They won the class without much challenge. After the award presentation, Vince only had time to hand off Xander’s reins to Dustin, pull off his helmet, and declare, “That ribbon’s yours.” Then he was pulled back by the host of the online livestream.
The first questions were routine: “What did you think of the course design? What was your strategy for the jump-off?”
Vince gave his usual answers with his usual polite smile: “The course design was great. For the jump-off my strategy was to go fast and clear, of course. I cut out a few strides where I could and took the corner between jumps three and four as tight as possible. And my partner never let me down.”
The next question shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it caught Vince off guard.
“So, today being Valentine’s Day, is there a special someone you want to dedicate this win to? Or are you still looking for a valentine?”
Vince hesitated for only a moment, and once he started speaking he didn’t hold back. “Uh, yeah. I would say this is for my really awesome boyfriend, Dustin, who is nice enough to be here as my groom and to keep me sane.”
The man’s smile faded just a bit, but his voice didn’t change. “Well I’m glad you have someone here for you. Congratulations on your win once again.”
“Thank you,” Vince replied with a smile and a nod, then moved on to deal with the other routine questions and photographs.
It was over an hour before Vince could head back to the stables. On the way he pulled his phone from the inner pocket of his coat and texted Cade, knowing that he was likely still awake at home. He was the one updating all of Vince’s professional social media on Saturday nights, an arrangement he’d offered to Dustin after the first week. Otherwise Dustin would be staying up for at least another hour after he finally finished with Xander, which led to a post lacking in much detail while he tried to stay awake. Vince made his own periodic updates, but he let Dustin and Cade cover the important things he didn’t have much patience for. They always found and shared links to the videos that the show website put up immediately after the class, especially his interviews.
He wanted Dustin to see this one, but it seemed shallow to him to show Dustin the video himself. Luckily, Cade was happy to help out.
Xander was sleeping in his stall when Vince stopped to see him, but he woke up when he sensed Vince. With a quiet little nicker he came up to the door and stuck his head out.
Vince smiled and rubbed the star on Xander’s forehead. “Good job tonight, buddy,” he whispered.
Xander started to fall back asleep as he stood there, his head dipping low, and Vince had to smile even more widely. He leaned down and kissed Xander’s face before murmuring “good night” and heading back to the trailer.
The sound of the shower greeted him as he walked in. He set his phone down on the table to change just as Dustin’s phone lit up from the center of the table. Vince glanced at it and smiled when he saw it was Cade’s text coming through. Before the screen faded he also noticed that there was a message from Eve from two hours before. Which meant Dustin hadn’t even used his phone since before the jump-off. So there was no way he would have seen the interview at all yet.
Vince changed out of his show clothes and threw on a T-shirt and sweatpants. He had just finished changing when Dustin emerged from the bathroom dressed in his own pajamas.
“My turn,” Vince declared, pausing to give Dustin a quick kiss as he passed him.
In return, Dustin reached up and ruffled Vince’s hair. “We really need to find a place to get haircuts. You especially.”
Vince grinned. “Don’t insult my helmet hair. I like it.”
Dustin just laughed.
Vince was too anxious to see Dustin’s reaction to the interview to take a very long shower. Not that he wanted to be in the claustrophobia-inducing thing any longer than needed to begin with. When he returned to the main part of the living space, he found Dustin sitting at the table, scrolling through his phone. When he saw Vince he quickly wiped his eyes.
Vince really didn’t think crying was a good thing.
But Dustin laughed as he put his phone down. “Holy shit, Vince.”
“What?” Vince asked.
“You actually said that!”
Vince looked at him for a long moment, trying to understand Dustin’s reaction. “I can’t tell if you’re happy or pissed off.”
Dustin laughed again. “I’m happy. Like, really fucking happy. I can’t believe you did that. Do you know how many people watch the livestream? Especially now that you’ve made yourself and Xander a name here? They literally promote the Saturday night Grand Prix by dropping your names. ‘Watch Vincent Anderson and Sir Galaxy in this upcoming class.’ They’re adding more livestreams to the program just so they can show every class you’re in. It used to be only Saturday night and Sunday afternoon that they streamed. Now it’s everything you’re in. I’m not even joking—I’ll show you the website.”
“I feel like I should be getting royalties or something out of that deal,” Vince joked, sitting down beside Dustin. “You don’t need to show me. I believe you,” he added when Dustin picked up his phone again.
Dustin shrugged and set the phone back down. “Plus, have you even looked at the stands lately?”
“I try not to,” Vince admitted. “It just feels weird to see almost no one watching during the week, and the place packed on Saturday night and half-packed on Sunday.”
Dustin laughed. “Fucking God, Vince. Look next time. Sundays are just as packed as Saturday nights now. Every other day is at least half-full.”
Vince stared at him. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. They’re all coming to see you. Well, you and Xane.”
“Fuck.” Vince ran a hand over his face. If it was this crazy at six weeks, what would the last week be like? The attention from the other riders and the equestrian paparazzi should have been enough of a hint to him that something like this was going on.
