Boundless Fate

by Alicia Rae

  “Uh-huh.” I laughed and bent forward to kiss the tip of Foster’s nose. “It’s okay, sweet boy. I don’t believe him for one second.” I scratched under his chin.

  A young saddlebred filly appeared at the other side of Foster, begging for attention, so I petted her, too. “I don’t know how you manage to divide your time between all of them.”

  “Sometimes, I don’t either,” Colton drawled, causing me to turn and look at him. “I used to have a strict schedule I’d adhere to, so I could rotate my time between all of them, focusing on the ones who needed me the most.” A frown etched across Colton’s face as he sighed. “I haven’t even worked with them since the fire. I keep saying, ‘Tomorrow, I’ll do it,’ and then the day gets away from me.”

  As he moved down the row of horses and stroked each of them for a moment, he continued to speak in a broken tone, “I hope things will settle back to normal soon, so I can give them the attention they deserve.”

  A wave of heartache washed over me. I’d been so engrossed in helping Colton with the physical damage of the buildings that I’d overlooked how it affected his work of earning a livelihood with his horses.

  “They will,” I answered reassuringly.

  “I hope so,” he murmured. Then, he moved to stand in front of me. He drew me into his body and gave me a tender kiss while running his hands up and down my back. “Anyway, I came to check on you. How are you doing?”

  He seemed to be worried about me. I loved him for his thoughtfulness, but I also wanted him to take care of himself.

  I rose on my toes to loop my arms around his nape. “I’m better. Thank you.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” He smiled. He kissed the tip of my nose and then slightly drew back. “Well, I have to get back to work before my personal slave driver catches me slacking on the job and kicks my ass.”

  I laughed at his teasing reference to Kyle. “You’d better get a move on then.” Wanting one more kiss before he let me be, I gripped his butt in my palms and rose to kiss his lips.

  When I backed away, he pulled me to his mouth and growled, “Or I could send him home.”

  I set my hands on his chest to push him away and took a couple of backward steps while smirking. “You wouldn’t do such a thing to your helper. That would be mean.”

  His eyes darkened at my retreat, and he advanced. “But I could.”

  I increased my strides and pointed in the direction where I believed Kyle was. “Get outta here, slacker.”

  Colton chuckled. “Fine.” He headed toward the house.

  Kyle came around the corner, driving the tractor.

  Colton hesitated and glanced at me over his shoulder. “Oh, and Kyle and I are going into town to order supplies for the new barn.”

  “That’s great.” I smiled affectionately at the happiness gleaming in his eyes.

  “We should be home in time for dinner.”

  Colton never missed a home-cooked meal.

  I laughed. “Of course you will.”

  As though waiting for me to elaborate on the menu, he raised a brow. “What are you cooking for us?”

  I knew him too well, but I had to quip, “Pig guts.”

  He narrowed his eyes, knowing my game. “Try again. What are you really cooking?”

  Teasing was so much fun. “Chopped liver.”

  “Liar.” He laughed and blew me a kiss. “See you later, baby.”

  I beamed at him. “Bye.”

  I watched as my cowboy sauntered toward the house in his jeans until he pivoted to talk to Kyle from the tractor cab, disrupting my view of his sexiness.

  I let out a dreamy sigh as I shifted to face Foster, who was staring at me with an expectant gaze. Then, I was reminded of all the horses in the pasture that hadn’t been in training since before the fire. Colton’s hands would be tied until his barn and equipment were back up and running. This is where he needed my help most.

  Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Today, I was going to take charge of my life and give Colton the worthy partner he deserved to have standing at his side. No more excuses would hold me back from my passion.

  Colton and Kyle had already left for town, so I gathered the necessary equipment to put my plan into action. My fingers slightly trembled as I faced Foster at the gate once again.

  As I held a halter and lead rope in my grip, I remembered what Colton had said to me when I climbed into the saddle for the first time since last year. I’d rotated my head to see Colton leaning against the barn door, observing me. The sun had bounced off the light color of his cowboy hat.

