“His what?” Dustin asked from beside Vince.
Jason chuckled and reached into the stall. Moments later he pulled out a small black stuffed horse that looked much like Danny. It was tied to the stall with a piece of baling twine. Danny stretched out his neck and began toying with the thing with his upper lip.
“It’s his toy,” Jason explained. “I can’t tell you exactly how we figured it out. I think someone put the stuffed animal on his stall door at a show, and it became his.”
Vince laughed. “If non–horse people could see this, they’d stop claiming horses can’t have personalities.”
Chapter Eleven
THE IDEA of flying for several hours in a cargo plane was still not appealing to Vince, but when the time came to load the horses, he accepted it as something they simply had to do. It was going to be uncomfortable for him and he wasn’t sure how all the horses would react to the flight, but he knew it wouldn’t be as stressful as his mind wanted him to believe. Surely this was just as safe as a passenger plane. Horses flew in planes every day for shows or races or sales. And this company knew what they were doing as much as the transporters did.
The shipping company was very efficient when it came to the loading process. The horses were in stalls on pallets, which were then carefully lifted into the massive plane and latched securely into place. Each plane also carried a huge supply of food and all the other equipment they needed.
Xander was alert and a little stressed, but he wasn’t upset enough to be sedated. None of the other horses seemed concerned, which probably helped calm him. Danny was right beside Xander, making it easy for Vince to work as Danny’s groom while still checking on Xander.
The liftoff was gentler than Vince had come to expect from passenger flights. He and the other grooms were required to sit during the takeoff and landing, but once they were level and they got the clearance from the flight deck, Vince and Dustin headed back to check on their charges.
Danny was relaxed and munched on the hay in his net. Xander was a little more nervous but not too bad. He was simply looking around, nostrils flared. Once he realized the other horses around him were relaxed, he started to nibble on his hay net as well.
“I don’t think he’s too worried,” Dustin commented.
“So far, so good,” Vince agreed.
IT WAS a long flight without any stops along the way. Vince hadn’t paid much attention to the time when they started the takeoff, but from what some of the other grooms said, it was about an eight-hour flight. Vince and Dustin spent their time checking on Xander and Danny, watering them by hand per the recommendation of the other, more experienced grooms. They also talked about the coming event, Hunter, Dustin’s mom and sister, the wedding, and options for their honeymoon. They even joined the other grooms in napping in the cushioned seats they had been provided. These were simply the typical airline seats found on any commercial flight, situated between the area where the horses were and the flight deck.
The landing was just as gentle as the takeoff. It was early morning in Rio, but the area they taxied to was well lit. Trailers waited to take the horses to the stables, and police cars were gathered around them, blue and red lights reflecting off the sides of the trailers. Thankfully they seemed to know better than to have any sirens on to spook the horses.
“Looks like we’re cool enough for a police escort,” Dustin commented.
Vince nodded. “That makes me feel safe. I like it.”
It took some time to get the horses unloaded from the plane, vet checked, and loaded onto the trailers. Then the equipment and supplies had to be moved onto a transport vehicle. Finally with the grooms crowded into vans, they headed off.
The process was well organized, and things happened quickly enough: offloading at the stables and checking in; more vet checks; meeting with the coaches and owners and riders.
Jason and his groom, Luke, had already flown in and were there to help with Danny.
“I can take over,” Luke told Vince with a smile. “Thank you for flying with him, by the way. I’ve never been a fan of planes.”
“It wasn’t bad,” Vince assured him. “They were gentle for the horses.”
Luke gave Danny’s neck a pat. “That’s good. I still have this problem with flying, though. I understand the basics of the science behind how planes work, but my survival instincts say huge tubes of metal should not defy gravity.”
Vince chuckled. “I guess that’s a valid concern when you put it that way.”
“Thanks for not telling me I’m crazy like Jason does,” Luke replied. “And thanks again,” he added before taking Danny away.
Jason appeared from somewhere behind Vince. “Thanks for taking Danny for him.”
Vince gave him a curious look. “I didn’t know you had a groom who hates flying.”
Jason laughed. “He’s not my usual groom. Alex didn’t feel comfortable coming here. I didn’t question him about why because plenty of people have concerns in this messed-up world. Luke is my nephew. He was too excited about the idea of the Olympics to say no when I asked him if he wanted to come instead.”
“That’s a good backup to have,” Vince said with a smile.
“That’s why humans reproduce.” Jason laughed. “To have help when we need it. You’ll have your kid learning barn chores soon enough, I’m sure.”
Vince grinned. “If I have my way, at least.”
“So will you be watching Danny Boy?” Jason asked.
“Of course,” Vince answered with a nod. “I can’t wait to watch in person. Livestreams only let you experience so much.”
“Especially on cross-country day,” Jason agreed. “I’ll let you get Xander set. Thanks again.”
“No problem,” Vince replied. “Think you can show me to where we’re staying later?”
“Of course,” Jason said with a smile. “We are rooming together, by the way. No funny business.”
Vince snorted. “Guess you haven’t seen the internet lately.”
Jason laughed. “Oh, I did. The comment still stands,” he declared before walking after Luke and Danny.
