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“Austin Bowman,” he said, probably tipping his hat, but Charlotte couldn’t look at him, not without losing the composure she had just regained.
“The Austin Bowman?” Emilia said. “We saw your event earlier. Everyone says you and your partner are set to win the Nationals.”
“We’ll see,” Austin said with a reluctance to his voice.
“That was always your dream,” Charlotte said, unable to hold the words back, and she bit her lips in response.
“Yeah, yeah, it was.” His words had such finality to them.
“Oh…it sounds like I’m interrupting…a reunion of some sort?” Emilia’s eagerness thrummed almost palpably.
“Austin and I…went to high school together.” She busied herself with the last checks of Apollo for the night.
“Oh, I see.” Emilia’s excitement only grew. “Did you guys know each other well, then?”
“Very well,” Austin said, and she felt his stare hard on her back.
“Well,” Emilia cleared her throat, “then I’ll let you two go back to catching up. I was just letting you know dinner was ready, but I’ll keep it warm for you.”
“I’m coming. Food is always best hot off the grill,” Charlotte said, steeling herself for having to walk past Austin.
“Oh, well,” Emilia said, trying unsuccessfully to catch Charlotte’s eyes and turning to Austin.
“You’ll be around tomorrow?” Austin asked, the hope lining his voice only making Charlotte’s throat swell further.
“Oh, yeah, Charlotte won second place. We’ll be here for the awards ceremony.” Emilia smiled at Charlotte.
“Congratulations,” Austin said. “Maybe we could celebrate after the ceremony?”
“I don’t…” Charlotte started.
“That would be wonderful! Wouldn’t it, Charlotte?” Emilia took her arm, smiling even more broadly. “We’ll see you then!”
Charlotte’s mouth dropped, and the constant quivering only intensified when a sigh of relief came from behind her as Austin closed and pinned the gate.
“I’ll look forward to catching up more with you then, Charlotte.” His voice drew out her name as it always did, making it sound sweet and exotic. “Nice meeting you, uh, uh…”
“Emilia,” Emilia said, grinning from ear to ear. “See you tomorrow!”
Charlotte grabbed her arm and pulled her down the aisle, knowing that he watched her the entire way, his eyes boring into her, reading her soul. She built up the barrier around her heart, feeling the walls strengthen as she turned the corner, cutting off the connection of his gaze. She shuddered, and a half sob escaped before she caught it.
Luckily, Emilia was too busy rattling on and on about the handsome Austin and how it was so amazing that Charlotte knew him from school. “He said you knew each other very well…was that why you looked at him like you did?” Emilia tugged on Charlotte’s arm. “Come on. You never tell me the good stuff. Did you and Austin date?” she asked in a shrill voice.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Charlotte muttered, shaking her arm loose and striding toward their trailer.
“Oh my goodness, you did, didn’t you?” Emilia half-jogged to keep up. “Did you break his heart?” She grasped Charlotte’s arm again.
Charlotte shook it off, quickening her stride.
“He looks like he has a broken heart with those intense, sad green eyes.” Emilia ran ahead of her and stopped her before she could open the trailer door.
“I didn’t break anyone’s heart,” Charlotte said, her lip quivering, and pushed past her into the trailer. Then she spun back toward her friend, her rage filling her. “He was the one that chose the blasted rodeo over me.”
Emilia stood blinking for several seconds. Feeling foolish, Charlotte slunk into a seat at the table, dropping her head into her hands. At this moment, she only wished to be alone so she could finally release the sobs that longed to escape. Her chest shuddered with the restraint of the built-up emotions. She tried to replay her conversation with Austin, but it only brought more pain until her eyes stung and finally welled. With a sniff, she wiped her eyes, pushed up from the table, and hid in the bathroom, where she finally allowed herself what she desperately needed while holding a towel to her face to muffle the sounds of her sobs.
THREE
Austin paced the small interior of the trailer he shared with his brother. The only thing that kept them from killing each other was they each had a bedroom with some sort of privacy screen. The trailer was massive by all accounts, being able to hold up to three horses, though they usually only had Buckley and Turbo, and having the two bedrooms and several pullouts. Yet, the room to pace was quite limited.