  “You can do this. You just need to believe it and have faith and confidence in yourself.”

  I exhaled deeply. It was silly to be scared, considering I’d handled and ridden horses since I was a young girl. My fear was in my mind, and I was determined to get rid of it.

  I fidgeted with the rope in my hand. If I stepped back into the training pen with Foster, I knew there would be no going back. It somehow felt final to me.

  No one was here to make me do this, yet I found myself needing to reclaim who I was.

  I was Paige Summers, a horse lover and trainer at heart.

  Tired of my reservations and fears, I mentally promised nothing would rob me of my passion any longer.

  I was ready to take this step, so I opened the gate and walked inside before quietly closing it behind me. Foster was directly in front of me as the other horses gathered around to figure out what was going on.

  I stretched part of the rope out between both of my hands as I positioned myself at Foster’s forequarter. He stayed in his spot as I lightly tossed the rope over his broad neck and mane. Opening the halter, I slipped it up and over his nose and buckled the strap.

  “There, boy,” I cooed at him as I fastened the halter to the rope.

  He tilted his head at me and sniffed my face, appearing unfazed by my presence. His whiskers tickled my skin.

  I lifted my hand and petted underneath his chin, rewarding him at his natural obedience. “See? That was easy. I think you’ll behave just fine for me today. Won’t you?” I asked playfully, keeping my tone soft and gentle.

  I gave the rope a slight tug as I led him back to the gate. Once I opened it, all the horses neared us. I cued Foster to pause while grasping the end of the lead rope. I shooed the other animals back from the exit, so I wouldn’t be trampled. They all stopped as I guided Foster out into the open grass, and then I locked the gate behind me.

  I led him into the round pen and allowed him to settle for a brief moment before positioning him to face me. It was then I noticed Foster had his game face on. He knew exactly what I was up to. I wasn’t fooling him. Only work and training, no fun time, were done in the round pen.

  Lunging was the first basic tool where a horse and rider established respect for one another. A rider needed to know that the horse would listen and obey instructions on the first cue. When riding horseback, horse and rider needed to be able to work as one. If a horse hesitated at a rider’s command, bad things could happen.

  “Hey, where did your sweet face go?” I teased.

  His only response was a lengthy sigh.

  I let out a soft chuckle as I adjusted my hold on the rope. Most of its length was bunched in my left hand, so I used it to point in the same direction as I held the opposing end of it in my right to swing it around in a circle.

  “Walk,” I commanded in a low yet confident voice.

  Foster huffed slightly and took off into a slow trot, swooshing his tail with each step.

  “Oh, you do have a naughty side.” I chuckled, watching him make his first loop where he didn’t slow his pace. “All right, we’ll do it your way then.”

  At an early age, I’d learned from my father that when a horse disobeyed instructions to walk, I should let the horse maintain its pace. Then, when the horse decided to finally walk, I should keep him in a trot. It taught the horse if he listened the first time, his lesson would go easier, and if he didn’t, he w
as going to work harder.

  I was still very new to Foster, so it was natural for him to test me to see if he could top me.

  Foster made a handful of laps around me as I studied the handsome boy in awe. His sheen coat glistened in the sun, and his thick powerful muscles moved with grace in every stride. He was a pure delight to watch.

  Foster tried to ease his way into a gradual walk, and he probably hoped it would go unnoticed by me. To his disadvantage, it didn’t. I made a kiss-kiss noise with my mouth, whipped the rope in a tight confined circle at my side, and tapped it against my outer thigh, so he’d know I meant business.

  Foster flickered his ears at me and resumed his trot without delay. I inwardly made a brisk assessment. Foster was definitely strong-willed, so I expected him to test my knowledge on our first lesson together in the ring. He circled me several times without any protest, and then it was time to offer him a second chance.

  “Walk,” I said, keeping my tone consistent.

