“He’s hot blooded and doesn’t like strangers. Actually, he doesn’t like most of us around here.” He observed the horse and I with wary eyes. “He never lets me touch him like that if I’m not armed with a dozen carrots.”
“Oh, so you’re a bunny,” I said in a low tone, as if the horse would laugh from my stupid joke. “Do you like hopping too, or you just stand there cute and move your muzzle side to side?”
“He does,” Tom said. I shifted my attention to him. “Hopping, or rather, jumping. He’s being trained for show jumping. His first competition is in three months.”
I scratched behind Midnight’s ears. “Isn’t he a bit young for that?” I knew most trainers put their horse up for racing and jumping as soon as they could hold a saddle, but it wasn’t the best. My father always said that horses should be trained for equestrian sports only after they were four years old.
“That’s not my call,” Tom said. He beckoned me to follow him. “Come on. Let me show you your ride.”
I patted Midnight’s cheek, and he snorted when my hand left his coat. I smiled and waved at him before following Tom to another stall. He introduced me to Pepper, a beautiful brown mare. I petted her while he went to pick up a saddle, but then, to show him I knew what I was doing, I took the tack from him and put it on by myself.
“All right, after that and the moment with Midnight, I think I believe you know what you’re doing.” He exited the stable and I followed, pulling Pepper with me. “Do you see that gate?” He pointed to an opening on the white fence to the left. “There’s a trail just off it. Follow the trail, and you should be back here in about an hour or so.”
Sounded good enough. I mounted Pepper and set out.
Once out on the trail, I let her take control, suspecting she knew this trail by heart, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the wind whipping my hair back.
I cleared my mind and relaxed. I forgot about college, about having to start over again, about sharing my room with a hormonal girl, about the sorority, and about the lies. I didn’t care about any of it. These events didn’t define me. They didn’t have the power to hurt, unless I let them. And I wouldn’t let them.
Like my father and my brothers, I was strong. I didn’t take shit back home. I dealt with it, I fixed it, or I learned how to live with it. However, I never changed or cowered because of it.
The ranch was beautiful. There weren’t many trees, but the trail passed some pretty places, including a small lake and what looked like a picnic area. At a distance, I saw one of the riding groups following its instructor around the lake. Next time, I would bring my swimsuit, just in case. If no one were around, it would be nice to take a quick dip in the lake.
Feeling freer and happier, I kicked Pepper’s sides. “Let’s see what you got.”
She shot ahead in a fast gallop and I smiled, liking the way the wind brushed against my skin. It was a shame it couldn’t carry my problems away with it.
Pepper wasn’t as fast as Preta, my pretty mare. I missed her way too much. She was more than my horse; she was my friend. At least I knew Hannah and Leo were taking good care of her. Once I got more settled, I could think about bringing her here, boarding her at this ranch, and coming out every day to ride her.
The arena, the round pen, and the stable came into view, and I slowed Pepper to a steady gait.
On one side of the arena, jumping poles had been set up in a course. A girl and Midnight Dream jumped over the obstacles, but from here, it didn’t look smooth. A man with a brown cowboy hat leaned against the fence, shaking his head.
The girl yelled something I couldn’t hear to the horse. He snorted and kicked his front hinds up. The girl screamed, pulling tight on the reins, and the man—the trainer—ran to her, but before he could get to her and the horse, the girl stabilized Midnight. As soon as he stopped twitching, she jumped off him and stalked out of the arena. The trainer ran after her.
Alone, Midnight Dream stalked off to the other side of the arena, where several horses circled Tom and Carl with their tack still on. Some people were in the parking lot, entering their cars and leaving. One of the riding groups must have arrived and just dropped the horses there, not caring about untacking the horses or cooling them down.
I liked the policy Hannah had adopted about a year ago: if someone wants to ride a horse, he should be responsible for everything else involved in it. She thought it was a nice way to make people connect with the animals and understand them a bit more.
Hmm, if I became a regular here, I would suggest something like that to Tom.
He was working on untacking the horses, while Carl hosed them down, and another man brought the tack inside the stables. Eyeing Midnight Dream, I dismounted close to them, and started unbuckling Pepper’s saddle. If they let me, I would do it all myself. Midnight saw me and slowly approached me. He poked my back with his muzzle while I unstrapped Pepper’s saddle.
