Bareback

by D. Jackson Leigh

  Jessica grinned. “I’m happy I could contribute to her fun.”

  “Skyler’s right. You are incorrigible.”

  After Kate and Laura left, Jessica was restless, having already napped earlier in the day. The hotel suite was too quiet. She iced her leg for nearly an hour, thumbed through a few magazines, then switched on the television. After an hour of flipping channels, she clicked it off. She missed her partner, damn it. She pulled on some loose sweatpants and called a cab to take her back to the equestrian center.

  *

  Skyler had rubbed Rampage down and strolled the competitors’ barns to see who else was showing up for the trials before joining Fred in the barn office to catch up on each other’s lives. Fred was impressed as Skyler chatted on and on about the Young Equestrian Program.

  “It sure sounds like you like it there,” he told her.

  “Things ever go sour for you here, Fred, you just call Kate or me. I can guarantee you a place on the farm if you ever want to move to Virginia,” Skyler said earnestly.

  Fred clapped her on the shoulder. “Thanks, Sky. I’m happy right here for now, but I’ll always keep that in mind.”

  “Well, it’s about time for me to feed the boys and think about heading back to the hotel. Kate’s good nature wears thin when she’s hungry. And when that happens, you don’t want to be the one holding her up from eating dinner.”

  The old man followed Skyler into the barn’s wide central hallway. “Skyler, I’ve got to ask you something.” He shifted on his feet and stared at the dirt floor of the barn.

  “Sure, Fred. Anything.”

  The old man seemed to struggle to form his question. Guessing at his reason, Skyler assured him, “Jess isn’t like Sarah, Fred. She’s the real deal, the best thing to ever happen to me.”

  He looked sharply down the barn hallway, as if checking to see if they were alone. “No, it’s not that. It’s just. Well, I’ve seen a lot of things when I worked the race track and…well, you’re not doping that horse, are you?”

  In equestrian sports, it was the horses, not riders, who were forbidden from using drugs to hide an injury or enhance performance. Skyler was incredulous at the suggestion. “Doping Rampage? Whatever for?”

  “Well, you see, Melvin was emptying out the trash in the tack room and found a used syringe. He’s insisting that nobody but you and your rider had been in there since he had emptied the trash earlier.”

  “You know me better than that,” Skyler said. “I would never show a hurt horse. Rampage hasn’t had a lame day since he came in my barn.”

  The old man straightened the slump in his shoulders. “That’s exactly what I told him. He’s just an old coot. Probably got mixed up and just thought he had emptied the trash earlier.” He scratched his head. “Still, somebody is shooting up something around here. Keep your eyes open, okay?”

  “Yeah, sure, Fred.” Skyler’s mind raced through the possibilities. She turned toward the horses’ stalls. Surely not. Still, it couldn’t hurt to be as cautious as possible. “Hey, if you have that syringe, maybe you should get the head of security to test it to see what was in it. I don’t want to think this could happen, but maybe somebody is trying to sabotage the competition.”

  “Right you are. Melvin should have thought of that himself.” He headed back to the office, mumbling to himself. “Old fart. Trying to say my friends were doping a horse. I should have busted his chops right then and there. He’s going to owe them an apology when we find out what was in that syringe.”

  Skyler went immediately to the tack room to look around. There were other horses in the barn already, but only a couple of trainers were storing their tack boxes in that room. She unlocked the boxes that had come from the center. The first trunk carried leg bandages and vet wrap, halters, brushes, and other things for the horses. The second trunk carried the riding habits, helmets, and boots Jessica would wear in the competition. Nothing seemed to be missing.

  Skyler lifted a pouch from beneath one of the jackets. A bottle of Carbocaine slid out into her hand. She’d helped vet enough horses to know it was a numbing agent. Why would Jess have brought this along? Was there something wrong with Rampage that she was afraid to mention? Puzzled over what she’d found, she poured the horses’ dinner into their feed pails and carefully checked each animal over. Maybe Jess’s showing-off had attracted some unwanted attention. It took a lot of money to campaign one of these horses to the top. People harbored resentments. Or maybe it was about her. Maybe someone was trying to set her up.

