She gained the stands at the opposite end of the chutes as the usual rodeo princesses carrying flags galloped past and exited. Krista scanned the crowd for Alyssa or Will’s parents, but it was hopeless among the few thousand gathered. Her eye caught a screen with a slideshow featuring Will. His picture and name, a quote from him about how every kid deserved to get up after they fall, and his ride where he’d been bucked off.
Krista had not seen the ride before. She stood, riveted to the screen. The horse bucking madly, Will leaning to the outrider for the dismount, the twist, and then Will flying through the air to land crumpled on the ground. And the riderless horse not stopping, kicking at Will. Krista’s heart pounded as if it was real, as if she didn’t know that Will would survive and be around for her to touch and hold.
This was the paralyzing fear that Janet had experienced. A fear borne from love. But a fear that had corroded Krista’s love for him. She’d spent their brief relationship worried sick for him. And it wouldn’t end until he finished this ride. Maybe then she could get beyond her fear, and find something else, something more that rose above their differences.
If he lived through this ride.
A girl with a Ride for the Kids button waved a pack of tickets. “Get your tickets. Win gift cards, saddles. Grand prize is a purebred mare from the Claverley Stables. One for ten. Two for fifteen.” Krista shook her head. She’d already donated the man she loved to this ride.
The rodeo announcer came on. “And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for—”
And dreading.
“Will Claverley’s Ride for the Kids. If you haven’t bought your ticket, you have a few minutes left. Tickets must be purchased prior to the end of the ride, and folks, the ride only lasts ten seconds.”
The girl was swarmed, as the announcer began to detail Will’s rodeo history. He’d been disqualified from his first ride in the junior rodeo because he’d lied about his age, inflating it by a year in order to meet the minimum requirement.
Everyone laughed while Krista seethed. It was a miracle he hadn’t been injured sooner. Was he going to catch up on his quota of injuries on this last ride? Break a leg, bust ribs, snap his spine.
Because that could happen. Drawn like a slasher movie fan to scenes of horror, she looked again at the screen to see the horse lash out at Will crumpled in the dirt. The same horse that Alyssa had arranged for him to ride tonight.
The rodeo announcer’s voice continued. “Will agreed to have this video run, even though for some it’s tough to watch. He wanted everyone and especially the kids to see that we all fall and each of us can find a way to get back in the saddle.”
“Or not,” Krista muttered. “You could stay out of the saddle and live another day, you arrogant twit.”
Two buckle bunnies shot her dirty looks and moved closer to the chutes. Through the railings, she could make out Will in his trademark blue checkered shirt and the horse. That horse.
Alyssa had nearly squealed with excitement when the same bronc was booked for Will. And the announcer played it up. “Will is taking on his old rival, Tosser. And let me tell you, Tosser’s attitude hasn’t sweetened over time.”
As if on cue, the horse banged inside the enclosure, and the gate shuddered.
“Please step away from the railing.” A burly security officer spoke to Krista and she released her grip on the fence. Just as well, she’d seen enough.
She closed her eyes and pictured Will easing himself into the saddle. It would only be seconds now. The handlers leaned over to do a final check.
All eyes were on Will now. Waiting for his nod.
Krista felt more than heard the gate release. Her eyes flew open.
The horse came out, all four feet lifting off. Will made it worse, raking the horse’s sides with blunted spurs, and Tosser whipped and twisted. Will rode the swings, head all the way back against the horse’s haunches. Tosser broke into a series of fast donkey kicks.
“Please, please, please,” Krista begged Tosser, Will, time itself.
The buzzer blared and Will had stuck the ride. The horse didn’t seem to care. He kept right on bucking and the outriders crowded close to loosen the girth strap on Tosser and for Will to transfer over.
It was in that transfer that things went wrong. Tosser rammed against the outrider’s horse and it stumbled sideways. Will fell, the hooves of two horses all about him.
Krista didn’t remember climbing the fence. She would’ve cleared it, except that the same security officer grabbed her ankle. But she had the momentum and tumbled into the arena.
She slammed to the ground, winded. She couldn’t move. She saw a second outrider cutting Tosser away from Will, both horses on a dead gallop for her. The outrider’s horse started to brake, hooves high, but Tosser’s wild eyes latched on to hers—
Krista held up her hands in a desperate effort to save herself.
* * *
FOR FIVE NIGHTS NOW, Will had woken from the nightmare of Tosser charging at Krista, a replay of a cold hard fact.
The bronc had earned his owners a good living from his dedication to nailing anyone who came into contact with him, and that had been exactly his intention at the sight of Krista lying in his way. But because Krista had raised her hands, his front hoof had barely clipped the palm of her right hand. X-rays showed two broken metacarpals. She would have a full recovery.
Now almost a week later, he hoped their relationship would have one, too. He considered it a small victory that Krista had agreed to come out to the ranch for a family barbecue. Every last single Claverley in attendance glided over the fact he and Krista were technically no longer a couple. Perhaps they were too distracted, Krista included, by how Dana and Keith very much were.
