Page 70 of Winning Winnie’s Hand

“I also placed high enough to go to the qualifying rounds for Equestrian Eventing at the Olympics,” she said matter-of-factly.

His eyebrows shot up, his lips parting. “Seriously?”

She nodded.

“That’s incredible.”

“Thanks,” she murmured.

“No, really. You must have been amazing.” He blew out a breath, then his brow pulled together. “So, what happened?”

She knew this would come next. “Goldie spooked. I fell hard on the ground and lost my chance.” She shrugged. “That’s all.”

He shook his head. “But you didn’t try again?”

“Nah, I didn’t bother. My dad…” She froze, forgetting to censor her words. “We thought it wouldn’t be worthwhile to train again for so long. I just had too much else going on with school, and work, and family stuff, so I quit.”

“You quit the competitions?” he asked in clarification. He was no longer brushing the horse, fully enveloped in her story.

“Yeah. And riding.”

His brow furrowed. “Altogether?”

“I just didn’t have the time anymore,” she lied again.

In truth, it was Dad. It had all been Dad.

The memory of his cruel words rushed over her in unrelenting waves.

“It’s time to get your head out of the clouds and stop embarrassing the Knox family name, Winifred. You can’t make a career out of riding horses.”

Winnie winced at the memory. She’d begged him to reconsider. She’d joined honors societies and special clubs, participated in countless extracurricular activities, created service projects, earned her Associate’s before graduating early from high school—all of it to impress Dad to allow her to continue riding on the side.

But none of it had been enough. She hadn’t been enough. The minute Dad had seen her fall off the horse during qualifiers, he’d stopped her riding altogether.

“I’ll quit training, then,” she’d said. “Just let me keep riding for fun. I’ll pay for Goldie’s boarding, food, everything.”

“And who is going to pay for the embarrassment you’re going to keep causing us?” Dad had retorted. “Honestly, Winnie, falling off a horse in front of so many people?”

Winnie had been riding since she was a child. She knew being thrown and horses being spooked was bound to happen, but Dad didn’t care. He sold her palomino that same week and forbade Winnie from ever riding again.

The pain from the memory fully returned as Winnie took in the sight of Nightshade, his kind eyes and relaxed ears, gorgeous coat and smooth hair. And suddenly, she was overcome with a regret so poignant, she could hardly breathe.

She never should have stepped foot in the stables. Not only had she erased more than a decade of building up tolerance for not being around horses, but she’d also just revealed way too much to Matthew—a guy she wasn’t sure she could even trust with such knowledge.

She pulled the comb away from the horse at once, taking a step back as tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn’t do this any longer.

“Are you all right?” Matthew asked, concern in his tone.

Winnie strapped on a smile and tossed the comb into the bucket nearby, averting her gaze at once. “Yeah, of course. I just…I-I remembered I’ve got a few emails to respond to before the end of the day.”

Matthew nodded in silence. He didn’t believe her, but Winnie didn’t care. She needed to get out of there.

“Thanks for your help,” he said softly.

Winnie nodded. “Tell Ava congratulations on learning her letters,” she said, gathering her belongings on the bench outside of the stall.

She waved over her shoulder and fled from the stables, not daring another glance back at Matthew or his horse. She wouldn’t allow herself to fall into this miserable trap from her past.