  Foster instantly obeyed my instruction. His ears were straight out in front of him, his left eye intently perused me, and his tail was lowered. These were all signs that he was ready to take my lead.

  “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” I smiled fondly at him.

  I had always been able to read horses well, and currently, Foster was giving me a playful yeah-right-lady look. He sure was proving to be lively and energetic, and it was perfectly fine by me. I loved spirited horses.

  After a few successful passes of asking him to walk, trot, and canter, I cued him in the opposite direction and lunged him in a few perfect circles. I repeated my actions as he continued to considerately regard me.

  My right leg protested a tad. I pushed away the discomfort and realized I had yet to return to physical therapy since the fire, so I put it on my things to do before the end of the week.

  When I was happy with Foster’s progress, I guided him into a figure eight. He took a wrongful step toward me, so I wiggled the lead rope, soundlessly commanding him to back up out of my personal space. Foster immediately lifted his head and retreated a step.

  “Good boy,” I said before guiding him in the original direction.

  This time, he caught on to what I wanted and did so without hesitation.

  His movements were flawless, and without a single error, I continued to lead him into many successful figure eights around me. His timing was dead-on, and his conformation was impeccable. I could see the time and dedication Colton had put into Foster by his attentiveness and eagerness to please me.

  Once we finished, I asked him to stop. He turned to face me, waiting for more instructions. His accelerated breathing told me he’d had a sufficient workout.

  I walked up to him and rewarded him with soothing affectionate strokes up and down either side of his neck.

  Foster nestled into me and showered me with his love. I leaned into his touch and kissed the bridge of his nose.

  “You sure are a sweetheart.” I smiled as an endless number of emotions thrummed through me.

  I would never forget this moment with Foster. Sure, only forming a simple lunging technique had been an easy break-in to training with him. But for me, I felt like it had given me back my strength and confidence.

  This was who I was—a dedicated horse trainer. And nothing would ever steal my passion from me again. I glanced sideways at the other horses, who were keenly waiting by the fence.

  This was only the beginning.

  AFTER HOURS OF CAREFULLY PLANNING, I finally placed my order in town for the reconstruction of the horse barn and equipment building. A massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

  It had taken much longer than anticipated, but we were done. I was relieved that one part of my life seemed to be getting back on track, and I couldn’t wait to see the new designs come to life.

  The only thing weighing on my heart was the loss of Sadie. Every day this week, I’d struggled with not driving over to Hank’s house and inflicting bodily harm on him. My gut told me he was to blame for Sadie’s sudden death. The single reason I’d restrained myself from doing so was the possibility of Hank retaliating against me by going after Paige, and I couldn’t bear the idea of being responsible for causing her more heartache.

  To top it off, running into Eddie at the bar was still lighting a fire under my ass as I kept wondering about his bandaged wrist. It irritated me to think that there was more to it than met the eye.

  “What has you huffing and puffing in your seat over there?” Kyle asked.

  I pulled out of the parking lot and hit the main road. “You know how I told you about Sheriff Reynolds, who’s in charge of handling the water-spigot incident?”

  “You mean, the one who has no answers?” Kyle countered.

  “Exactly,” I sighed.

  “What of him?”

  “Paige spotted him at the bar the other night. He had a bandaged wrist and claimed to have fractured it, but the wrapping seemed as though it was more for a burn.” I shook my head. “I could be wrong, but it rubbed me the wrong way.”

  Kyle thoughtfully turned his head at me. “A burn, like from a fire?”

  I recalled the night my barn had caught fire and the eight gasoline cans that had been found on the other side of the equipment building, leading the fire department to treat the blaze as arson right from the start.

  “Yes.” I nodded at last.

  “So, what are we waiting for?” Kyle probed. “Let’s go find this guy and get some answers.”

  “Kyle,” I said, tightening my fingers around the steering wheel as I neared the ranch, “I can’t ask you to get more involved with this any more than you already have. It’s not right.”