  “That’s some pretty heavy thinking going on in there.”

  Skyler turned as Sarah slid the stall door back. She walked over to Rampage and ran an admiring hand over his sleek shoulder. “You were right. He and Jessica are pretty hot in the ring.”

  “Careful,” Skyler warned. “He has a tendency to bite anyone he doesn’t know, and he means business when he does.”

  But the stallion only snuffled Sarah’s hand before he went back to his dinner.

  “Well, how about that,” Skyler said, rubbing the back of her neck. “That is definitely a first. He never takes to strangers.”

  “Maybe I remind him of Jessica.” Sarah stared at the stallion so she didn’t have to meet Skyler’s eyes.

  “You are alike in some ways, but very different in others,” Skyler said.

  Sarah stared at the floor, her expression bitter. “Different in the way that counts, I’m sure.”

  Skyler didn’t know what to say. “We’ve both moved on.”

  “No, Sky. I have to say this. I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I was a gutless debutante addicted to my father’s money.”

  She swept watery hazel eyes up to Skyler. “Walking away from you was the worst decision of my life. I was just so scared. I could hardly live with how deeply I hurt you. What you don’t know is how bad I hurt myself by losing you.”

  Skyler shifted uneasily. This wasn’t a memory she wanted to revisit alone here with Sarah. She wished Jessica were with her. “It’s not worth digging up old bones, Sarah.”

  “I need you to know that, as painful as it was, it made me grow up a lot.” Sarah caressed Skyler’s cheek. “As much as it hurts me to see you with somebody else, I’m so glad to see you are happy.” Her sadness hung heavy over them as her eyes searched Skyler’s. “You used to look at me the way you look at Jess. I can tell how much you care for her.”

  At that moment, Skyler realized her love for Jessica far surpassed what she’d once felt for Sarah.

  Sarah’s hand left Skyler’s cheek and cupped the back of her neck. A tear trickled down her cheek as she planted a soft kiss on Skyler’s lips. “Just be happy, Sky. You deserve that more than anyone else I know.”

  Skyler watched as Sarah turned and quietly left without looking back. “Good-bye, Sarah,” she said softly to no one but herself.

  She felt stunned by Sarah’s visit. Stunned, but relieved. The hurt she’d carried around for so long could finally begin to heal. She realized that what had happened hadn’t been a cold, calculated betrayal. It had been the action of a scared, immature young woman. That revelation seemed to erase the small, lurking insecurity that Jessica could one day do the same. The thought of her lover filled her with an urgency to wrap her arms around her and hold her close.

  Skyler checked the water buckets. Satisfied the boys were bedded down for the night, she latched their stall doors and turned to leave. At the last moment, she remembered the vial and syringe she had set on a ledge outside the stalls. Picking them up, she studied them in her hand. Before she could take a step, her cell phone vibrated against her hip. She frowned as she glanced at the unfamiliar caller ID and flipped the phone open.

  There was nothing but silence. “Hello?” she repeated.

  “Sky?” Jamie’s thin voice was plaintive. “You said to call you if…”

  “Jamie, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

  The girl began to sob. Skyler took a deep breath. Okay, one problem at a time.
“Calm down, James, and tell me what’s going on.” Her concern grew urgent as the sobs continued. “Do you need somebody to come help you now? I’m not in town, but I can get Clint over there in just a few minutes.”

  “I’m not at home. It’s so awful, I can’t stand it,” she wailed.

  “Slow down, honey. Start at the beginning and tell me what’s happened.” She waited patiently as the sobs slowed to hiccups and sniffs. When the words finally came, they were so rushed she had to listen closely.

  “Dad got a job driving a load to California, then another to Canada. He won’t be back for weeks. He and Mom had a big fight just before he left because she just couldn’t stand the thought of him being gone so long. Dad said he couldn’t turn it down because the pay was so good.” The girl’s voice turned bitter and old beyond her young years. “He was hardly out of the driveway before she opened a fresh bottle. She drank for a while, and I hoped she would just go to bed. But she just got madder and madder. She said it was my fault because I was growing so fast I always needed clothes and stuff. Dad is always gone, she said, because he has to make enough money to pay for my stuff.”