“Someone also doesn’t know you very well,” Dustin commented from behind Vince.
Vince turned and saw him leaning against Xander’s stall door. He stepped close and nudged Dustin’s shoulder with his. “I love you.” Because he never felt like he said it enough.
Dustin smiled at him. “I love you too. This is going to be weird.”
“We’ll be okay,” Vince assured him. “I’m going to miss you like hell, though.”
“I’ll miss you too,” Dustin said quietly. “If I need to text you at night because I wake up after a nightmare, can I?”
The fact that Dustin lived on the streets for almost two years had resulted in him having nightmares periodically. They weren’t as bad now as they were when Dustin and Vince first started dating, but sometimes big changes or major events could trigger them. Vince hoped Dustin didn’t have any bad ones while Vince was unable to help him. Usually he held Dustin or sat close beside him until he was ready to be held.
“Of course,” Vince replied without even thinking. “If you need me, I’ll do what I can for you. I’ll keep my volume on at night. And if Jason or any other roommate has an issue with it, I’ll tell them to fuck off.”
“That might be a little extreme,” Dustin said with a smile.
Vince took his hand. “You’re the most important person in the world to me. No one else. Your needs are what matter to me.”
Dustin squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”
THE FIRST night was definitely strange. Vince decided he hated sleeping alone. Even if he was sharing the room with three other people, not having Dustin there made him very lonely. So he was more than happy when he could take the transport to the stables the next morning. He found Dustin cleaning the stall while Xander munched on his hay. Vince patted Xander and stepped inside.
Dustin looked up at him and smiled brightly. “Hey. Sleep well?�
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“Would have been better with you,” Vince replied. He stepped close and pulled Dustin into a hug. “What about you?” he asked before giving Dustin a quick kiss.
Dustin returned the kiss softly, one arm hooked around Vince’s waist. “I was okay,” he answered. “Nothing too serious. I didn’t wake up panicking from a nightmare. Thankfully.”
Vince nodded. “That’s good.”
“How is your living arrangement?” Dustin asked.
“Not bad,” Vince replied. He let go of Dustin when Xander nuzzled his shoulder. “What about you?”
“Not bad,” Dustin answered with a smile. “You’ll have to come check it out soon.”
Vince smiled, stroking Xander’s neck with one hand. “I would love to.”
THE SECURITY guys at the grooms’ housing barely batted an eye when Vince showed his owner identification instead of his athlete identification at the entrance. The suite Dustin was staying in was pretty nice. It was simple but clean and comfortable. Being there was the closest they could get to being alone while expecting one of Dustin’s roommates to come in at any time.
“So I have no idea why they built this place this way, but there are four bedrooms that fit a total of seven people,” Dustin commented. “Three rooms for two people, and one for one. Luckily my roommates are nice and offered to let me have the single room. It did help that I told them I have PTSD from an abusive past and sometimes wake up with nightmares. They asked if I would prefer privacy, and I jumped at the chance. Maybe no one wanted to be bothered by me,” he added with a shrug.
Vince squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Dustin smiled at him. “I was doing everything I could to have that single room. In case we wanted some time together.”
Vince smiled slightly. “I suppose I should thank you, then. Which room is yours?”
Dustin took his hand and led him to a small inner room. It had no windows, so once the door was closed, Dustin had to turn on the light. The bed was narrow and there was no other furniture besides a dresser, but somehow it was still cozy.
Dustin sat down on the bed and patted the mattress beside him. “The stress of traveling triggered a breakout,” he said honestly. “But we can still be here alone for a while.”
Vince smiled and sat beside him. “Of course,” he murmured. “I had no one to cuddle with last night.”
“Jason didn’t let you?” Dustin asked, a teasing note to his voice.
Vince chuckled. “I learned that he snores.”
Dustin laughed. “I take that to mean I don’t snore. I never knew if I did or not.”
“Sometimes,” Vince said with a shrug. “But your snore is soft and calming. He sounds like a freight train.”
Dustin laughed again, then lay down on the bed. Vince smiled and curled up with him, hooking his arm over Dustin’s waist. He was going to spend every moment he could with Dustin to make up for the nights when they would be apart.
Chapter Twelve
THE OPENING ceremony was three nights later. Vince found himself excited for the event. More even than getting to the venue, this was the sign that he had really, truly made it there. He had accomplished what his mother had always wanted for him; whether she had actually believed he could do it, she had at least had the faith that he could try. He hoped she was proud.
Dustin took his hand as they sat in the staging area with Jason among the rest of the equestrian team, surrounded by the athletes of so many other sports. Vince was thankful to Greg for securing Dustin the chance to join Vince in this moment. He couldn’t think of anyone else he would have wanted to be there with him—except maybe his mother.
And Dustin looked good in his outfit, the same one everyone else wore. Vince smiled at him and squeezed his hand.
“You guys are almost painfully adorable,” Jason commented.
Vince shook his head. “Thank you? I think?”
Dustin chuckled and leaned around Vince to look at Jason. “Jealous?”
“Maybe a little,” Jason replied with a laugh. “I left my guy behind.”