  “Tough shit. Now, turn back toward town. Let’s go find this guy and make him talk.” Kyle rubbed his palms together in front of himself, looking lethal.

  I kept going straight, uncertain how I felt about getting Kyle into this mess any deeper than he already was after taking him to Hank’s estate with me.

  “Maybe I should have called you the deadly Army veteran.” I laughed.

  “I only fuck shit up if I have to, but you’d better believe, I will defend my family to my very last breath.” His tone dropped an octave as he added, “So, turn this truck around, Colton—now.”

  I heaved in a gulp of air and held it in my lungs before releasing it in a rush. “Fine,” I answered as I swung an illegal U-turn in the middle of the road.

  After a solid hour of searching some local places where Eddie was well known to be and coming up empty, I was ready to call it a night as we glanced around Jay’s Pub and Grill.

  “He’s not here either,” I said to Kyle.

  He was standing at my side. “All right. We’ll keep looking,” Kyle answered in a tone not to be argued with.

  I spun to face the exit. “It’s no use, Kyle. We can’t just track him down. He might be working.”

  As I headed toward the door, I caught wind of Larry Quinn. He was the original officer who had been assigned to my water-spigot incident before Eddie had taken over without any explanation.

  Larry was sitting by himself at a window booth with the newspaper in one hand while sipping at his coffee. I decided it was worth a shot to see what information I could pry out of him.

  “Over here,” I said in a low voice to Kyle.

  I strolled over to Larry and seated myself across from him. I scooted all the way to the window, so Kyle could sit next to me.

  “Hi, there.” I smiled at Larry.

  Larry set down his glass and curiously eyed me. “Hello, Colton. What brings you into town?”

  “I was at the supply store, ordering materials for my buildings.”

  Larry scrunched up his face, appearing disturbed, as he sympathized, “I’m very sorry to hear about the loss on your ranch, especially after you already suffered a flood.”

  “Me, too,” I agreed. “It’s been an overwhelming past few weeks, but Sheriff Reynolds is taking good care of me,” I lied.
<
br />   “I’m glad to hear that. I hope he can find the answers to who caused all this trouble. How is everything else going around your farm?” he asked, making small talk.

  “Good. The cleanup of the debris is nearly complete, and the construction of the new buildings will be soon underway. So, I’m trying to look forward to the future.”

  “That’s great news, Colton.” Larry smiled genuinely.

  It was time to get down to business, so I neutrally asked, “So, did you hear about Sheriff Reynolds’s hand?”

  “I did.” Larry shook his head in wonder. He quickly sipped his coffee and set it down. “I feel bad for the guy.”

  “I do, too,” I pretended to feel pity for a man I loathed. “I hope he’s still able to work with having a fractured hand. What happened?”

  “Heaven only knows what the old man did.” He laughed casually. “But you must be mistaken. Sheriff Reynolds didn’t fracture his hand. Talk of the town says it’s a nasty burn.”

  Bingo.

  “A burn?” I probed flippantly. Hoping that Larry would continue to give information to me, I added, “That’s funny you say he burned it because Reynolds told me he fractured it on some chase last week.” I intentionally kept Paige’s name out of the conversation.

  Larry’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “I can’t really say for sure.” He nervously shook his head from side to side as though he could be wrong while appearing to rewind the days in his mind. “However, I can tell you that Sheriff Reynolds didn’t chase down anyone last week. In fact, I haven’t seen that old man run in years.” He chuckled. “I do recall Officer McClain having to go after a suspect who resisted arrest at a local burglary.”

  It sounded like Eddie had been trying to cover his tracks by lying…and he had failed miserably at it.

  “Was Sheriff Reynolds with him that day?”

  Larry’s gaze altered, suspiciously looking at me. “It isn’t my place to say, and my loose tongue has already told you too much.” He leaned back against the plush leather behind him. “What are you digging at, Colton?”

  I lifted my hands up in front of me. “Hey, I’m not trying to start trouble. I was just making conversation.”