He bumped shoulders with his tomboy best friend when they were alone in the kitchen. “Good job getting little brother to see the light of day.”
“I heard that,” Keith said, rounding the corner. “Remember I crossed home plate before you, big brother.”
Well, tonight, he’d try to hit this one out of the park. He slipped away to the barn to start the process. When he returned, everyone had spread away from the outdoor dining table to the deck chairs.
“There you are,” his mother said on the swing set with his dad. Everyone was paired up: Laura and Ryan, Dana and Keith, his parents. Krista was wedged in with Austin on one of the same chairs he’d hauled to the gazebo for her speed spa.
“Let me cut his hair,” Krista said, combing Austin’s curls with the fingers of her good hand.
“You’ve only got the use of one hand,” Dana pointed out.
“I’ll have it back in a month. How about then?”
Dana bit her lip. Keith put a hand on her knee. “I’m sorry, Krista. But we can’t rush into this.”
Dana managed to both scowl and smile at Keith’s teasing.
“I’ve got some hair you can play with,” Will said and stopped. “Okay, I heard that as soon as it came out. I’d like to show you something, Krista.”
Krista dropped a kiss on Austin’s curls. “I better go before Will jams his foot any farther into his mouth.”
Once clear of the house, Will took Krista’s uninjured left hand and guided her to the barns. She stopped, her running shoes skidding to a brake on the grass. “You promised me I wouldn’t have to ride. Right in the emergency waiting room, you promised.”
“And you won’t,” he said. “Not tonight, not ever if you don’t want to. But I think you’ll enjoy this.”
“You’re not going off riding either, are you?”
“Not tonight, but I’ve been riding since the rodeo, yeah.”
“I meant in another rodeo.”
“Those days are over. Officially retired.”
“No matter if Alyssa—or anybody for that matter—comes to you with another request for a charity ride?”
“Yes, we’re done. After seeing you in that rodeo arena, I know the taste of heart-in-mouth. I won’t put either of us through the wringer again.”
Her blue eyes shone, and he slid his arm around her waist, pulled her close, leaned in for—
Her phone chimed and she gave it a peek. “Phillip.”
Trust the jerk to cut into his evening alone with Krista.
“I’ll deal with him some other time,” she said.
Another time Will might not be around to help her through it. He released his hold on her waist. “Take it.”
Krista tapped her phone. “Hey, Phillip. You’re on speaker, so Will can hear you, too.”
“Hey,” he said, and added, “okay.”
Krista said nothing, and Will didn’t care to make it easy for the guy who’d spent the last couple of months interfering in their lives. Phillip cleared his throat. “I was calling to say that I saw the video of you down at the rodeo.”
Who hadn’t? Alyssa’s camera had been rolling. It showed his confused expression as he’d quickly rebounded to his feet after the fall and wondered why the crowd wasn’t applauding. Then he’d seen Krista, flat on the ground, and Tosser charging. He didn’t remember running but the video proved it. It had tracked his run across the arena, him kneeling at her side, calling her name, while Tosser was finally herded through the gate.
The camera didn’t catch her answer but he’d remember it until the day he died. She’d blinked up at him, her face twisted in pain, and said, “Are you okay?”
He’d managed a choked “Yeah” before the paramedics swept in. The video had gone viral—a quarter million views in five days and still curving upward. Some comments had whole lines of heart emojis. And diamond rings. And requests for a follow-up wedding video.
“In our earlier conversation,” Phillip continued, “I said it would be me who’d decide when you and I were finished.”
What an arrogant piece of—
“I remember that,” Krista said, shooting Will a cautionary look.
“Well, after watching that video, I’m saying it’s over now.”
As if it wasn’t already. Will fought the urge to rip the phone from Krista and lay into him. Krista seemed to sense his intent and angled the phone away. “By ‘over,’ do you mean you’re going to stop with the dolls and any other trolling?”
“Have you seen anything since the rodeo?”
“I haven’t, but that doesn’t quite answer my question.”
“It’s over.”
“Good to hear.” She paused. “You take care, Phillip.”
“Yeah, you too. Hey, Will. You still there?”
He’d always be with Krista. “Yep.”
“Just wanted to say...don’t let her take any long-distance trips without you.”
Krista had risked a charging horse to get to him. “She can travel to the moon. She’ll always come back to me.”
After disconnecting the call, Krista poked his chest. “You think you got me all figured out.”
For the next part of their evening, he hoped so. He brought her around to the side of the barn where he’d put cross ties on Silver. Krista’s hand jerked in his.
“If there’s no riding, why do I see a mounting block beside her?”
“Because it has all kinds of uses.” He handed her a currycomb. “Like for brushing her back.”
Krista tapped the hard bristles with the fingers of her casted hand. “You want me to brush down Silver?”
“Mom rode her hard today and she only got a roll in the pasture afterward. So, yeah. A horse deserves a brush down after their rides.”
“Every time?”
“Before the saddle goes on, for sure. To check for burrs or cuts or bite marks. After you ride the horse, it’s also good practice.”
Krista regarded Silver. She picked off a fleck on the horse’s withers. “All right, what do I do?”