Vince raised an eyebrow. “What happened to your girlfriend?”
Jason shrugged. “Ditched me for a guy who doesn’t travel with a horse for fun and gallop over six-foot ditches and solid three-foot logs.”
It definitely couldn’t be a fun thing for a serious equestrian to have a significant other who was not interested in supporting the sport.
“Then who’s your guy?” Dustin asked. “He must be more understanding.”
“About horses, yeah,” Jason replied. “Not very much so about how someone could possibly be interested in both men and women, but we’ll see if we can work on that. He actually builds cross-country courses.”
“I hope he didn’t give you insider tips that helped you get here,” Vince joked.
“Nah,” Jason assured him. “He does lower levels. Upper levels are too elitist for him.”
At that point, the giant screens in the arena lit up to show the part of the ceremony going on, mostly for the benefit of TV viewers. It allowed them to see what they were missing, and Vince appreciated it. For a while he allowed himself to feel like he was watching this from the comfort of his house, not like he was in the midst of it. It was an odd feeling.
Soon enough a group of officials started organizing the national groups for their entrance into the main arena. It was not until they entered that arena, surrounded by other people who were here for the same reason, that it hit Vince again that he had actually made it. He had actually gotten Xander here, to the greatest horse show he would ever compete in.
They had actually made it to the Olympics. Against everything logic and the rest of the world seemed to say about their chances, they had made it. With a horse that had never been intended for the show jumping sport, who had been abused and left to die. Vince had done all of the training himself, with advice from his old riding instructor. He’d done it himself by saving and planning financially until the winnings finally started to add up to more than the cost of a show.
As they walked into that noisy arena, filled with a cheering crowd and the colorful national teams that had entered before them, the smiling and happy people who had volunteered their time just to be a part of the big event, Vince grabbed his mom’s wedding ring without thinking about it.
He felt Dustin’s presence by his side, and it made him smile. Even if his mother was unable to be there with him, Dustin was. Dustin, who supported him as much as his mother always had, was by his side and would be for the rest of the event. And the rest of his life.
That was the thought he held close to his heart throughout the rest of the night. The socializing, the speeches, the flame, and the fireworks—through it all, Vince couldn’t take his mind off Dustin and how he was there with him. Even when they were forced to go their own ways for the night, Vince was happy.
VINCE AND Dustin spent their days watching other events and working Xander to keep him in shape. They mainly spent their time supporting the two other equestrian teams, but they also checked out a few other headline sports. Vince enjoyed spending that time with Dustin amid the chaos of this strange location and unique show schedule. Nights were still lonely, but sometimes they texted each other until one of them fell asleep, only to start texting again first thing in the morning until Vince made it to the barns.
Vince was happy to watch the eventing team finish with the bronze, with Jason falling just out of the medals for the individual competition. For a while it also looked like the dressage team would take the bronze medal, but then two unfortunate rounds dropped them out of the running. There was still a round left for the individual competition, with two more pairs from Team USA in the running, so Vince kept his hopes up.
Finally the day came for the official vet check before the first day of the show jumping competition. Xander passed with flying colors, as Vince had expected, and they were cleared for competition. The other members of the show jumping team had arrived over the last fe
w days, and Vince spent some time working Xander with them and their horses.
There was, of course, Mary Renolds and her horse, Tex. She was the one who seemed most interested in making sure Vince was aware of everything going on and what they needed to do.
Then there was Andrew Knight, who Vince had never ridden with before but whom he had competed against a few times. He was middle-aged like Mary and had also been to at least one other Olympic event. His horse was Simply Sally, or just Sally, a big gray warmblood mare with a tendency to buck at random during her rounds. Andrew seemed friendly enough toward Vince but didn’t go out of his way to talk to him like Mary did.
The last team member, Nick Mason, was more friendly toward Vince, perhaps because Vince had ridden with him once before, as he had Mary. All three of them had been on a Nations Cup team at Vince’s first Winter Equestrian Festival. Nick was riding a different horse than he was then, however. His current horse was a chestnut gelding named Flightsong, who Nick called Fly.
The traveling alternate was a woman named Tina Gregg, and her horse was Crest. She was Vince’s age, in her late twenties. She was also very friendly with Vince and the rest of the team. Being the alternate meant she could be asked to participate up until the start of the first event if one of the other riders or horses were unfit to compete by illness or injury. Once all the horses had passed the vet check and none of the riders got called out for failed drug tests, she was relegated to the status of team cheerleader. She seemed to be fine with that, from what Vince could see.
VINCE WOKE on the first day of competition feeling strangely nervous. He wasn’t usually like that the day of shows—anxious to get into the arena and prove himself and Xander to the world, maybe, but not usually nervous. But this was the Olympics.
He dressed in his white breeches, white shirt, and his white tie. He stopped short of putting on his boots just yet and stuffed his feet into the ankle-length paddock boots he wore around the barn. He also decided to carry his coat instead of wearing it. Even though he knew he looked ridiculous, he wouldn’t need to find a place to change at the barns before their time came to compete. There were only a few short hours to go until he would be warming up with Xander.
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