Bareback

by D. Jackson Leigh

  “You never forget friends who look out for you,” Kate said, taking Laura’s arm. “We’re going to retire and leave you young people to go check on the horses.”

  Jessica smiled as she watched them head toward the elevators. She knew Kate often stayed up half the night and still rose at the crack of dawn. It was cute to see her cater to Laura’s need for longer hours of rest.

  “What?” Skyler asked, giving her a gentle nudge.

  “Nothing.” Jessica hooked arms with her lover. “I’m just glad to have all the important women in my life in one place.”

  “You know, you don’t have to go back to the barn with me if you’re too tired. I just want to check on the boys and give Fred his dessert,” Skyler offered as they waited for the valet to bring the SUV.

  “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m grafted to your side. You’re going to need surgery to get rid of me.”

  “Good God, woman. You’re going to make me wreck this vehicle.” Skyler groaned, belting herself into the driver’s seat.

  Jessica leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I don’t want you to wreck my truck, but I do plan to make you beg when we get back to our room.” She smiled at the blush creeping up Skyler’s neck. She enjoyed seeing her lover react to her touch.

  Skyler’s blush deepened. “You are one naughty girl. And I think I like that.”

  A thin face topped by a neat crew cut appeared when they arrived at the door of the barn office. “Hey, I heard the alarm system beep. I guess you are with the Parker crew?”

  “That’s them, Melvin.” Fred’s face appeared next and the two old men emerged from the office. “This is Skyler, the one I was telling you about. And this is Jessica. She’s going to be riding that big stallion with the hands-off orders.”

  Jessica extended her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Melvin.”

  “That your orange cat?”

  “Yes, but he shouldn’t be any trouble. He’ll stay in the stall with Rampage. For some reason the horse likes him, and behaves a lot better when that rough-looking old tom is around.” She held up a can of 9-Lives tuna. “We brought his supper.”

  “Well, he’s not exactly in the stall right now.”

  “He’s not? Do you know where he is?”

  Fred broke into a wide grin while Melvin explained. “Well, it didn’t take long for him to figure his way out of that stall. He’s in the office.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Jessica hurriedly apologized. “I thought he would stay in the stall. I hope he hasn’t been a bother.”

  “No trouble,” Melvin deadpanned. “But I don’t think he needs that can of cat food.”

  Fred began to chuckle, shaking his head. “Seems he dispatched two mice right away. He dragged them into the office for a trade.”

  “Since I had brought in a mess of catfish for mine and Fred’s supper, we shared it with him,” Melvin said. “He’s watching the basketball game with us now.”

  Jessica laughed along with them as they peered into the office at the cat lounging on his back with his feet sticking up on either side of his bulging belly.

  Skyler produced her gift. “Guess what I found on the hotel menu, Fred.”

  Fred’s eyes lit up. “I’ll be damned. That isn’t a piece of bourbon cheesecake, is it?”

  “Even better,” Skyler grinned. “There are two pieces. But I wasn’t sure if you’d still be around this late.”

  “Well, since both Melvin and I lost our wives some time ago, we kind of stick together. It’s a comfortable life for two old grooms getting close to polishing their last saddles.”

  “I’m glad to know that. I remember when you lost your wife. I worried about you being lonely after that.”

  “How about you, Sky? You were pretty low when I saw you last.”

  “I’m absolutely great. You know me. I manage to land on my feet.” Skyler placed the bag of cheesecake on the desk just inside the office. “It’s getting late, and we’re keeping you from your ballgame. We’ll just make the horses comfortable and head back to the hotel.”

  “Sure, Sky. Thanks for the cheesecake, girl.”

  Skyler grabbed a muck bucket and pointed Jessica toward two muck rakes leaning against the wall. Jessica slid the door back on Rampage’s stall while Skyler entered Con Air’s, and they began to clean out any droppings so the horses could lie down comfortably.

  “Well, one thing’s for sure.” Jessica laughed. “These guys sure do travel well. If you were worried about the trip bringing on a colic attack, you can relax. They’re both making enough manure for a herd of horses. Does Con need more hay?”

