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He could see that she still wanted to push, to ask those questions sitting on her tongue. But she didn’t. She just leaned back against the stall door and closed her eyes.

Chapter 28

Sometime during the night, Skye had lain down too. And she must have shifted in her sleep. That was the only reasonable explanation for why her back was tucked against TJ’s side, the curves of her ass pressing into his aching hip.

TJ closed his eyes again and memorized the soft give of her body everywhere that they touched. Despite the bone-deep ache and the accompanying burn of sciatica down his right leg, he didn’t dare move. He’d lie through an eternity of pain just to stay there like that with her.

He got ten minutes before Skye popped awake and scrambled into a seated position. Not wanting her to be embarrassed or – worse – angry, he calmly closed his eyes and pretended to sleep as she hurried to her feet. He felt the chill creep back in where only moments before he’d been filled with warmth.

Skye walked over to Smokey. She crooned to her horse as she checked her over, and only when that was done did she gently nudge his leg with the toe of her boot. ‘TJ?’

He slowly opened his eyes, blinked a few times for effect. ‘Morning.’

‘I’m going to go and say goodbye to Stevie and Andrea. They should be getting ready to Uber to the airport.’

‘Go. I’ll see to the horses.’

She eyed him sceptically. ‘Don’t you need to shower or – I don’t know – eat?’

‘I’ll get to it,’ he replied tiredly. But he didn’t make a move to sit up. He didn’t want her to witness that first big movement in the morning, which was always excruciating.

‘Do you need h—’

‘I said, I’ll get to it.’

Skye’s spine straightened at his tone, which had come out cold and impatient. ‘Fine,’ she snapped back and spun on her heel.

He waited for her to leave before slowly rolling onto his side, then one elbow, then all fours, his face contorted with pain, his eyes stormy and hateful. Bitter. He took one deep breath as he swung his left leg underneath him, felt the beads of sweat grow as the movement stretched a spine that wasn’t supposed to be stretched.

By the time he was on his feet, there was a thick brick of bile in his throat. His mouth watered. His empty stomach tossed about.

TJ fought the urge to throw up. He leaned against the stall’s siding until the feeling receded, and as soon as it did, he steeled himself. And he got to work.

He fed and watered the horses, and by the time he got to mucking, Skye was back. This time, Bandit was on a leash at her side. Skye wordlessly grabbed her own shovel, and because he was in Smokey’s stall, she started on Kai’s.

For a long while, the silence stretched between them. But because he needed to get as much time with her as he could, TJ broke it first. ‘Once he’s digested a bit, you should run Kai. Get a feel for him.’

Skye leaned on the handle of her shovel. ‘Where?’

There were typically rules and associated fines for practising in the arena, especially once it had been graded. But TJ knew he could work something out. ‘There’s no slack today. If we hurry, they might let us get a few turns in before they grade for the stock shows at noon.’

They opted to see if they could wrangle some arena time, and only a few hours later, with Smokey safely locked in the trailer, Skye took Kai through a few warm-up drills. She wasn’t quite sure how TJ always managed to bend the rules but decided not to question it.

Beneath her, Kai was soft, his every movement smooth. He was big, maybe sixteen hands, with a gait that felt stretching compared to Smokey’s. But he was responsive and calm, with none of Smokey’s attitude.

In the corner of the arena, TJ didn’t say anything, only watched, and when Skye had warmed up sufficiently and asked, ‘Ready?’ he walked to the starting line with Bandit, a stopwatch in hand.

‘Take him right first,’ TJ instructed as Skye handed him her phone to keep safe. He slipped it into his pocket. ‘Give him space to turn the barrels; he’s a lot bigger than Smokey. Push him hard on the straights. He has the leg for speed.’

Skye nodded. But she had her doubts. Kai was calm and quiet beneath her, with none of that typical fire she associated with barrel horses. The only reason she knew he was ready was by his ears, which were pricked forward, his head slightly raised.

She took a breath and pushed him into a lope behind the starting line. She completed one circle, and the moment she was straight, cued him into a gallop with only her legs and a single click.

Kai surged, pushing her back in her saddle so quickly and with so much force that Skye had to correct her balance as the horse approached the first barrel. She managed to right herself just in time, but Kai needed no guidance. He took the first and pushed for the second, his form perfect. By the time they turned the third barrel, Skye was grinning, and when they sailed past the finish line, she was outright cackling.

She pulled Kai to a stop in front of TJ, looked down into his grin, and in lieu of a better way to describe her shock, simply said, ‘Hot damn.’

TJ showed her the stopwatch. ‘15.65.’