But it was gorgeous.
The two other trailers on the property had been moved to another parking area even farther to the left, and he could easily see space for the one he was pulling. He decided to head that way so he could investigate the new barn and the other little changes to the property later. Immediately he noticed Jane’s car and his dad’s truck parked at the barn, along with the stable hands’ five cars.
Then he saw the group of people exiting the barn and waving excitedly.
Vince smiled as he pulled the trailer close to the door and parked the truck. Among the excited group of people, there was also Tally, who was barking excitedly. Dustin went straight to her before anyone else and got a million excited kisses.
Thankfully they all let him get Xander into the pasture, where he could kick up his heels for a while before asking countless questions. Vince let everyone hold his medals, especially Hunter, and recounted the broken stirrup leather fiasco. They talked about what it was like in Rio, what the ceremonies were like in person, and that, yes, their rooms were fine, but they had to sleep away from each other. They passed out little gifts to everyone and got caught up on what had been happening while they were away.
Then finally they went to look at the new facilities. The dorm was exactly like Vince imagined. A total of ten bedrooms and four bathrooms, all with basic furnishings. There was also a parking area beside it for the students.
When he got to the barn, though, he immediately called Jason. He put the phone on speaker as soon as Jason answered so Dustin could hear.
“What’s with the barn?” he demanded. “Eighteen stalls instead of fourteen? And a tack room twice as big as I needed? Brick floors? And I haven’t even checked out the bathroom, lounge, or office yet!”
Jason laughed. “Don’t worry. I had another job fall through, and the pieces had already been fabricated, so I couldn’t send them back. No extra cost involved. The furniture in the lounge and office had also already been ordered, and I decided to give you those too. Call it a wedding present.”
“Jesus, Jason,” Vince muttered.
“Don’t bother looking at the indoor arena yet, though,” Jason told him. “The lights are on back order and won’t be in until the end of the month, so we aren’t laying the sand until the lights are up. That’s why I had them lock the arena, so you wouldn’t go in there and freak out about it not being done yet.”
“So you let me freak out thinking you’d gone way over budget?” Vince demanded.
“At least that’s better than a halfassed job I’d need to fix,” Jason replied. “I thought it would be a nice surprise, so I didn’t warn you.”
Vince sighed and looked around the huge, gorgeous barn. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem,” Jason responded. “Just make sure you give me shout-out on your website or something.”
Vince chuckled. “Will do.”
Chapter Eighteen
IT REALLY was good to be home again. Vince got to sleep with Dustin every night in their own house, not someone’s guesthouse, and he got to work with his own horses. He immediately started working with the horses he had already assessed to be jumping prospects and began analyzing their potential. He was looking for ones that would make it in the sport and who had good temperaments for being worked.
Two days after they got back, his father insisted on having a party at his house to celebrate Vince’s wins. Vince agreed to this, even though almost everyone had been there to greet him when he got home, and that was celebration enough for him. The Anderson Stables family was there with whatever friends and family already knew Vince. Mark, Wes’s training partner at the local track, also came. And of course Mandy, Jeff, and baby Maria.
Vince accepted all their congratulations, showed them his medals, and socialized as best he could while itching to be back with the horses after so long away.
“Do you still have the stirrup leather?” Mark asked.
Vince nodded. “I think I’ll put it in a frame in the new barn office.”
“Where are you putting your medals?” Wes asked.
“I think I’ll keep those at home somewhere,” Vince replied. “Maybe I’ll frame them too. And put them on the wall in the living room. Or the bedroom. Haven’t decided yet. All my other major win ribbons will go in the new office, but I think I’ll keep the rosettes from Rio with the medals. Honestly I don’t know yet. I might put it all in the office. Or none of it. I still haven’t decided if putting them in the office will make it look like I’m bragging.”
“I think it will only give credibility to your own abilities,” Wes told him. “Not all the ribbons, though. Just the major ones.”
Vince nodded. “That’s my thought too. But the Olympic ones feel more personal. It’s something I did for Mom.”
Wes looked thoughtful for a moment. “But so were all the other major events you competed in and won on the road to making the team. Without those wins, you probably wouldn’t have made it there.”
“True,” Vince relented. “I think I’ll put the ribbons in the office but the medals at home.”
“And you’ll need to frame some of your magazine articles,” Wes reminded him. “They should also go in the office. And pictures too. I’m sure some of those photographers would let you buy prints from them.”
Vince nodded. “I’ll have to see.”
He decided to contact Greg to find out if he knew how Vince could get prints from the competition, and Greg assured Vince he would find out for him. Meanwhile Vince and Dustin prepared for the big article they were about to be interviewed for. Dustin was still determined to tell his full story, and Vince made sure the writers knew he wanted it told. Vince also made a point to talk about his plans to help others compete, even if they couldn’t afford the best trainers, and the people interviewing him did seem willing to talk about his asexuality. Then they had to pose for so many pictures that Vince felt like his face was going to freeze in a permanent fake smile. They wanted some pictures with Vince in his riding clothes and his other team clothes. They he needed to pose with Dustin and Xander, and they wanted shots of him riding Xander. And of course everyone on the property felt the need to watch the spectacle. But Vince ignored his discomfort and did it to promote the sport.