  “No, he’s fine.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right back,” Jessica said over her shoulder as she headed out.

  Skyler muttered to herself as she knelt down to feel Con Air’s front legs. “You’re not going to go lame on me, are you, buddy? You never were good at traveling. If you were, you’d be on the circuit right now.” She patted the gelding affectionately. “You look okay, but I’m going to rub a little liniment on you for good measure.”

  She was kneeling beside the gelding and rubbing liniment into his front legs when a chillingly familiar voice drifted over the half door of the stall.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think that was Con Man you are rubbing down.”

  Skyler froze for a moment, then stood up. “Hello, Sarah.”

  The petite woman’s light brown hair shone as she combed long, manicured fingernails through it, pushing the shoulder-length locks back from her face. Her hazel eyes drank in Skyler’s tall form. “How’ve you been, Sky?” she asked softly.

  “I’ve been just fine.”

  Melvin stuck his head out of the office door.

  “It’s okay, Melvin. It’s just me,” Sarah called out. He waved and disappeared back in to the office. She turned back to Skyler. “You here to ride?”

  “No.” Part of Skyler wanted to be a bitch. Sarah’s betrayal still cut deep. But part of her said it didn’t matter any longer. “I’ve been working as a trainer at Kate Parker’s center since I left here.”

  “I know. Believe it or not, I’ve sort of kept up with you through friends. I was glad when Kate hired you.”

  “I wouldn’t have imagined that you even cared,” Skyler muttered.

  “Okay. I deserved that.” Sarah sighed.

  Skyler gave her a sharp look. She hadn’t expected…well, she didn’t know what she expected Sarah to be like if they met again. They both fidgeted as an uncomfortable silence fell between them.

  Sarah finally cleared her throat. “That the horse you’re training?”

  Skyler glanced at Con Air. “No. This is my personal horse. The horse I’m training for the trials is that bay stallion in the next stall.”

  Sarah walked over and read the clipboard on Rampage’s stall. “I know this horse. Greg Knowles has been campaigning him. He’s not bad, but he’s inconsistent.”

  “Jessica Black is riding him now. She and Kate co-own him.”

  Sarah gave Skyler a sharp look. “Jessica Black? I thought that accident put her out of commission. Joe Sorenson mentioned it just the other day.”

  Skyler smiled. She’d counted on the Sorensons to tell everyone about Jessica limping around on her cane. “For a while, yes. But she’s back, and you better be looking over your shoulder for her if you’re competing. They’re more impressive than any team I’ve seen on the circuit in a long while.”

  Sarah stiffened. Before she could reply, Jessica strolled in with Rampage’s full hay bag slung over her shoulder. She slowed her stride to size up the scene she seemed to be interrupting. Sarah looked her over carefully.

  “Hi.” Jessica stuck her hand out, and forced a gracious smile. “I’m Jessica Black.”

  Too schooled in polite manners to respond any other way, Sarah returned a stiff smile and gave her hand a weak shake. “Nice to make your acquaintance. I’ve seen you ride. I’m Sarah Tate. Well, it’s Sarah Duke now, but I still use my maiden name o
n the circuit.”

  Jessica felt her face freeze for a split second. So this was the famous Sarah Berrington Tate. No wonder Skyler looked like her dinner hadn’t agreed with her.

  “I’ve seen you ride, too,” Jessica said smoothly. “Are you here to compete?”

  “I am. I didn’t know you were back on the circuit. I’m surprised to see you recovered so soon.”

  She turned to Skyler and gave her a warm smile. “I’ll see you around, Sky.” She nodded at Jessica. “See you in the arena, Jessica.”

  Skyler didn’t return the smile. “Are you ready to go?” she asked Jessica. Without waiting for her reply, she set off quickly in the opposite direction of Sarah’s exit. Jessica quickly secured the hay bag, and then hurried to catch up. When she stepped through the barn’s doorway and into the darkness, a long arm grabbed her. Skyler leaned against the side of the building and pulled her into a tight embrace. Her mouth hungrily sought Jessica’s and her arms squeezed so hard, Jessica could hardly breathe.

