“Oh, Shep.”
Ellie’s attention went on alert. Was the beating Shep had taken connected to what had happened on the plane and the attack in her hotel room?
“How’s Lass?” Shep asked, concerned for his horse.
“Lass is fine,” Elle said, helping him take a sip of water through a straw. “I knew you’d be worried so I checked on her myself.”
“I should have known I could count on you. Any new gossip?”
Prissy grinned. “I heard one of the American riders got mugged and wound up in the hospital. The British team is highly disappointed. They expect us all to be able to handle ourselves like Dirty Harry.”
Shep winced as his split lips curved into an unwanted smile. “Please, Prissy, have mercy. The last thing I need is a laugh.”
“How long will you be laid up?” Ellie asked.
“I’ll be able to ride by the time we get to Dublin. I expect you to hold up my end on Sunday.”
With Shep unable to compete, she’d be taking his place in the Nations’ Cup. Though she had been competing all along, this would be the first time she was representing the United States. “I promise to do my best.”
“You’d better.”
“And we’d better get going,” Prissy said as the door opened, emitting a stiff-backed nurse dressed in a stark white uniform that seemed to fade into the backdrop of the sterile white walls.
Ellie and Shep both wrinkled their noses at the hospital smells traveling in her wake.
“I get out of this hellhole in the morning,” Shep told them. “Make sure Jake doesn’t forget to send someone to pick me up.”
“I’ll remind him, but I’m sure he won’t forget.” Ellie turned to go but stopped at the door and turned back. “The man who mugged you.... You’re certain he was just after your wallet. I mean it wasn’t anything to do with the team or anything?”
“No. I’m sure it was nothing like that.”
Ellie sighed in relief. “Feel better, Shep.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
As Shep was getting released from the hospital early the following morning, Ellie was heading for the stables. She was determined to ride the best she knew how. She wanted Jake and the others to be proud of her.
The sky was an azure blue, the day short-sleeve warm. Distant clouds puffed on the horizon, hinting at a possible change in the weather. Ellie worked Rose, worked Jube, and readied herself for the day’s competition.
When she won her first class, her spirits lifted. Then she spotted Clay.
He was working Max in the practice ring, his form just as perfect as she remembered. Ellie watched unnoticed as horse and rider took the fences, remembering the night they had spent together. She remembered the way he had touched her, the things he had made her feel. She thought of the way his powerful body had pressed her into the mattress, the way her body had responded, the connection they had shared.
Without him, she had felt lost these past days.
Clay took another fence, and she got a good look at his face. He was all concentrated effort, he and Max working in perfect unison. He wasn’t looking for her, that much was clear. Ellie’s heart squeezed.
Flex walked up beside her. “I see he made it.”
“Yes,” she said softly. “I guess he just got in.”
“He got in last night. He called about ten o’clock to ask about Max.”
“Last night?” Ellie could barely choke out the words. “He called you last night?”
“Yes.” Flex glanced down at her.
She could feel the blood draining out of her face. Her hand trembled where it rested on the arena fence.
