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“Well, we all are.”

Still sore, I limped up to the show window with Piper. She rattled on about her clinic. It seemed a beautiful experience. Alongside was Leslie, her crush. They were cute together and I thought it was nice she’d driven with Piper up here from one horse event to another. It reminded me so much of my youth—horse crazy from dawn to dusk. I’d never have enough horses.

“One for the hack,” I said. “Late entry.”

I handed over a twenty and the woman stared at me, surprised.

“Who is it?”

“Mack Truck. Rider is Chloe Markham,” Piper said. We’d decided for today that was his show name.

“Are you my trainer now?” I giggled.

“I’m your enabler, Chloe.”

The woman filed it and nodded. “You’re good to go.”

We left. I was sore as hell. I wanted so badly to sleep, but my body ran with adrenaline that didn’t quit. Was it my usual show haul? No, but somehow, it meant more. My success was Cole’s success. If I showed Opal well, it would prove she could excel even with a crash dummy aboard. In the process of this experiment and social media push, I’d become the talk of the show—a parlor trick. I was sure cameras following me around didn’t hurt, either. My followers craved this dynamic of western-meets-english, and Cole was not hard on the eyes in a pair of Wranglers. Even as he griped, I wanted this to raise the offers so we could buy Piper an amazing prospect.

We returned to Mack, looking confused as to why he’d been pulled away from his food.

“Sorry, buddy,” Piper cooed. “You still have to work.”

“For the record, I think you shouldn’t do this,” Cole said. “Not because I worry about him, but because I worry about you.”

“I can handle it, old man. Calm down. My leg hasn’t given out yet. Where is Opal?”

“Fat and happy with some hay.”

A woman in yoga pants and a North Face pullover approached. “Piper, have you drunk any water?”

Cole gave me a leg up, ignoring her. So, this was the ex? She was different than expected—very attractive, slightly younger than him, and clearly wealthy. She wore yoga pants from a boutique brand my sister-in-law swore by. I expected her to be a middle-class soccer mom type, but her background in PR emphasized the importance of appearance. So, even at a big open show amid a random Sunday afternoon.

Cole scratched Mack behind the ears as Piper argued with her mother.

“He’s actually being a very good boy.”

“He’s been great. I think we do better like this. He has no idea what he is doing, but he likes it. And it doesn’t matter, right? It’s for fun.”

“I think there is no such thing as ‘just for fun’ with you,” Cole chuckled, dusting my boots. “You’re a competitor.”

I wanted to yell at him for staring too long or touching me too much. Even if I adored the caring, dutiful man who’d taken care of me all day, I didn’t want Piper to catch on. Now that his clients were finished showing, I became all he cared about. His warm smile made it all sweeter. The urge to kiss him came on strong, but I had to resist.

“Cole!” The woman said, voice sharp. “Are we eating here?”

“They have veggie burgers,” Cole sighed. “Brynn, I do not dictate whether you do or don’t eat.”

“Well, if you could pull yourself away from your client for a minute, I want to discuss something.” Brynn glared at me.

Oh, she’s jealous!

“I’m still working,” Cole protested. “Why don’t you get some food with the girls?”

She shrugged. “Sure. But it is your daughter’s birthday.”

“I am well-aware,” Cole said.

“And I’m not upset,” Piper said, annoyed. “There is no place I’d rather be than at a horse show, Mom! Calm down.”