  “Sky, honey, are you okay?” she asked between short breaths.

  Skyler relaxed her hold and buried her face in Jessica’s neck. After a moment, she spoke without raising her head. “I knew it would be hard facing this crowd again, but I guess I didn’t really know how it would feel.”

  Jessica was quiet, but her heart was racing. “Do you still have feelings for Sarah?”

  “I don’t know what I feel. A little sad, a lot angry, and at the same time somehow indifferent. Maybe I wanted her to look like she had suffered some, too. Like it had hurt her as bad as it hurt me. She tossed me away like a bad habit, though, when I stood between her and her father’s money.”

  “She lost more than she gained,” Jessica said, feeling Skyler’s hot tears on her neck.

  “Getting blacklisted on top of having my heart broken was just too much,” Skyler said. “I felt like the worst piece of trash you can imagine. It felt just like when my father would beat me while he screamed about how worthless I was.”

  Jessica’s heart ached for her. “Sky, you shouldn’t need anybody to tell you what a great person you are, but I will.” She took Skyler’s face in her hands and looked deeply into her eyes. “You are the sexiest, most beautiful, most caring, wonderful lover a woman could have. I love to watch you work with the kids at the center. They all adore you. I adore you. Kate adores you. You have lots of real friends, and they’re not from a crowd whose friendships go only as far as money or last names. Hell, Rampage even likes you, and he doesn’t like anybody else but me and Peach.”

  This drew a small smile from Skyler.

  “You don’t have to be here if this is too painful,” Jessica said softly. “You’ve done your job. Rampage and I can finish this.”

  Skyler brushed her lips with the softest of kisses. “I love you, Jess. I can face anything as long as you’re next to me.”

  Jessica hugged her tight. “And that’s where I’ll always be, as long as you let me. Let’s go, baby. We’ve had enough excitement for the day.”

  Skyler’s kiss was slow and deep and tender, and filled with promise, reassuring them both that their bond was growing stronger every day.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The emotional bonding of the previous night had clicked something in place between Jessica and Skyler. They seemed to anchor each other, unconsciously finishing each other’s sentences and tasks as they worked together to saddle the horses. There were sometimes long, comfortable silences because words were not necessary to feel their completeness.

  Jessica felt Skyler had finally fully opened her heart to her. She had revealed two of her deepest hurts, her father and Sarah. Jessica considered that trust a precious gift. That’s why it ate at her that she still withheld a terrible secret of her own. She was terrified Skyler would again feel betrayed if she discovered the true condition of her knee and what she was doing to still be able to ride. She knew she had to figure out how to tell her.

  But the morning was crisp and sunny as she followed Skyler and Con Air down the wide, sandy paths, and Jessica pushed those despairing thoughts aside while Skyler carefully timed Rampage’s gallops. The workout wound up with a long walk back to the barn to cool the horses down. The training facility had begun to teem with other riders, trainers, stable hands, and horses, but Skyler and Jessica didn’t hide their affection for each other. Skyler insisted she didn’t care who noticed. They’d already done their worst to her. Jessica thought she saw Sarah sitting with her trainer in the bleachers of the outdoor ring, watching another competitor practice over the show jumps. Her binoculars, however, had been trained on her and Skyler for the past few minutes. She studied them for a while longer before lowering the glasses and saying something to the man next to her.

  After she walked away, leaving him there, he moved his binoculars to his eyes then dropped them with a jerk. He left the bleachers too, in the stride of a man who’d just seen something he didn’t like. Jessica concluded he must have recognized Skyler on a horse that looked just like Con Man. Her heart raced suddenly. She hoped coming here was not going to create trouble. Jessica knew, despite Skyler’s assurances, there were still people here who would stick a knife in her back.

  *

  Plenty of them were there to watch later that afternoon, when Jessica and Rampage floated into the dressage ring, relaxed and completely in sync. She took him fluidly through the elementary maneuvers usually required at a three-day event: medium trot, working trot, halt, salute, circle, half-pass, extended trot, circle—in a freestyle exhibition both horse and rider usually enjoyed. Others milling about outside the ring began to stop and lean against the rail to watch the superb stallion. Without even a glance to acknowledge the growing crowd of onlookers, Jessica asked Rampage to execute the more difficult movements required in at the higher levels of dressage, the piaffe and passage. The crowd was quiet, as though they were holding a collective breath.

