for a few minutes, then appeared studying something in her hand. Jessica had recognized the vials immediately. Oh, shit! She wasn’t ready for this. How could she explain without Skyler being hurt and furious? Her greatest fear was that the discovery would send Skyler back into Sarah’s conveniently outstretched arms. She needed time to think about what to say when Skyler confronted her.
Her mind racing and gut churning in fear, she stared out the car window into the night. She needed to come clean before Skyler reached her own conclusions. But what if Skyler insisted that she withdraw from the competition rather than risk permanently injuring her knee? What if she felt like Jessica had betrayed her by violating the trust between them? This isn’t about her, this is about me! Hey, and what about her kissing Sarah? She knew that Sarah had initiated the kiss. She also knew in her heart that Skyler didn’t want Sarah, but, damn, love wasn’t rational. It still irritated her and tugged at a tiny insecurity. The very thought of losing Skyler was like a jagged knife lodging in her chest. No, no. She wouldn’t think about that. She has to know I love her more than anything. But not enough to be honest, the voice in her head reminded her.
Jessica didn’t know what she would do if she lost Skyler. Sweat made her palms clammy. She wanted to tell the driver to hurry. When they finally pulled up at the hotel, she threw cash at him and limped frantically toward the elevators. But she hesitated as the doors opened. Kate and Laura were probably back in the suite by now, and she wasn’t ready to face them. Her mother would know immediately that something was wrong and ask a million questions.
Only a few patrons were scattered among the small tables in the hotel’s bar, so Jessica took a seat. A few drinks would calm her down, and having some time to think would help her decide what to say when Skyler returned.
Kate settled their dinner tab and was trudging across the lobby toward the elevators when Laura seized her arm. “Look.”
They paused in front of the hotel bar where a very drunk Jessica was demonstrating for an amused bartender the advanced dressage movements she and Rampage had wowed the crowd with that afternoon.
Kate caught her as her attempt at a pirouette nearly landed her in the middle of some other hotel guests’ table. “Whoa, your little celebration here makes mine look like a Sunday school class. Why don’t we take you upstairs?”
Laura frowned at her daughter, and then turned to the female bartender. Laura’s “gaydar” pinged loudly as she glared at the attractive young woman. “You know you could be sued for serving drinks to someone this inebriated.”
The bartender shrugged. “She really didn’t have that many drinks. The last drink I poured for her was a virgin. Besides, I knew she was a hotel guest. I’m coming off duty in a few minutes and would have made sure she got up to her room okay.”