In the end, it wasn’t so bad. The writers treated them great, as usual, and promised to make sure the full story got told. It was what they were doing for everyone, after all. Readers wanted to know how they got to where they were and what was coming next for them.
ONE NIGHT, a few weeks before the wedding, was when Vince got a text late one night from Kyle.
Accidentally told my parents. It wasn’t the right time. I need to get out.
The message had Vince sitting up in bed and hoping he didn’t wake Dustin. They’d only gone to bed an hour ago, but Dustin usually fell asleep quickly. The chime from Vince’s phone had brought him out of a half sleep himself.
Where are you? Is there anyone nearby you can trust to help you?
Kyle responded with a town name he vaguely recognized and added, Not really.
Vince finally realized why the town sounded familiar. Florida? I think that’s close to Jason.
Before even waiting for a response, he texted Jason. Kyle needs help. Does he have your number?
Almost fifteen minutes passed before he got a text from either of them again, and when he did, it was from Jason.
Yes. He’s coming to me. I’ll let you know when he gets here. Wouldn’t let me get him, though.
Vince sighed. Thanks. Hope everything works out.
Another half an hour passed before Jason texted him again. By that time Dustin had woken up and gotten the whole story from Vince. He was waiting just as anxiously as Vince to find out if Kyle was safe.
“I wonder what happened,” Dustin mumbled as he rubbed Tally’s ears.
“I don’t think I’ll ask him quite yet,” Vince replied. “But I wonder too.”
Jason’s text was simple: Got him. He’s safe w
ith me.
Vince sighed with relief. Good.
THE NEXT few weeks passed uneventfully. It was more training and more last-minute wedding details.
“I still haven’t heard if my mom is coming or not,” Dustin told Vince one night while they were watching TV.
Vince held him close. “Maybe she wants to surprise you,” he suggested. “Or she’s afraid to upset you.”
Dustin nodded. “Maybe. I just wish I knew what to expect.”
“I wish I could help you better,” Vince replied.
Dustin sighed and leaned his head against Vince’s shoulder. “Fine, I’m just going to accept that, if she shows or not, the day is still about us. You and me. Not her. I refuse to let her ruin it.”
Vince hugged him tighter. “Good thinking.”
Deep down, he really did wish there was something else he could do for Dustin. But he couldn’t force Dustin’s mother to make a decision when she had lived for so long under the control of someone who hated both her and Dustin. She had been forced to believe her own son was an abomination by someone with some kind of psychological hold over her. Breaking that couldn’t be easy, no matter how hard anyone tried.
It would have to be her, in the end, who made that decision.
JASON ARRIVED a few days before the wedding, bringing with him his crew and the lights that had been back-ordered. And much to Vince’s pleasant surprise, Kyle.
“He’s my date,” Jason explained. “But not like an official ‘we’re dating’ date. Just as a way for me to get him here because he doesn’t deserve to be alone.”
Vince was pretty sure Kyle started blushing at the word “date,” though. But he chose to ignore that detail and pull Kyle into a hug. “I hope everything is okay,” he said.
“I don’t know,” Kyle admitted. He hugged Vince back, then shook his head when they stepped away. “They didn’t kick me out, really—they just told me I was a disgrace and that I could never ride again because the dancing horses had turned me gay. Their words, mostly.”
“That’s not fair,” Dustin muttered.
Vince caught Dustin’s eye and smiled. “It might help you to talk to Dustin,” he suggested. “He went through something similar.”
“Really?” Kyle asked.
Dustin nodded and motioned toward the pasture. “Come on. Let’s go for a walk.”
“Dustin will take care of him,” Vince assured Jason. “But you meant what you said about him being your date. Before you added the part about him not being a real date.”
Jason smiled slightly and shook his head. “He’s got shit going on—I’m not going to push something onto him. That wouldn’t be right. But I really was getting to like him quite a bit back in Rio. I guess you could call it a crush, if you like that kind of terminology. I don’t, but that’s the easiest way to explain it.”
Vince patted his shoulder. “I hope it all works out with time.”
“Me too,” Jason sighed. “I had this really great girl spending the night that night, and I thought there was potential there, but I kicked her out the second I got Kyle’s text. Now she wants nothing to do with me, but that’s okay.”
Vince shook his head. “Maybe it’s all a sign. Your other boyfriend dumping you while you were flying home with Kyle, and now her. Maybe it means you found what you need.”
Jason chuckled. “Well, what I need at this moment is to get your indoor arena ready for your wedding reception. No peeking!”
“What are you talking about?” Vince called as Jason hurried toward the new barn. “We rented a tent!”
“Unrent it!” Jason called back.
Chapter Nineteen
VINCE CAUGHT up with Kyle later that day and offered to take him on a trail ride. It was sunny and slightly breezy, just cool enough for a sweatshirt. Leaves were scattered across the grounds through half the trees still held on to their crisp fall colors. Dustin had suggested he talk to Kyle after his conversation following Kyle’s arrival, so Vince saddled one of the horses in retraining for Kyle, along with Xander.