He took up another currycomb for Silver’s other side and gave her pointers as they worked together. Not that he really had to. Krista had the touch. Silver’s muscles relaxed; her neck lost its archness; her head went down. She made a rumbly snort. As close as a horse ever comes to purring.
The mare had never done that for him. And rarely for Janet.
Krista traced the fingers of her broken hand along Silver’s spine. The horse quivered in response. “I could do this all day. This is totally therapeutic. For me.”
Should he push it? “If you’re up to it, there’s another part to the grooming.”
He crossed behind Silver to come up beside Krista. “Do you want to try giving Silver a pedicure?”
Krista’s eyes widened.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he said. “I get that. But I’m also sure that Silver doesn’t have an aggressive bone in her body. And even if she did, you have melted them all.”
She smiled. Touched his jaw with the fingers that had just run along Silver. He nearly let go with a quiver himself.
“You know I always wanted to meet you halfway on ranch life,” Krista said softly. “I’d given up but this...this I could do. No. This I want to do. You and me, being together like we are now, talking, working together. I could really, really get into this. So yeah, let’s do this.”
He demonstrated the “pedicure” on Silver’s back left hoof, carving out the dirt from her shoe, pointing out the tender triangle to avoid.
Krista positioned herself at the second hoof and gave Silver the command Will had taught her. Silver’s hoof came up easily and Krista caught it in her good hand and tucked it between her knees. Seconds later, the hoof was on the ground once more, clean.
Will grinned, ready to finish up. She straightened. “Next,” she whispered. She did the last two as easily as the first. He passed her a rubbing cloth to wipe her hands with, and when she returned it, he slipped his arms loosely around her waist. No more putting it off. “You know,” he said softly as if speaking to an edgy horse, “a good groomer is pretty important to have around a horse. If you have the right touch with a horse, she’s yours.”
Krista lifted off his hat, and ran her fingers through his hair. She might as well have caressed him from head to toe for the sensation that crackled through him. “That only apply to horses?”
“You know the answer to that.” He kissed her, long and slow, her body molding against his. Yep, he, too, might have some talent for softening up a person. The only one he cared to, anyway.
“I don’t care if you never touch a horse again, or if you don’t want to bring me another supper in the field. You can spend all your days at your spa, doing what you do best. As long as at the end of the day, you’re with me. I love you,” he whispered. “And I intend to marry you.”
“I love you, too, but—” she pursed her lips and gave him the same mischievous look from the day he’d first walked into her spa “—I’m dealing with my fear of horses. What about yours and water?”
“If you marry me, I’ll leave it in your hands.”
“Deal.” And she closed it in a way that had him near to purring.
EPILOGUE
“THAT GIRL WAS born under a lucky star to get this kind of weather in October,” Janet whispered to Dave as they took their place in the first row of seats at the Spirit Lake pier.
“And to marry Will to boot,” Dave said.
His wife sighed sharply. “All three in one year!”
“At least Keith and Dana saved you the trouble of a wedding.” Keith had called them up one Saturday morning last month to say that he and Dana were having a few friends and family over to her place and would they like to come?
He and Janet had arrived to a surprise wedding. There on the porch with everyone in sweaters or jeans, Keith and Dana were married before a justice of the peace. And it was back to combining the next day.
Today, Da
na had taken a seat at the far end, so she could scram with Austin in case he acted up. She was talking quietly with Alyssa and Caris seated behind her. Across the aisle, Krista’s family was lined up. Deidre leaned forward and waved. Janet waved in response.
“She’s probably happy that if she couldn’t be a Claverley,” Janet said through her smile, “at least her daughter will be.”
Dave turned in surprise to his wife. She rolled her eyes. “As if I didn’t know she’d come on to you.”
He scrolled back through their thirty-six years together to the courtship. “So that’s why you suddenly stopped putting me off?”
“I wasn’t putting you off. I was seriously considering you, and I couldn’t get over how entirely unsuitable she was. She was always flitting off.”
“I dunno,” Dave said, suppressing a smile. “You know about Claverleys and unsuitable women.”
“Yes, but if you were to have an unsuitable woman, I decided it was going to be me.”
He took her hand. “I’ve never regretted your decision.”
The look she returned might’ve landed him a kiss, except that their eldest son, in the company of Keith, Brock and Laura’s Ryan, filed in. Beside him, Janet gave a tiny gasp. The same gasp as when she pored over the photo album after a couple glasses of wine. He didn’t mind her getting emotional. It kept the attention off him when he had to swallow hard.
Then, the bridal party and the guests rose as one. There was no music, only the slap of water and the occasional cry of seagulls. Laura and Krista’s sisters came down first and then Krista herself on the arm of Jack, her cousin.
She was a bright, lively thing, all right. Just what Will needed. She waggled her fingers at him and Janet, and Dave grinned. “It’ll be good to have her around more often now,” he said to Janet.
“She’ll be able to practice her auntie skills on Austin,” she whispered back.
“There’ll be time for that.”
Harlequin Heartwarming June 2021 Box Set Page 94