“And,” Dustin added quietly, “you do realize that soon your winnings just from this show will hit half a million dollars?”
Vince leaned back against the seat and stared at the kitchen window across from him, arms crossed over his chest. “Wow.”
“So do you regret that interview now?” Dustin’s voice was guarded.
Vince turned to look him in the eye. “Hell no.”
“I thought you didn’t want to be out while you were competing.”
“I don’t feel that way anymore,” Vince replied, shaking his head. “Even if I had been paying attention to everything else, I still would have said that tonight. I’m done hiding, especially if I’m the free promotion. I want my identity.”
Dustin leaned over and hugged him. “I fucking love you.”
Vince grinned and hugged him tightly. “I fucking love you too.”
Chapter Nine
APPARENTLY VINCE’S coming out via the show’s livestream hadn’t lost the competition any spectators, because when Vince went to walk the course Sunday afternoon, he took a moment to look at the stands like Dustin had told him to. And Dustin had been right: the stands were just as full as they were on Saturday nights for the big money classes. Sure, Sundays were Grand Prix days, but the prize money wasn’t as high as the Saturday night classes, so there wasn’t usually a big crowd.
Holy shit.
Vince briefly let himself consider asking to get his stall rental fees reimbursed for drawing so many people in, but didn’t take the thought seriously. There was no parking or admission fee, so there wasn’t a lot of money to be made from this. Except for the vendors. The food vendors must have been making a killing.
And there didn’t seem to be a lot of disappointment with him and Xander placing second instead of first. They still hadn’t placed below third in over twenty classes, though. He had a feeling the show website and its media outlets would make sure to remind people of that.
ON MONDAY morning Dustin asked another groom who he had become friends w
ith to check in on Xander. Then he and Vince followed Jason’s directions to the polo field a few minutes away. They stopped at the guard booth at the entrance to the parking lot and explained what they were doing there. The guard gave them parking instructions and waved them on their way.
Jason met them when they parked and led them to the field, explaining as they walked, “Monday mornings are light practice days because they just competed yesterday. Kyle is cool with letting you meet Trix later.”
For being a light practice day, there was a lot of high-speed action on the field, which Vince found pretty intense to watch. He could only imagine how much more exciting a match would be. Most of the time he caught himself expecting to see riders fall when they leaned down to hit the ball while galloping across the field, but the riders were incredibly talented and he didn’t see a single person take a fall.
But he spent much of his time watching Dustin, who was obviously awed by what he was watching. He hardly took his gaze off the field, and he spent most of the time with his mouth open. Vince lost count of the number of times he heard him whisper, “This is so cool,” and it made Vince smile each time he heard it.
At the end of the hour-long practice session, they were introduced to Trix, Kyle’s chestnut thoroughbred mare. Vince decided that if he ever had a reason to, he would try training a horse for polo. It would be an interesting challenge.
THE NEXT afternoon they settled on a chain restaurant a short drive from the showgrounds for their belated Valentine’s Day lunch. The interior was equestrian themed in case anyone had forgotten they were in an equestrian town.
Vince was absorbed in texting his dad an update about his upcoming classes and interviews while they waited for their food and was startled when Dustin kicked his foot.
“What?” Vince asked, catching the annoyed look on Dustin’s face. “You were just on your phone.”
Dustin shook his head. “There are three guys sitting at a table behind you. They’ve been harassing the two girls in the booth next to them since we got here. Probably before then too.”
Vince glanced behind him and saw a group of three young guys in identical college hoodies grinning like jackasses. One of them was leaning toward a booth where two college-age girls were trying to eat.
“Hey, seriously,” the guy laughed. “We’ll pay for your lunch if you just make out a little for us. I know I saw you kissing in your car before you got out.”
“Oh, hey,” another guy asked, “do you eat out often?”
The group erupted into laughter at the stupid joke, and Vince felt his jaw clench. Even if the girls asked to move, the dining room was small and they’d never be out of the assholes’ line of sight.
Their food arrived then and Vince asked the waitress quietly, “Could I talk to your manager?”
The girl’s face went pale and she nodded. “Of course.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Dustin assured her quickly. “It’s about the guys over there.”
The waitress looked relieved. “I’ll go get him.”
It didn’t take long for her to return with the manager, a middle-aged man in a button-up shirt and tie. His name tag stated that his name was Bill. In the meantime, Vince had heard one of the girls tell the guys to shut up, which hadn’t changed the situation at all.
“How can I help you?” Bill asked politely.
“Those guys over there have been harassing the girls next to them for at least twenty minutes,” Dustin explained. “They’ve been asked to stop and they won’t.”
Bill nodded. “I’ll deal with them.”
“And I want to pay for their lunch,” Vince added. “Not the guys’. The girls’.”
Bill smiled. “That’s very kind of you.”
Vince watched as Bill walked over the booth where the girls sat. “Are these gentlemen bothering you?”
“It’s fine,” one of the girls answered.
Bill waved a waitress over, who dropped a stack of checks and some to-go boxes on the guys’ table. For once, the group was quiet.
