The Cowboy's Secret (Cowboys After Dark: Book 3)

by Maggie Carpenter

  She’ll be wearing a helmet.

  Oh, shut the fuck up.

  Driven by her love and determination, she reached the side of the barn, ran around the back, then dashed across an open area to hide behind a tractor parked near the ring. Peering out from behind the large wheel she could see and hear everything, and her timing was perfect; Clint was leading Jiminy, and a short young woman dressed to the nines was marching ahead of him.

  That can’t be Caitlin. Surely not. She can’t ride Jiminy. She’s way too small. What an idiot.

  “Where’s the mounting block?” Caitlin demanded looking around the ring. “Why are these jumps set so high? I’ll need them lowered. Jiminy’s a three-foot horse, maybe three-six if I want to go big, which I don’t.”

  Amelia stared in disbelief, shocked at what she was hearing.

  What? A three-foot horse? She’s totally out of her mind.

  “We don’t have a mounting block out here, but I’ll give you a leg up,” Clint offered.

  “A leg up? Are you serious? How can you give me a leg up on to this giraffe?” Caitlin quipped. “Never mind, I’ll stand on that wall.”

  “I’m not sure that’s the safest-”

  “I said, I’ll stand on the wall. Have one your men lower it so I can use it,” she demanded.

  “If you insist,” Clint replied, but what I’d really like to do is bend you over it and whip your precious ass.

  Amelia watched the girl stride forward to the brick wall, then stand impatiently while Sam ambled over to take off the top layers.

  “Must you take so long to do everything?” Caitlin scowled.

  Amelia knew Sam; there was no question he was taking his sweet time just to piss off the arrogant, rude young woman, and in spite of the circumstances Amelia broke into a smile.

  “Don’t lose your head to save a minute, you need your head, your brain is in it,” Sam grinned.

  Caitlin stared at him, not sure how to respond, and finally showed her annoyance by stamping her foot. The childish gesture hit Sam’s funny bone, and it took all his self-control not to laugh out loud.

  Glancing across at Clint, Amelia could see his lips were pursed; he wasn’t happy, not happy at all.

  With the top bricks removed, Clint walked Jiminy up and held him while Caitlin threw her leg over the saddle and settled in.

  “These stirrups are too long. Way too long,” she announced.

  Without a word Clint pulled the stirrup leathers out, adjusted their length, and placing Caitlin’s feet in the irons stood back to make sure they were even.

  “That should do it,” he smiled.

  “My crop, I need my crop,” she declared. “It’s in the Rover.”

  Hearing the words, Amelia’s smile instantly transformed into a frown, and she grit her teeth.

  A crop? Why the hell do you need a crop? The last thing you need is a crop, you stupid cow!

  “Nope, drawin’ the line there, Caitlin. This horse doesn’t need a crop. Now go have your ride.”

  “I always ride with a crop,” she protested.

  “Not here,” Clint said firmly, “and this is my ranch, so there’s no debate.”

  “Why are you being so difficult?” she yelled, but Clint was already walking away, turning a deaf ear to Caitlin’s demand.

  Amelia sighed with relief and gratitude as she watched Clint stride away, ignoring the young woman and the ridiculous request.

  I should be more like you, Clint. You always manage to keep your cool.

  Turning her attention back to Jiminy she started to giggle. Caitlin’s legs barely touched the horse’s sides, and she was having difficulty getting him to move forward.

  “This is why I carry a crop,” Caitlin bellowed furiously. “Now go and get me my crop!”

  Sam and Clint were the only ones there, the young man having chosen to stay in the warmth of the Range Rover, and they stared back at her, unmoving.

  “Fine,” she yelled, and taking the excess of the reins in one hand, she flicked them across Jiminy’s neck. He began to move forward, and Caitlin smiled triumphantly.

  Amelia knew her horse wasn’t happy. His ears were pinned back, and Caitlin was holding the reins tightly, pulling on his mouth. For months Jiminy had spent the first ten minutes of every ride on a long loose rein, his head down so he could stretch out, then Amelia would lightly ask him to lift his head as she gently squeezed him into the trot.