“You want to play, big boy?” He poked me again, nickering. I laughed.
The trainer came out of the stables, and I froze with the saddle in my arms. Midnight Dream shot away from me, and not having seen or recognized me, the trainer chased after the horse for a couple of minutes until he finally caught his reins.
The trainer turned to bring the horse to the stables and halted, his eyes on me.
“What are you doing here?” Garrett asked. His brows knotted in a deep V.
I forced myself to move and set the saddle on the fence rail. “Riding.” I kicked my foot in the air, showing off my black and white cowboy boots. “Did you think these were just for show?” I picked up a hose. “And you’re a trainer here?”
Without acknowledging my question, he led the horse inside.
Whatever.
I hosed Pepper off and she nickered in delight.
A moment later, Garrett was by my side. He took the hose from me. “I’m an instructor, a trail guide, a trainer, caretaker, handyman, and everything else in between.” He washed Pepper’s hot coat. “I work here full time.”
“Of all the places I could have chosen to ride,” I whispered, taking a step back. Which wasn’t true. There weren’t that many places around.
He finished hosing Pepper, and then pulled her inside the stable. I followed, but only because I had to go through it to reach the parking lot on the other side. However, with Garrett walking right in front of me, it was hard to focus on anything else. He wore fitted blue jeans, a gray T-shirt that showed a hint of the muscles under it, his brown boots, and a hat. There was a small stain of sweat right between his shoulder blades, and I wondered if I could get close enough to sniff him. Not that I liked sweat per se, but a hot guy sweating from hard work? Add that to a great natural scent and I was done for.
I wasn’t a slut like the girls from the sorority made me look like, but I wasn’t a saint either. I liked boys. I liked staring at boys. I liked kissing boys. I liked … I sighed.
Garrett opened a stall and put Pepper in. He closed the door and picked up a bucket of water for her. I leaned over the door and caressed her long neck.
“Thanks for the ride, girl. I needed it.”
I turned and found Garrett right behind me. He stared at me with those hazel eyes, and I wondered what was going on in his mind. He probably had heard about the lies Audrey and Sarah were spreading about me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he believed them. Everyone on campus, except for Phoebe, believed them. What could I do? I seemed to have “Brazilian Slut” stamped on my forehead.
“I … I should go.” I turned to the door as the girl sauntered out of the tack room.
She flipped her long, blond hair back and looked me up and down with disinterest before shifting her gaze to Garrett. “Am I dismissed?”
“Yes, Delilah,” Garrett said, walking around me to meet her.
The girl, who couldn’t be older than eighteen, stopped by Midnight Dream’s stall. “Goodbye, M.D.” She reached her hand inside, but the horse retreated.
I frowned.
“
Hey, if it isn’t the Brazilian girl,” Jonah’s voice filled the air, and I turned toward it. He was entering the stable. “What a nice surprise.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered.
“What brings you to my family’s ranch?”
“Your family’s ranch? I didn’t …” I looked at the girl—blond girl, blue eyes. She was his sister. Which meant, she was also Garrett’s half-sister. “I didn’t know.”
“My father owns this place, and everything around it.” He opened his arms wide. He glanced at Garrett. “Hey, bro.”
Garrett nodded and left for the arena.
I frowned at Jonah. “I thought your father was in the cattle business.”
“Yes, that’s his main business, but we also own ranches like this one.” He flashed me his usual smug grin. “So, what are you doing here?”
“I came for a ride,” I said. He quirked an eyebrow and I shook my head. Frustration filled me, and it was all I could do not to punch him. Instead, I rolled my eyes and slipped past him. “Don’t be a jerk. You know what I mean.”
“You know,” he said, making me slow down. I glanced over my shoulder, and he smiled at me. “We could go riding together. How about tomorrow?”
What the hell? I flipped him off and he laughed. Jerk.
I marched to my car, wishing I could blink my eyes and disappear from here. Seriously, I couldn’t have found another ranch close by? Worse than being owned by Jonah’s parents would be if the ranch was owned by Audrey’s parents.