Vince waited until they had gotten some distance from the barn before finally speaking. “If you don’t mind my asking, what happened?”
Kyle sighed. “There was some commercial that played while we were watching TV. I don’t remember what it was for because I wasn’t really paying attention. I just remember the commercial featured a couple that definitely grossed out my parents. They went on about how awful it was that someone could pretend to love someone of the same sex and how all gay people were horrible human beings. I ended up saying I bet they knew gay people who were too scared to tell them they were gay because of the way they were acting. They both claimed they could smell the perverseness of gay people or something stupid and would never choose to associate with anyone ‘like that.’”
“I take it you couldn’t stand being talked about that way,” Vince said gently.
Kyle nodded and shifted the reins to one hand to rub his eyes. “Pretty soon I ended up just screaming at the top of my lungs that I was gay. And it just got worse. At first they said I was lying. Then after they realized I wasn’t, they said they were going to force me into some form of therapy. They said they wouldn’t let me ride anymore because the ‘dancing horses’ must have ‘turned’ me gay. Maybe I was bitten by a gayness-spreading insect in Rio. Sure those must exist. They never actually told me to get out—I just knew I had to leave. I had to get away from that kind of cruelty. I know they’re my parents and all, but that whole thing was so wrong.”
Vince reached over and squeezed his shoulder. “So you asked for help.”
“I texted you, then remembered you were in New York,” Kyle went on after clearing his throat. “I was lucky to happen to be so close to Jason, but I would have driven for weeks just to find someone who would help me.”
“I was surprised when you said where you were and remembered Jason was there,” Vince admitted. “I’m glad he wasn’t visiting a client somewhere.”
Kyle nodded again. “Me too.”
They rode in silence for a while, but then, just when the lowering sun suggested they should head back, Vince asked, “So, what’s next?”
“I still don’t know,” Kyle answered with a sigh. “I wasn’t making enough working part time to live on my own, just invest in my riding. But even then my parents helped me and got me in with different big-name riders and trainers. They won’t help me anymore, told my current trainer I had gone off looking for a new adventure or something. I don’t really know what they told her. She just texted me and wished me luck in the big world. Jason said I was welcome to stay as long as I needed to get back on my feet. He lets me work his horses and do the barn chores in payment for what I guess is basically room and board. I just don’t know if I’ll ever be able to compete again, and that has been one of my biggest career dreams since I was little. At least I made it to the Olympics before my life fell apart.”
Vince really felt his heart go out to him. “We’ll help you out,” he promised. “All three of us will. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, okay?”
Kyle nodded ever so slightly. “Thank you. That’s what Jason keeps telling me too.”
Vince thought back to the conversation he’d had with Jason about Jason’s feelings for Kyle. “I’m sure he means every word.”
“I THINK Justin and Xander need to be in the wedding,” Dustin declared two days before it while they were riding together in the outdoor arena.
Vince grinned. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“Good,” Dustin replied. “Because I planned to set up their new stalls in the new barn this afternoon.”
They had agreed as soon as they saw the huge, beautiful barn, with its bright, natural skylights, that they would have the ceremony there. They still planned to have the reception in a rented tent outside, but Jason insisted on using the new indoor arena he continued to keep locked from them.
“You win,” Vince laughed. “Breaking in the stalls, the barn, the arena, all in
probably the most unique way possible. Guess we’ll always remember the wedding when we use the barn.”
Dustin smiled. “That’s the idea. And we have all the people who will be breaking in the dorm the night of the wedding. Your sister and her family. Jane and Scott, with Hunter. Her parents. Your old trainer, Lisa.”
“And Kyle and Jason right now,” Vince added.
“I don’t need to think about that,” Dustin laughed.
“Why?” Vince asked.
Dustin shrugged and turned Justin closer to Vince and Xander. “Did Kyle tell you he thinks he’s falling in love with Jason?”
“No,” Vince replied quietly, “but Jason did tell me he’s had his own feelings since Rio.”
Dustin smiled. “Bet they end up together.”
Vince returned the smile. “I hope so.”
VINCE WASN’T sure why he was nervous the morning of the wedding. It was a small ceremony with only close friends and family. And it was all Vince’s family, not Dustin’s. They still hadn’t heard if Dustin’s mother was coming, or even his sister, for that matter. She had gone strangely quiet, Dustin confessed. But he refused to allow that to ruin their day.
The only people even in the ceremony besides themselves were Jane and Scott, out of respect for the fact that they were truly a family unit. And Hunter, of course, was once again the ring bearer. It just made sense for him to be included in both his parents’ weddings. This time he did what he’d been told by taking the rings to Vince, unlike at Jane and Scott’s wedding.
They had debated writing their own vows, but they both agreed those feelings were for them only, not meant to be shared even with their closest friends and family. So they kept to the standard vows, but those were just as immensely meaningful to Vince. He could see the love shining in Dustin’s green eyes as they spoke those words to each other and placed those rings on each other’s hands. No matter how many times Vince had told Dustin he loved him and had every intention to stay right beside him for the rest of his life, those two little words meant even more.
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