  It had only been a minute or two before Caitlin began clucking and flailing her short legs at his side in an attempt to get him to trot. The big horse began to do what his rider wanted, but not having ridden for several months Caitlin was bouncing around, and decided to pull even more tightly on the reins to help her find her balance. Jiminy, now sensitive to the aids because of Amelia’s training, immediately came to a screeching halt sending Caitlin tumbling over his shoulder.

  Amelia wanted to leap for joy, but opted for a silent prayer of thanks, and broke into a huge grin.

  Clint was right, that’s it. There’s no way she’ll want him after that. Oh, Jiminy, don’t you worry, you’ll have a forever home with me now, my big, beautiful boy.

  “FUCK! What have you done to my horse?” Caitlin shrieked as she jumped up and grabbed his reins.

  Clint and Sam were jogging towards her, but studying his face, Amelia could see Clint was running out of patience.

  “You were trying to keep your balance off his mouth,” Clint declared tersely. “You pulled, he stopped. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. This horse is too big and too bouncy for you, Caitlin. It’ll never work.”

  “Bullshit. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Take him back to the wall. I want to jump over a cross-rail.”

  “That’s a very bad idea,” Clint said sternly. “I can’t let you do that.”

  “Fine, I’ll take him myself, but if I fall off the wall trying to hold him and get on at the same time you’ll have hell to pay,” she snapped.

  “Who are you?” Clint frowned. “The Caitlin I met was spoiled, but damn, girl, there are a number of names that fit you about now.”

  “I don’t care what you think,” she spat. “Just hold my fucking horse so I can get back on.”

  “Okay, but if you come off again that’s it,” he said sternly, “and if you continue to be so nasty…”

  “What? What are you going to do about it?” she retorted.

  “Keep it up and you’ll find out,” he glowered.

  Staring up at him, Caitlin caught her breath. There was something in his eyes she didn’t recognize, and something she certainly didn’t like. Dropping her gaze she walked to the wall, and climbed on as Clint held the horse still.

  Amelia was beside herself.

  What the hell? This is insanity. What is wrong with her?

  She’s an arrogant, egotistical brat who thinks she can ride better than she can, that’s what’s wrong with her.

  Better than she can? Shit, she can’t ride at all.

  She wants him just because she does. You need to do something. She wants the horse.

  Like what? What can I do?

  Then it hit her. She knew exactly how to teach Caitlin the lesson of her life.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Dashing from behind the tractor to the cover of the shadows alongside the barn, Amelia stared back into the ring. Caitlin was bouncing up and down on Jiminy’s back, a death grip on the reins, trotting towards a small cross rail. For Jiminy it wasn’t a fence to jump at all, and he simply continued to trot as he went over it, merely lifting his feet a little higher.

  “What the hell is wrong with him?” Caitlin yelled. “Why isn’t he jumping?”

  Heart pumping, Amelia lifted her head, and hoping it wasn’t loud enough for Clint or Sam to hear, she softly trilled, summoning Jiminy to her side.

  Caitlin had managed to turn the horse around and was trotting back towards the cross rail when Jiminy heard his lovely human’s call. He pricked his ears, which Caitlin interprete
d as a precursor to the small jump, and feeling apprehensive she grabbed his mane in case he did a leap bigger than she was expecting.

  Amelia knew exactly what the pricked ears meant and trilled again, this time a little louder; Jiminy stopped, and spinning his head around peered intently in the direction of the call.

  “What’s he doing?” Caitlin barked, attempting to kick him back into his gait.

  Amelia bolted to the back of the barn and trilled through the barn aisle, then dashing to the empty back field where Jiminy spent most of his days she trilled again.

  There was no view of the ring from where she was standing, but she heard the satisfying sound of Caitlin’s screams, and knowing Jiminy would have taken the most direct route to reach her, Amelia was sure he would have jumped out of the ring.

  Standing in the middle of the field, her pulse racing and breaking into a sweat in spite of the cold air swirling around her, she heard the thundering of the big horse’s hooves as he galloped around the barn. Seconds later he was in sight, and to Amelia’s astonishment Caitlin was still on his back.