  “You know that’s not true,” Skyler reassured her. “She just needs someone to blame. But finish telling me what happened.”

  Jamie’s voice was strangled with tears. “She hurt me really bad this time, Sky. She broke my arm. A neighbor called the police. They took me to the hospital and Mom’s in jail.”

  Skyler choked down the fury that welled up at the news. But Jamie didn’t need her anger right now. She needed safety. Skyler kept her voice calm. “Oh, James, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to stop her. Are you at the hospital now?”

  “No. That was yesterday. Now they’ve taken me to some kind of orphanage or juvenile hall or something. They said they’re going to put me in a foster home until my dad gets back. Please, Sky. Come and get me. I’m so scared.”

  “Don’t you worry, Jamie. I’m on my way now. Will you be okay there tonight? I’m in North Carolina, about three hours away, but I’ll be there first thing in the morning. I promise you, I’ll do something about this.”

  “I didn’t know anyone else to call,” Jamie sniffed. “They can’t get in touch with Dad while he’s on the road. He only picks up messages during his rest stops. Mom is out of jail, but I can’t go home until Dad gets back.”

  “You did the right thing calling me. Don’t worry, kiddo. You just rest easy tonight. I’ll be there in the morning. Kate and I will take care of everything.”

  “Okay, Sky.”

  Skyler ended the call and immediately phoned the hotel room, but got no answer. The next number she dialed was Kate’s cell phone. She was relieved when she heard her friend’s voice.

  “Kate, thank God you had your phone on.”

  “Something wrong, Sky?” Kate’s voice was overly loud and jovial. She’d downed several Manhattans as bragging rights had turned to friendly wagers with some old friends at the clubhouse.

  “Damn. Where are you? I hope Laura hasn’t been drinking as much as you sound like you have.”

  “Hey, I’m just having fun. We left Jess at the hotel. We’re at the clubhouse, laying down a few wagers.”

  “How about letting me talk to Laura?”

  She heard Kate hand off the phone to Laura, saying, “Spoilsport. She wants to talk to the sober one.”

  “Sky? Something wrong? Is Jess okay?” Laura was sober and concerned.

  “I guess she’s still at the hotel, but she must be asleep. She’s not answering the phone. Listen, Laura. I’ve had an emergency come up back in Cherokee Falls. I’ve got to drive back tonight.”

  “What’s wrong? Shouldn’t Kate or Jess go with you?”

  “No, Jess needs to stay here and stick to her training schedule. Kate needs to help her. I can’t go into details right now, but when you get back to the hotel, I need Kate to call me with the phone number for her lawyer, George Brumley. She can call my cell phone. If I’m out of range, tell her to call my apartment and leave the information on my answering machine.”

  “Her lawyer? Are you in some kind of trouble, Skyler?”

  “Not me, Laura. You just have to trust me.” Skyler didn’t know if she could say more because the Young Equestrian Program had strict confidentiality rules.

  There was a short silence. “What do you want me to tell Jessica?”

  “Tell her that I’ll be back late tomorrow or the next day. She knows the schedule we’ve mapped out for Rampage. Just some slow trots and walking tomorrow morning and a little jumping tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I’ll tell her.”

  What was that she heard in Laura’s voice? Doubt? Irritation? “Laura…”

  “Yes?”

  “Tell Jess I love her. She can call my cell phone tonight after you guys get some dinner.”

  “I’ll do that, Sky. And dinner’s not a bad idea. I think Kate could use something to eat instead of another Manhattan.”

  *

  When the cab stopped at the gate of the equestrian center so the driver could talk to a security guard he knew, Jessica flagged him down. The sun had set quickly and clouds had moved in to make the night a very dark one. She sank back in the seat and asked the driver to take her to the Marriott. She was still shaking.

