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She swallowed. Nodded. “I came to, lying there in the dirt. The arena had gone silent. Chase was long gone. He’d tumbled, rebalanced, and run straight out the chute.” She shrugged. “Mom wasn’t there to dust me off and plop me back up there like when I was little.”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“The worst part was Dad’s face. Complete terror. He packed me up, took me home. Terminated the lease agreement for Chase. That was that.”
“I thought back then that you’d just outgrown it or something.” He offered a teasing smile. “Grew up and got more interested in boys than horses.”
“As if.” But he’d pulled her mind out of that dusty arena dirt. She took a deep breath. “I never told Dylan at the time. He was at a youth retreat.” She shrugged. “By the time he even asked about it, it was all a done deal. I’d moved on to theater and kayaking.”
He nodded, his green eyes on her.
“I didn’t tell him the whole story until the summer after I graduated high school, when I turned down—of all things—a horse camp position. I still love them—still think they’re incredibly beautiful. I just can’t ride anymore.”
He nodded, scrubbed his hands over his face. “What do you want to do?” His shoulders hung. His voice faltered. “I—I can’t do this alone. Is there anyone else you can call?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t found anyone yet.”
“I think the kids need this.” His raw voice scraped Beth’s resolve.
She had the sense Grayson wasn’t a guy who asked for help. Ever. “The kids need this—I need this. This is my opportunity to have a real career—something I’m passionate about—but I don’t know how,” she whispered. If she didn’t find a way to make camp happen, she’d watch her dream job slip away. “I don’t know how to overcome the past.”
She lifted her shoulders and dropped them, shaking out the tension and nodding like she was about ready to take on a kayak relay. She tried to still her trembling hands.
“Come on.” He held out a hand to her in invitation.
She hesitated. She could hear Vivien’s words of encouragement.Get out of your comfort zone.
He lifted two halters from a hook near the storage bay. “You okay?”
You were…fearless.
“I’m not afraid of being near them.” She wrinkled her nose. “I just don’t get on them anymore.”
“Well, that’s something.” His green eyes landed softly on her, just like they had on the horse he’d been working with. “You can do this.” He had the nerve to wink at her. “It’s like riding a bike.”
“Because bikes have brains and free will and flight instincts.” She crossed her arms.
“Well—”
A crash from behind the barn interrupted him.
Without a word, they both took off running for the paddocks.
five
Grayson reachedthe pasture gate within moments of the crash. His heart sank as Tally limped midfield, looped strands of wire fence loose across the tall grass.
The other horses scattered in the paddock, fleeing the disruption, then resettled.
The mare stopped, her left hind leg contracted off the ground.
Beth pulled up next to him. “Oh no!”
He unlatched the gate. “That’s one of the new horses—”
She hung back when he entered the paddock. “One of the wild ones?”
“She’s been mistreated. She’s not wild.” But she was unpredictable—not that he blamed her. And he’d done zero to earn her trust.
