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She peered at them both over the rim of her sunglasses. “I had someone to do.”
“What could you possibly have to do right now? That—”
Braulio elbowed him, flushing bright red, but Lana answered gleefully for her.
“She said someone, not something.”
“You played me!” The look on Zhair’s face was priceless.
“Don’t be so naive then. Come on. I want to run Urs through more drills while he’s back at the office.”
They both followed her back, grumbling back and forth, but Braulio peeled off to go get the tack, while Zhair continued to complain.
“I don’t know what you see in Nas. He’s my cousin and all, but he’s no fun. Too serious, follows all the rules, barely talks. Literally your opposite.”
“Better than a man who can’t catch a hint and shut up before he gets knocked out.”
Lana giggled, following her as she slipped through the fence, moving to the barrels gathered on the left side. Bailey had been putting her flags, cones, balls, and toys inside them when she was gone, but the second she began pulling them out, Ursula and several other horses started moving around, playfully bumping each other in excitement.
“Come on, Lana. I’ll show you how dumb men are when they think they know everything.”
Ursula followed them, curiously sniffing at Lana and occasionally pawing at the ground impatiently. When Lana giggled, murmuring praises, she turned around to see Ursula holding a cone in her mouth. She put her hands on her hips, smiling at the beauty, and Ursula backed up and trotted off, dropping the cone near the back gate.
“She’s extra playful today, isn’t she?”
She looked up at Zhair, who had brought her halter to them. “Yeah, she is.” She pointed at Ursula, but speaking to Lana, she gestured towards the toys strewn all over the pasture now. “This girl doesn’t need to be broken. She knows everything, but she’s so bored. She’s made for more than giving trail rides to some kids. Tuisa needs to get out of the dark ages and realize horses have more needs than the ones they are focused on.”
He shrugged. “What can I do? I’m the spare to the spare.” He saluted dramatically. “Here for business purposes. And Lana will never get taken seriously.”
“He’s right. My dad will never change. Maybe Makaii, but I can’t see him suddenly caring about switching up a business model that’s worked for almost two centuries.”
Bailey liked Lana. She was quick, highly intelligent, and she desperately needed to get out of this pack. After a week of getting to know her, she wondered if Makaii would ever let his sister leave. Lana wanted to be an obstetrician, and she was taking as many online basic college courses as she could, acing all of them, hoping her brother would let her go to medical school when he took over.
Lana was hopeful, convinced Ava had changed him, or at least Ava could convince him, but Bailey wasn’t so sure. Just dealing with Nassau, she had learned that the men in this pack were stuck in their ways. If it wasn’t broken to them, they didn’t need to fix it.
Maybe the system wasn’t broken for all of them. But for many women, it was skewed. The traditional roles left so many without choices, even the men. Hell, look at Nassau. She knew he didn’t want to take his father’s job. She wasn’t sure he wanted to train for the rest of his life either but look at him right then. Doing what was expected of him.
Maybe Lana had a fighting chance. She saw the problems, and she wanted out. One thing she had going for her was the supportfrom both Nubia and Ife. They would help her. They just needed the men around here to wake up.
For two hours, they took turns with all the horses hanging out in the pasture, throwing them balls, running them through the cones, and generally having fun with them. Lana mounted one of the others and ran her through the cones and balls, racing her around and having fun.
But Ursula was doing more than having fun. Like Bailey, she meant business. She wanted to learn everything, and then some more. Every trick or turn she taught her, she wanted more. She was smart, and all her intelligence and skills were being wasted on groundwork she didn’t need.
It was clear she loved Nassau, and that’s why she was patient with him, but enough was enough. She’d be a successful barrel horse. She was fast, intuitive, and loved the thrills of the moment. Maybe even become a jumper with time. So, when they rolled the barrels out today instead of just cones, she felt Ursula’s excitement. Braulio still approached with caution, unused to seeing Ursula so willing to take a saddle.
Monday, she had been cautious too, playing with her a bit, then riding her bareback through the cones, and letting her run free without commands. Then, she took the blanket and saddle readily, excited to learn things with Bailey. Each day they went further and further. Honestly, she could have shown up Nassau on Tuesday, but she was pretty sure he would stop her if he saw, and she wanted to see how much Ursula could pick up in five days.
At the end of the day, they helped Braulio and a couple others bring in all the horses, cool them off and get them bedded down for the night when she realized Nassau still hadn’t come to say goodbye.
“He’s not going to come out, is he?”
“I told you, he’s moody. You’re lucky he’s been so talkative with you.”
She snorted at that while they walked to her Jeep. “Well, the stalker emailed me again today. Sent a video of Isaiah walking around on the mating tour. So, it won’t be long now. I can go back to my life, and he can go back to his. He can be happy when I’m gone. The world will be right again.”
There was an awkward silence as they loaded in the car, but it didn’t last long.On the drive home, Zhair chatted away about the big family dinner planned, excited about the different types of food, and Lana asking Bailey questions about her parents, and how she was raised in Aisling.
“How did you convince your parents to let you go on tour?”