  She’d been grinning at the thought of surprising her lover, as she’d neared the barn. Bright lights illuminated the interior. What she saw slowed her stride, then stopped her dead in her tracks. Sarah and Skyler were talking. Jessica watched Sarah caress Skyler’s cheek, and Skyler didn’t pull away. She saw the kiss, and Sarah’s upset expression as she’d walked away. She hadn’t jumped to conclusions. She knew Skyler’s heart. There had to be a good explanation.

  Jessica took a couple of deep breaths to settle the green-eyed monster that was threatening to rise up again. It wasn’t the kiss that bothered her, but what came afterward when Skyler vanished for a few minutes, then appeared studying something in her hand. Jessica had recognized the vials immediately. Oh, shit! She wasn’t ready for this. How could she explain without Skyler being hurt and furious? Her greatest fear was that the discovery would send Skyler back into Sarah’s conveniently outstretched arms. She needed time to think about what to say when Skyler confronted her.

  Her mind racing and gut churning in fear, she stared out the car window into the night. She needed to come clean before Skyler reached her own conclusions. But what if Skyler insisted that she withdraw from the competition rather than risk permanently injuring her knee? What if she felt like Jessica had betrayed her by violating the trust between them? This isn’t about her, this is about me! Hey, and what about her kissing Sarah? She knew that Sarah had initiated the kiss. She also knew in her heart that Skyler didn’t want Sarah, but, damn, love wasn’t rational. It still irritated her and tugged at a tiny insecurity. The very thought of losing Skyler was like a jagged knife lodging in her chest. No, no. She wouldn’t think about that. She has to know I love her more than anything. But not enough to be honest, the voice in her head reminded her.

  Jessica didn’t know what she would do if she lost Skyler. Sweat made her palms clammy. She wanted to tell the driver to hurry. When they finally pulled up at the hotel, she threw cash at him and limped frantically toward the elevators. But she hesitated as the doors opened. Kate and Laura were probably back in the suite by now, and she wasn’t ready to face them. Her mother would know immediately that something was wrong and ask a million questions.

  Only a few patrons were scattered among the small tables in the hotel’s bar, so Jessica took a seat. A few drinks would calm her down, and having some time to think would help her decide what to say when Skyler returned.

  *

  Kate settled their dinner tab and was trudging across the lobby toward the elevators when Laura seized her arm. “Look.”

  They paused in front of the hotel bar where a very drunk Jessica was demonstrating for an amused bartender the advanced dressage movements she and Rampage had wowed the c
rowd with that afternoon.

  Kate caught her as her attempt at a pirouette nearly landed her in the middle of some other hotel guests’ table. “Whoa, your little celebration here makes mine look like a Sunday school class. Why don’t we take you upstairs?”

  Laura frowned at her daughter, and then turned to the female bartender. Laura’s “gaydar” pinged loudly as she glared at the attractive young woman. “You know you could be sued for serving drinks to someone this inebriated.”

  The bartender shrugged. “She really didn’t have that many drinks. The last drink I poured for her was a virgin. Besides, I knew she was a hotel guest. I’m coming off duty in a few minutes and would have made sure she got up to her room okay.”

  I’ll just bet you would have, Laura thought. “Well, thanks for looking out for her then.”

  “No problem,” the bartender replied. “She probably just needs to eat something. She mentioned that she hadn’t eaten dinner.”

  “Hey, where’s Sky?” Jessica slurred as Kate helped her from the elevator to their hotel suite. “Wait, I know where she is. She’s at the barn.”

  “No, she’s not at the barn,” Kate said patiently, moving Jess toward her bedroom.

  Jessica clamped a hand over her mouth and groaned.

  “Uh-oh. I’ve seen that look before.” Kate quickly dragged her into the bathroom.

  After a long session of bowing to the porcelain goddess, Laura and Kate put Jessica to bed. She was out cold seconds later.

  “Geez. How can anybody who hasn’t eaten throw up so much?” Kate said, wrinkling her nose as she turned out the light and closed the door to Jessica and Skyler’s bedroom.

  Laura frowned. “I wonder what this is all about? Jess normally isn’t much of a drinker.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe she took a pain pill for her knee. That could have magnified the affect of a few drinks. Things sure are getting crazy around here,” Kate grumbled.