  Amelia trilled again to let him know where she was. She’d left the gate open but the big horse didn’t care about the gate, or the terrified girl hanging around his neck, all he cared about was reaching Amelia. Heart in her mouth Amelia watched Jiminy do what he did best; leap over the field’s fence with an easy grace.

  Don’t fall off, don’t fall off, don’t fall off, she fervently prayed, staring at Caitlin holding on for dear life as the horse left the ground.

  To her great relief her prayers were answered, and Caitlin was still on his back as the big horse landed. He cantered a few strides before breaking into a trot, and finally reaching Amelia he came to a stop, dropping his head to her shoulder. Caitlin, shaking and horrified, immediately slid off his neck and fell in a quaking lump on the ground.

  “Are you all right?” Amelia asked, feigning concern.

  “What the hell have you done with him?” Caitlin shrieked, scrabbling away. “He’s crazy, absolutely fucking crazy.”

  Clint and Sam were running into the field, but Amelia didn’t care, and ignoring her hammering heart she calmly looked down at the girl and shook her head, as if puzzled by her remarks.

  “I don’t know what you mean?”

  “Who the hell are you?” Caitlin quivered.

  “I’m Amelia, are you sure you’re okay?”

  “No, I’m not fucking okay. I could’ve been killed,” she howled.

  “Huh, weird, he’s never run away with me,” Amelia replied, shrugging her shoulders, “and I’ve been jumping him over four feet.”

  “That’s impossible, he’s only a three-foot horse?” Caitlin protested, unsteadily getting to her feet.

  Amelia could see Clint and Sam closing in, but continued on, determined to convince Caitlin Jiminy wasn’t the right horse for her.

  “This horse? Oh, no, if he was sold to you as a three-foot horse you got scammed. He’s a jumper.”

  Caitlin stared at her, a bewildered look crossing her face.

  “I don’t believe it,” she frowned.

  “You shouldn’t be riding a horse like this unless you have a lot of experience,” Amelia said somberly. “You could get really hurt.”

  “But he’s not a jumper,” Caitlin insisted.

  “Didn’t he just jump over that fence with you?” she pressed, but she could see Caitlin was digging in her heels, so decided on a different tack. “I’ll tell you what, how about I show you,” Amelia smiled as if she was doing the girl a huge favor.

  “Don’t bother. I’ll just take him back and have my trainer fix him,” Caitlin growled. “I like big horses, they make the jumps look smaller.”

  The hell you will, Amelia silently snarled.

  “You can’t make a horse that loves to jump big, jump lower over small obstacles,” Amelia replied. “He’ll jump them big regardless. If you only want to go up to say, three-three or three-six, this horse is completely wrong for you.”

  Amelia was talking to her like a potential house buyer, reasonably stating facts, not offering any kind of emotional response.

  “Show me,” Caitlin demanded. “I have to see it for myself.”

  “Sure, no problem,” Amelia agreed, then turned her attention to Clint and Sam who had finally reached them.

  Clint was staring at her, clearly puzzled, wondering why Jiminy had bolted and ended up in the back field with her.

  “Hi Clint, could you give me a leg-up?” she asked, ignoring his quizzical gaze. “Caitlin wants to see her horse jump the big stuff.”

  “Caitlin, are you doin’ okay?” Clint frowned. “That was a heck of a ride he took you on.”

  “No, I’m not okay, my arm hurts, and so does my hip,” she complained. “I don’t know what you’ve done to him, but he’s not the same horse.”

  Not wanting to respond to the diatribe, he turned to Amelia.

  “I thought you were up in the house,” he remarked.

  “I was, but, uh, I’m here now,” she stammered. “Can you give me a leg-up?”

  Clint tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out exactly what had happened, and what was now happening directly in front of him.

  “Please,” Amelia pushed, staring at him, trying to send the message that she knew what she was doing; a moment later, to her great relief, she saw the penny drop.

  “Sure, of course,” he nodded.

  Amelia adjusted the stirrups back to her length, checked the girth, then stroked Jiminy’s neck to help settle his nerves, waiting until he let out a loud snort and shook his head.