“Pay and leave,” the manager commanded. “I’ll wait.”
The guys made several arguments about “just having lunch” and “just messing around” but paid for their meals and packed up their leftovers. After they had left, the manager turned his attention back to the girls, his voice too quiet for Vince to hear. One of the girls looked straight past the manager and met Vince’s gaze with an expression of clear gratitude. Vince just smiled faintly and nodded.
The girls left after a few minutes, or at least Vince assumed they had. He was surprised to find them waiting outside the door when he and Dustin left a short time later.
“We just wanted to thank you,” one told him. She had short dark hair and dark skin, and wore glasses over her brown eyes.
“Yeah, those guys were such assholes.” The other girl was much paler, with long blonde hair and hazel eyes. They were both dressed in jeans and plain sweatshirts, but Vince noticed their paddock boots. “We just didn’t want to start anything.”
“That’s the only reason I didn’t tell them off myself,” Dustin admitted. “I wanted to.”
Once Vince had seen what was going on, he’d felt the same way. “I’m just glad the manager listened to our complaint and kicked them out.”
“Well, we owe you,” the first girl replied. “But we aren’t making out for you either, just FYI.”
Vince raised an eyebrow and he heard Dustin laugh.
The other girl elbowed the first. “Carla. Don’t you recognize who he is?”
The first girl—Carla—looked at Vince for a long moment before realization crossed her face. “Oh shit, I’m sorry! That was so rude of me.”
Vince had to laugh. “It’s fine. And you don’t need to do anything for us. Honestly.”
Carla gave him an awkward smile. “Well, thanks again, then.”
The other girl nodded. “Yes, thank you.” She turned to Carla. “We should get going so you can ride today before your class in the morning.”
Carla sighed heavily. “I told you, Jenny, I’m not going to compete tomorrow. I don’t care if I can’t get my money back. I can’t do it without Meredith to help me.”
“But she said you’d be fine without her,” Jenny argued. “You know how to ride, and I’ve watched enough of your lessons to be able to help a little, I think.”
Vince and Dustin took a step back to give them more space. While Vince felt awkward being there for what was clearly a private conversation, he also felt that leaving without saying good-bye would be rude, even if he didn’t know these girls at all.
“I can’t compete in my first show without my trainer,” Carla declared.
“But she’ll be disappointed if you don’t,” Jenny replied, crossing her arms.
Dustin turned to Vince and leaned close, one hand on Vince’s arm. “Do you think you could help?” he murmured.
“I don’t train riders,” Vince murmured back. “I’m not good at that. Only horses.”
“You taught me how to ride,” Dustin pointed out softly. “You give everyone at home advice all the time. And you plan to teach Hunter. Plus, you know this sport. Can’t you help for a day or two?”
Vince raised an eyebrow. “It seems you like her.”
Dustin shrugged. “She reminds me of a friend from my past.”
It was Vince’s love for Dustin that made him agree silently to Dustin’s request, despite wishing he knew about this friend. Someone from the streets, or someone from before that?
There were things Vince didn’t push about.
Jenny and Carla were still arguing and didn’t notice when Vince took a step closer—or maybe they hadn’t noticed him step away to begin with.
“I could help,” Vince offered, speaking above their arguing.
They both stopped and looked at him, clearly surprised.
“I’m not a professional trainer,” he clarified, “but I’m sure I could help out.”
Carla shook her
head. “I can’t afford to pay you what your time would be worth. And you already helped us once today.”
Vince waved the concern away. “I’m offering because I want to help. I’m sure you’ve worked hard to get here and it would be a waste for you not to compete, whatever the circumstances.”
“Her trainer’s husband had a heart attack this morning,” Jenny explained. “She says he’s going to be okay, but in the hospital for a while. She’s with him, where she should be.”
Carla nodded. “I want to believe that I can compete without her, but it just feels like a disaster waiting to happen. I’m going to need advice and a pep talk.”
“I can do that,” Vince assured her. “And I really would be happy to help. Are you going back to work with your horse now?”
Carla nodded. “I really would appreciate the help. Thank you.”
Vince got the details of where Carla’s horse was stabled and agreed to meet her there once they made it back to the showgrounds. He had never coached anyone other than himself at a show before, so this was going to be a very new experience for him.
“Thanks for agreeing to help her,” Dustin said on the short drive back to the showgrounds. “Let me know how it goes.”
Vince glanced over at him in confusion. “You don’t want to come with me?”
“I want to, but I don’t want to be in your way.”
Vince put a hand on Dustin’s knee. “You won’t be. I want you with me.”
Dustin put a hand over Vince’s. “Then I’ll be there.”
“Thank you.”
VINCE GOT a happy surprise when he met Carla’s horse. The big bay gelding was introduced to him as Magnus, and Vince needed to take only one look at him to know he was a thoroughbred.
“Where did you get him?” he asked. “Is he off the track?”
Carla didn’t even look up from grooming Magnus when she answered, “Yeah. I bought him off my old trainer before I moved from New York to Virginia. I saved up for a year to buy him and pay the transportation fees.”
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