  Sitting next to Laura and Kate, Skyler said, “This isn’t part of their training. She’s just plain showing off now.”

  The corners of Jessica’s mouth curled in a slight smile as Rampage smoothly transitioned into difficult flying changes, a skipping movement at a canter in which the horse changes his leading front leg every stride. Finally, after a flawless pirouette, the pair came to a halt in the center of the arena and saluted.

  Jessica finally broke her stoic composure and a big grin spread across her face. The crowd smiled back and applauded their appreciation.

  “Yeah, but can he jump?” one bystander called loudly.

  Kate couldn’t resist. “Jump? Hell, that’s what he’s really good at,” she replied just as loudly.

  Skyler shook her head and turned to Laura. “That daughter of yours, she’s just incorrigible.” But she could hear the pride and adoration in her own voice.

  “Huh!” Laura sniffed, raising her chin in an arrogant gesture. “She’s just showing the competition what they’re going up against.”

  Jessica’s heart soared with the applause as she and Rampage exited the ring. Waiting at the gate for their turn to practice was Sarah and her chestnut Thoroughbred mare. Sarah touched the end of her dressage whip to the bill of her riding helmet in a salute.

  “He’s magnificent,” she said. “He never looked that good when Greg Knowles rode him.”

  “Thanks,” Jessica replied with a gracious smile. “He and I just seem to click together.”

  A trace of envy tinged with sadness briefly altered Sarah’s face. “You may be too hard of an act to follow,” she said before trotting off into the arena.

  While the emotional high of the day had kept Jessica’s mind off the increasing ache in her knee, there was no mistaking that the most recent injection was quickly wearing off. Every step was becoming excruciating and she had to concentrate to keep the knee from giving way when she walked. It wasn’t unusual for her limp to return after a day of riding, but Skyler noticed her gait as soon as she entered the barn.

  “Hey, Miss Invin
cible, I think you should go back to the hotel and take care of that knee. I don’t need the horse or you to go lame this close to the competition.”

  Jessica hesitated at being separated from her lover even a few hours, but she could see from the expression on Skyler’s face there was no point in arguing.

  “Go on now,” Skyler urged. “I’ll stay and take care of the horses. It will give me a chance to see who else is here to compete and catch up with my old buddy, Fred.” She pulled her into Rampage’s stall for privacy and gave her a long kiss. “I’ll be back at the hotel by seven if you can make Kate wait that long for dinner. I’ve got the keys to the truck. You guys take the Explorer.”

  Jessica sighed and laid her head against Skyler’s breast. “How can I rest without my favorite pillow?”

  Skyler gave her a light slap on the rear. “You’ll rest a lot better without me to tempt you into other things. Now go!”

  *

  Back at the hotel, Jessica leaned back and closed her eyes in relief as the pain pill kicked in. The knee was badly swollen, so she climbed onto the bed, elevated her leg on a stack of pillows, and piled on several ice packs.

  Laura knocked lightly on the bedroom door before entering. “Hey, sweetie. How’s that leg?”

  “It’s fine, Mom. I guess I gave it quite a workout today, and it’s swelling some. It will be fine.”

  “Let me look at that knee Skyler and Kate are so concerned about.”

  Jessica hunched protectively over her knee and shooed her mother away. “I just got comfortable with the ice packs in exactly the right place. You don’t know how hard that is. I’ll show it to you later.”

  Laura looked suspicious. “You’re being evasive.”

  “You guys going somewhere?” Jessica asked, changing the subject.

  “Well, I wanted to do a little shopping, but Kate’s idea of shopping is a visit to the golf pro shop. So, I guess we’re going to the clubhouse for a drink. Kate says she wants to see who else is here. I really think that she just wants to go gloat after that display you and Rampage put on this afternoon.”