  “That’s my boy,” she whispered. “Okay, we’re ready,” she declared, and took up her position, poking out her foot ready for Clint to lift her into the saddle.

  “You’re nuts to get on like that,” Caitlin remarked.

  “Probably, but it works for us,” she said airily, and if you want to see someone who’s truly nuts, go look in a mirror.

  Clint hoisted her up and she started forward, but the small group couldn’t keep up, and looking over her shoulder Amelia was delighted to see Caitlin was limping.

  “I’ll see you at the ring,” she called as Jiminy picked up his pace.

  As she rode him towards the arena she could feel him relaxing, and once in the ring she began to warm him up, then watching Clint and Sam put the fences back to their original height, she continued trotting around, making sure the horse knew his workout wasn’t yet finished.

  “This is such bullshit,” Caitlin declared as Clint and Sam joined her outside the arena. “There’s no way that horse can jump fences like that.”

  Amelia, hearing Caitlin’s words, suddenly felt a rush of nerves; everything depended on this one ride. Pulling Jiminy to a slow stop she closed her eyes, thinking back to her show days.

  Three deep breaths. Don’t try, let the jumps flow towards you and trust your horse.

  The memory helped; feeling assured and confident she picked up the canter and began the course of fences. The first was relatively low, but they grew increasingly in size, and the last one was two horizontal poles set high, several feet apart. Called an oxer, it asked the horse to jump big and wide, not an easy feat.

  As Clint watched Amelia navigate around the jumps, he glanced down at Caitlin; she was incredulous at the sight of Jiminy effortlessly leaping over the jumps with Amelia perfectly in control.

  “She’s not doing that oxer, is she?” Caitlin breathed. “That thing is huge.”

  Amelia turned the corner and cantered towards the big jump, but as she galloped forward she gave an extra cluck just to make sure Jiminy would offer the extra lift the big fence needed. It wasn’t something she generally did, but she rode from her instinct, and her instinct dictated she make the encouraging sound.

  Jiminy knew exactly what the cluck meant and thundered forward. Amelia’s heart skipped a beat; he was flying towards the oxer, and just as she’d suspected he would the big horse left the ground a stride earl
y, turning the large oxer into something almost twice its size.

  Standing at the side of the ring Clint could not believe what he was seeing. The horse had turned the jump into an Olympic sized obstacle, and not only had Jiminy cleared it, he’d done it with room to spare. That Amelia had been able to stay in the saddle he found completely astounding.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Caitlin muttered. “That’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen in my life. You people are all crazy. I’ve seen enough, get me out of here.”

  As the horse landed on the other side Amelia’s heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to jump out of her chest, but Jiminy simply cantered away, and continued until Amelia slowed him to a stop.

  “You are the most stupendous horse,” she exclaimed breathlessly, rubbing his neck.

  Looking towards the gate she was surprised to see Caitlin moving briskly away from the ring with Clint and Sam running after her. Dropping the reins so Jiminy could walk around and relax, she watched anxiously for Clint’s return, and when he came jogging back she picked up the trot and hurried to the gate to meet him.

  “So? What’s happening?” she asked urgently.

  “She thinks we’re all crazy, she thinks Jiminy is a complete monster, and she wants nothing more to do with us, or him,” Clint grinned.

  “Really? That’s fantastic,” she bubbled.

  “That jump, holy crap darlin’, you scared the bejesus outta me. Did you know he could jump like that?”

  “Honestly, I didn’t, it was, it was…I can’t even describe it. Had to be one of the most thrilling things I’ve ever done. I don’t think I’ve ever jumped that big. It was absolutely incredible, he’s absolutely incredible,” she beamed.

  “Why did he leave a stride out?” Clint asked.

  “I clucked, and I never cluck. He just did what he thought I wanted,” she replied.

  “It sealed the deal,” Clint remarked. “Caitlin said it was one of the most terrifying things she’s ever seen, and there was no way she’d get on him again.”

  “That’s really weird,” Amelia frowned. “I had this feeling I had to cluck as we were galloping towards it. There was no reason for it, none, we were totally on track.”