Page 25 of Quiver

“That’ll be her,” Fletcher sighed. “She’s got a knack for making an entrance.”

Right on cue, Kylie swept into the barn, dusting snow from the shoulders of her coat and stomping her low-heeled boots to clear them. She glanced up, her expression shifting from indifference when she noticed Fletcher to something sharper as she recognized Ava.

Bear started forward as if to put himself between them. Fletcher sensed the same kind of warning in the air but commanded the dog to stay.

He stopped, immediately dropping to a seat between his moms, but couldn’t resist a little whine at wanting to go farther.

“It’s fine,” Kylie said. “He won’t bother me.”

“You don’t know that,” Fletcher said. “He’s a big dumb baby most of the time, but he’s protective of his moms.”

“Moms?” Kylie arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

Fletcher nodded to Ava.

Kylie’s eyes darkened as she scanned the woman between them as the silence stretched. “How quaint. Did you two keep each other’s class rings or letterman jackets, too?”

Ava shifted uncomfortably, but Fletcher rolled her eyes. “Kylie’s more a cat person, not that she has them so much as she identifies with them, like when she doesn’t know how to retract her claws.”

Kylie’s low rumble of a laugh sounded entirely too put-on for Fletcher to take seriously, but Ava clearly didn’t know how to respond. “I better be going.”

“On my account?” Kylie asked, as if she liked the idea of running her off.

“She and Bex live in the city part time.” Fletcher tried to quickly undercut the sense of power she saw her building. “They’re going for New Year’s.”

“Ah yes, the city doctor with the golden hair and the light eyes.” Kylie looked from Ava to Fletcher and back again and her shoulders relaxed slightly. “Your range is impressive.”

“You can go on into the arena,” Fletcher deadpanned. “I’ll join you when I’m ready.”

Kylie shrugged and headed that way, stopping only briefly to scratch behind Bear’s ears as she walked past. “Enjoy your time away, Ava.”

Fletcher waited for her to stroll completely out of view before forcing a grin she hoped didn’t make her look queasy, and meeting Ava’s concerned gaze. “See. We’re fine. Nothing to worry about here.”

Kylie wandered around the vast, open space. The floors were covered in a rich, sandy sort of dirt, and her feet sank in a little, but she appreciated the loamy warmth to the chill she’d left behind her. Or maybe she’d brought it with her. Something about seeing Ava in Fletcher’s space still caused frost to spread through her veins. She wasn’t stupid. She understood the city house and handsome doctor indicated Ava’s complete entrenchment in a different relationship, and little Miss Small-Town-Sunshine didn’t strike her as the kind to pine for something lost, but just because there was no possibility of a present threat didn’t mean Kylie could just forget she’d ever posed one. Something powerfully proprietary pushed up in her, and a huge chunk of her hated that, but she couldn’t ignore her killer instincts when they concerned anyone who’d ever held the power to make her feel as small and helpless as Ava once had.

“You have to stop.”

She turned to see Fletcher leaning up against the doorjamb, long and lean with her jeans tighter at the top and loose over her classic work boots. “I’m serious, Kylie. Ava’s not your enemy.”

“But she is your ex.”

“No, you’re my ex. She’s my friend.”

Kylie’s stomach tightened at both the distinction and the steel in Fletcher’s voice. “What does it matter? She’s leaving. Out of sight, out of firing range.”

“And out of your attitude,” Fletcher added. “I didn’t sign up for head games. If you’re not here to train, you can go.”

She sighed. “Fine, I’m happy to get to work. Shall I saddle up Winston, or do you want me to work with Gabrielle?”

“You won’t be riding today,” Fletcher said with a hint of amusement. “Or tomorrow … or even this week.”

“What? I thought you were going to teach me mounted archery. Shouldn’t I be mounted to do that?”

Fletcher snorted softly. “What you do with your personal time doesn’t matter to me in the least, but in my arena, you’ll keep your boots on the ground as long as I tell you to.”

She didn’t miss the allusions, or the force behind them, but Fletcher wasn’t just dealing in double entendre because she could. She fully intended to keep her grounded, which was unacceptable.

“We only have a little time. You can’t work some kind of power trip because I like to ride. I need the accelerated program.”