Page 23 of Enticed
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender as I tried to compose myself. Her lips twitched, but she pressed them together to conceal her amusement. “You’re the best barrel racer I’ve ever seen. No one is as fast as you. You are speed. Speed is you.” She cracked then, letting loose an unladylike snort as her shoulders shook with laughter.
“Stop,” she pleaded breathlessly, clutching her stomach. “You’re terrible at this.” We continued to laugh and joke as we ate breakfast and got ready for the day, moving and existing in the same space with an ease I hadn’t expected. When it was time for warmups, we headed to the horse stalls to prepare Juniper for the race and just like this morning, we worked together like a well-oiled machine. I watched as Jasmine took her around the pen a few times, looking for any areas of concern, but found none. She was ready.
I watched with a mixture of nervousness and pride as she trotted toward the chutes. There was no doubt in my mind that she was going to do great, but could she win? This was a big event, and she had some pretty tough competition, but if she could stay focused and keep her turns tight, she had a damn good chance.
I held my breath as they announced her name, and I waited for her race to start. She entered the arena at full speed, and the air whooshed from my lungs.
“Go, baby, go,” I chanted under my breath. Just like her last race, she sped around the barrels. When her run was over and her time was announced, I jumped up and clapped like my favorite team had just won the World Series. “Yes,” I shouted, watching her name rise to the top of the leaderboard. Hers was the time to beat, and not one person there managed to do it.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
JASMINE
The past two weeks had been utter chaos at the ranch. A severe windstorm uprooted an old tree near the pasture where our rescue horses grazed, taking out a section of fencing in the middle of the night. No one caught it before letting a couple horses out to graze, and they got loose. Gabe and Rowan spent all morning tracking them down and the next few days cutting up the large oak and hauling off the wood, then repairing the fence.
Two new rescues arrived and immediately needed veterinary attention. I wasn’t sure what their situation had been, but judging by the murderous look on Rowan’s face when he arrived home with them, the conditions he found them in must’ve been bad.
The only time I saw Gabe was when I pitched in to help the ranch hands and when I gave Rory riding lessons, which meant we were rarely alone. The only time I got him all to myself was in the early morning hours before Cody and Jeremiah started their chores. Gabe had made a habit of getting to the ranch early, and every morning I brought him breakfast and stayed to chat. Weonly got fifteen to twenty minutes to ourselves, but it was long enough to discover new things about each other.
Still, I couldn’t wait to get on the road again, to finally be alone with him once more. I missed our banter and singing at the top of our lungs while we listened to music that came out before either of us was even born.
Now that it was time to head to my next race, I was itching to get back on the road. This time, I let Gabe choose the playlist, and we spent the next four hours listening to nineties country. He belted out every word to “Shoulda Been a Cowboy” like it was his anthem and only turned the music down long enough for his evening call with Rory.
He was in a hurry to get Juniper settled in once we got to our destination, and I couldn’t figure out why until I got out of the shower and saw that he already hadTheVampire Diariesqueued up on the TV. He’d already prepared my snack tray with a few additions I recognized as snacks he liked, and my blanket was neatly folded on my side of the sofa.
“Can’t wait to see what happens next, huh?” I teased, plopping down next to him and curling my legs under me. I spread the blanket out over my lap and snatched a few of his chocolate-covered raisins.
“It’s getting late. I want to get this episode started because I know you won’t go to bed until we’ve watched it,” he claimed, hitting the fast forward button as soon as Damon’s voice announced, “Previously onThe Vampire Diaries.”
“Don’t you want to see the recap? It’s been two weeks since we watched the last episode,” I reminded him. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, and something like guilt flashed across his features. “Wait a minute. Did you watch it again?”
He hesitated, shifting uncomfortably in his seat before admitting, “Maybe.” I narrowed my gaze at him suspiciously, and he glanced over at me quickly like he could feel mypenetrating stare. “Okay,” he relented, “I may have spent the past two weeks binging the series from the beginning so I could get caught up.” I barely suppressed a grin, pinching my lips together until they ached. He rolled his eyes and huffed. “I was tired of being completely lost and you kept asking me questions, but I had no clue what was going on,” he explained in a rush.
“Sure,” I replied, not even trying to hide my skepticism. “Admit it. You love this show.”
He shot me a scathing look, his nose wrinkling in distaste, and I could no longer hold back my laughter. He tried to keep his scowl in place, but the corners of his lips twitched.
“Little Menace,” he grumbled under his breath. He tried to act like he was irritated, but he still let me rest my head on his shoulderandeat all his Raisinets.
I sat astride Juniper,lost in my thoughts as I waited for my turn to race. Gabe was somewhere in the crowd watching and probably rubbing his back like an old man. I’d woken up in the big bed once again with him curled up on the sofa bed. Since he probably hadn’t slept well, I let him sleep in and made our breakfast.
I’d slept like a dream on the queen-sized pillow top mattress. It was a nice change from when I traveled with my dad since I was usually the one stuck sleeping on the sofa bed, and he snored. Gabe, thankfully, did not. He was much more tidy than my dad too.
I didn’t want to think about my dad and Gabe in the same context, so I pushed them both from my mind and focused on the race. The rider before me finished her run and passed back through the gate. I took a few deep, cleansing breaths as I waitedfor the announcer to call my name. Then I was off like a rocket, shooting out into the arena, focus dialed in and eyes trained on that first barrel. We sailed around it smoothly, the turn tight and precise. I rounded every barrel the same way, moving with a fluidity that had taken years to master.
When my run was over, I pulled back on the race to slow my horse and listened for my time as we trotted past the chutes. Gabe came into view, and I locked eyes with him just as the announcer's voice came over the loudspeaker. My mouth fell open when they called out my time. It was just under fourteen seconds, the fastest I’d ever seen at this venue.
Gabe was jogging toward me now, a huge grin splitting his face. My chest squeezed at the pride shining in his eyes.
“Holy shit! Did that really just happen?” I said, pulling Juniper to a halt in front of him and swiftly dismounting. I was so high on victory and still in disbelief that I wasn’t paying attention when I landed. Pain shot through my ankle as the joint rolled, and I slammed into Gabe’s chest. He caught me with an “oomph” and wrapped his arms tightly around me. A pained cry fell from my lips and Gabe pulled back, his eyes scanning over me and searching for any signs of injury.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, eyes filled with worry.
“My ankle,” I groaned, leaning down to rub the joint. “I-I landed wrong.”
“We need to find somewhere for you to sit down. Can you walk?”
“I think so,” I said, nodding. He grabbed a hold of Juniper’s reins and leaned down so I could wrap an arm around his shoulder for support. I tried to walk, wincing with each step. Gabe cursed under his breath.
