“Queenie’s fine. She’s had her rubdown, and she went for a run about an hour ago. She’s good.”
I run my hand down my horse’s back and lean in to whisper to her, “That’s right, Queenie. You’re a good baby, aren’t you? You ready for today?”
The horse neighs as if she understands me and rubs her head against my shoulder.
I lean my face against her and nuzzle her.
After taking a deep breath, I pat her. “Let’s go win us a race, Queenie.”
She huffs and stomps her foot.
I shake hands with Dr. Macks, and without another glance at Dillon, I hold Queenie’s lead as I walk out to the arena. It’s not until I get up to the fence that I realize I’m next. I put one foot into the stirrup and pull myself up to the saddle.
Dillon puts his hand on my leg. “Hey.”
I want to ignore him, but I force my gaze down. “What?”
He shakes his head sadly. “I know you’re mad at me, but don’t go out there like this. Forget about me, forget about your parents, forget about everything. Focus on the ride.”
I take a deep breath. I know he’s right. I wish my parents were here, but they’re somewhere across the country living it up, spending the money I make. And no matter what he says, I’m not going to forget about Dillon. Since we kissed last night, he’s all I’ve thought about.
“London… are you listening to me? I need you to be focused when you go out there.”
I nod my head. “Right. Focused.”
The woman before me comes off and wishes me luck. I tell her, “Good ride” and then try to put everything else out of my head.
I get to the line, ready to go. The countdown begins, and when the alarm buzzes, I take off out of the shoot. The whole time, I’m cheering on Queenie. “Let’s go, girl.” “You got this.” “Let’s do this.”
Queenie runs like she’s never run before. She glides around the barrels smoothly, and before I even realize it, we’re on the straightaway back to the starting point.
I can hear the crowd going wild, but everything in front of me is a blur until we come to a halt.
The thunderous reaction from the arena vibrates within me. I’m huffing and puffing, telling Queenie what a good job she did.
While I’m still astride my horse, the announcement comes over that I’ve beaten the record for barrel racing in my division. I’m smiling, waving to everyone as I ride off to the exit. I stay on the horse as I head into the back with Dillon walking beside me. The smile on his face is everything to me, and I hate that I’ve given a man that much power over me. Especially one that doesn’t want to want me.
I climb off Queenie, and as soon as my feet hit the ground, I get woozy. I lose all control of my body, and I know I’m falling, but I can’t do anything about it.
I come to seconds later, or maybe minutes, I’m not really sure. But Dillon has me up in his arms, looking at me with an alarmed look on his face.
He takes me to the back, and I look over his shoulder. “Queenie?”
Dillon is gruff. “Roger’s got her. He’s going to get her back home.”
I lean my head against Dillon’s chest. “I have another ride.”
Dillon’s jaw clenches, but he doesn’t say another word. He carries me straight to the infirmary. He bypasses a cowboy holding his arm and another cowboy with a gash in his forehead and blood streaming down.
Dillon bellows, “Help. We need help.”
I struggle to get out of his arms. “Stop it. I’m fine.”
He tightens his arms around me. “I’m not letting you down, so you might as well stop squirming.”
The doctor comes out of a door. “Uh oh, what happened here?”
Dillon answers before I can. “She fainted.”
