I just smirked as I watched my boyfriend shake his head and act annoyed.
But he knew it was true.
“Is today the interview, Wren?” Benji asked.
“Yep. They’re coming out this afternoon. So don’t come out there talking about anyone being on fire, please.” I laughed.
“What interview?” Jonah asked.
“Wren’s got an interview with a big-time equestrian magazine,” Axel said. “They wanted to come out to the ranch to see how she’s been training while she’s been in Rosewood River on her own.” He reached for his soda and took a sip.
There was this elephant in the room. Or maybe it was more of a dark cloud.
This impending expiration date when everything would change.
We were trying to put on happy faces and enjoy these last few weeks, but it was just hanging over our heads like a heavy weight.
And doing this interview was a reminder that I was heading back into the thick of it. That was why they were coming.
The horse world was waiting for me to return.
“That’s cool,” Coby said. “Something popped up on my feed today about you going back. They were talking about how you’d come back home to recover from your accident, and they even mentioned you buying your horse back.”
“She’s a big deal,” Benji added. “And my boy has gotten to take some lessons from her, so he’ll get to brag about that for the rest of his life.” He winked at me.
I was going to miss this so much.
“I’m the lucky one.” I cleared my throat because the lump forming there made it difficult to swallow.
Axel studied me for a few beats, just like he always did. As if he could read my mind. “All right. Eat your lunch and get back to work.”
And that’s exactly what they did.
Well, at least until the team showed up to interview me. Two black vans with cameras and a video guy made their way out to the barn, where Axel and I met them.
I couldn’t help but laugh every time I saw Coby, Jonah, and Benji peeping around the corner and giving me thumbs-ups.
They took photos of me riding Wrax, and some video doing a few of the jumps in the arena. And then we went inside Axel’s home for the actual interview.
We were sitting at his large wood kitchen table, and I was surprised how many questions the interviewer, Laney Mitchell, had for me. I thought it would be much quicker than it actually was.
“I’m sorry for all the questions,” she said. “I promise I’ve got just a few more.”
“No problem. Ask away.”
Axel was sitting beside me, because I’d asked him to be here with me for the interview.
“A lot of people thought the accident had scared you off,” she said. “Did it get in your head?”
I chuckled. “No. Me leaving had very little to do with the accident, aside from needing some time to recover. I’ve had much worse falls over the years. I left because my father had made the decision to sell Wrax, and I wasn’t okay with that. I am not looking to ride a new horse. My family was going through some personal issues as well, so once I got home, I knew this was where I needed to be for a while.” I shrugged, because it was the truth.
Laney’s gaze softened, and I got the feeling she appreciated the honesty. “The horse community was pretty outraged whenthey heard Wrax had been sold without you agreeing to do so. I’m sure having him taken from you was not easy.”
“Correct.”
“Do you think Wrax is up to the challenge of coming back and jumping back into competition?”
“I do. I think he’s more than capable. I have all the faith in him.”
