I opened my mouth to say something, but my phone interrupted, pinging with a text message.
Unknown Number
Shame about the fire. What a lucky dog.
I reread the text a few times, my heart rate increasing with each pass.
Who is this?
Unknown Number
I’d quit while you’re ahead.
Who knows what could happen.
“You okay, Skip?” Concern painted Hayden’s features. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Y-yeah. I’m fine. I’m gonna go.” I pointed my thumb over my shoulder.
The problem was, I didn’t have anywhere to go.
“Where are you going to go?”
Of course he’d call my bluff.
I shrugged as I forced out a laugh. “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.” Spinning on my heel, I started to walk back to the arena. Surely there’d be someone who could board my horse and drop me off at a hotel or something.
“Skip,” Hayden called out the stupid childhood nickname, but I ignored him and kept walking. “Sierra, wait.”
When I didn’t stop like he wanted, he started to follow me.
“Come with us.”
That was enough for me to stop abruptly in my tracks, causing him to bump into my back with an, “Oof.”
“What?” I needed to make sure I heard him correctly.
“Come on the road with us. We have plenty of space and?—”
I cut him off, holding up a hand. “I don’t think that’s?—”
“Come on, Skip, let me finish a sentence for once.” He chuckled before I could finish my own interruption.
“It’s okay, Hayden, I don’t want to overstep.”
“You wouldn’t be. Where are you going to go instead?”
“I’ll stay in a hotel or something until I can get my pickup again, then…” Truth was, I didn’t know what the fuck I was going to do. A fire investigation could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. I couldn’t just stop competing, but even if I wanted to go on the road, I didn’t have a way to transport Lucky. Unfortunately, horse trailers cost a pretty penny, too. Not to mention all the gear I’d lost in the fire.
“Don’t lie to me, Skip.” His voice softened. “We don’t do that, remember?”
“Okay, fine. I don’t have a plan right now, but, like I said, I’ll figure it out. I don’t want to be an inconvenience.”
“You’re the farthest thing from an inconvenience to me.”
“I don’t know how long it’ll be, and I’d just be in the way.” I started sputtering out any excuse I could think of.
Because I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. Definitely not because I was scared.