Entering my SUV, I looked past the stables and saw Garrett helping Tom and Carl with the other horses. He glanced over his shoulder, and he looked in my direction. With several yards between us, I couldn’t be certain if he was looking at me, my car, the horizon, or the house atop the hill.
I chose to believe he was as intrigued by me as I was by him.
Chapter Seven
As much as I wanted to, I didn’t go to the ranch on Saturday and Sunday. After finding out it was owned by Jonah’s parents, my excitement died down a little. Wasn’t I going there to escape the shit happening on campus? But bumping into Jonah at the ranch did the exact opposite.
I avoided leaving my room because of the stares and gossip. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I had come to be free, to make lots of friends, to laugh, to have fun, to go out, to flirt. And now, here I was, holed up in my room and frustrated.
Another one of my fantasies about moving out was my roommate. I thought she would be my best friend in ten seconds flat. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on my side. Molly had taken Audrey’s side, and now ignored me most of the time. I was glad she barely stayed in during the weekend. Apparently, her sorority was having a big sleepover, and they were having lots of fun. Yay!
Ugh.
Lying in my bed, I pulled my laptop onto my stomach and opened Facebook. I checked over my friends in Brazil. I missed them and I missed my best friend most of all. I clicked on Leticia’s page to check what she was up to. Photos of her in med school filled the screen: in classes, with her white doctor’s coat, going to parties with her new classmates. She was having the time of her life, and I was too far away to be a part of it.
Next, I checked the page of my cousin, Gabriela. She was seventeen and already going to parties and having more fun than I was. I hoped Guilherme didn’t access Facebook too much, or he would kill his sister the next time they met.
I closed my laptop and put it aside. Browsing Facebook to know about my friends was great for the first ten minutes. After that, nostalgia took over, and I felt sad over being too far away.
My cell phone beeped.
Hannah: Hey, girl. How is it going? I hope you have one hell of a hangover.
Me: Oi. Nope, no hangover.
Hannah: You’re in college!
Me: You too and I don’t see you with hangovers.
Hannah: That’s because I don’t go to college parties. Your brother throws me our own private party almost every night.
Me: EEEEEWWWW. TMI.
Hannah: haha sorry. But seriously, how is it going?
I thought about calling her and telling her all about it. After all, she was my friend and I needed a friend right now. At the same time, she was with Leo and she didn’t hide anything from him. If I told her how bad and lost I was feeling, she would tell him and he would try to do something about it. He would come here and threaten them, or he would shove me inside his SUV and drag me home.
No, I didn’t want that.
So I lied.
Me: It’s wonderful. It’s better than I thought it would be. Love it here.
Hannah: That’s great!
Me: How’s Preta?
Hannah: I think she misses you, but Argus is right there all the time. And Minuano throws a fit when they get too honey-like. It’s so hilarious! Lol
Me: I miss her too.
I started typing about the ranch, and Pepper and Midnight Dream, but stopped. If I told her about it, she would want details and she would ask me why I wasn’t there now, and I was unsure I would go back, so why tell her?
Instead, I kept on lying.
Me: Gonna go out to grab dinner with my roommate now.
Hannah: Great. Have fun!
Me: Thanks. Ate depois.
Hannah: Tchau.
I hit the end button and pulled my pillow over my head.
***
“Let’s talk about your project for the semester,” the American history professor said on Monday morning. “This project alone will be 50 percent of your final grade.”
He started on the details of the project—a forty-page essay to be researched and written as a small group—while I tried to ignore Jonah. He sat on my left and his right arm was on the armrest we shared, his torso leaning slightly toward me. He found out where I usually had lunch, when and where I went out for a walk to relax and exercise a bit, and the times I stopped by the library to study. Phoebe had nicknamed him The Creeper.
I couldn’t say she was wrong about that.
Most of the time, Garrett was with him. I didn’t get him. He wasn’t in college anymore, and he told me he worked full time at the ranch. So why was he on campus? And always with Jonah?
The professor passed the sheet of paper where we had to sign our groups. Phoebe and I nodded to each other, confirming we were working on this together.
The sheet got to Jonah first. He scribbled something on the paper, and then passed it along to the student behind him.
“Hey,” I called him. “Why didn’t you pass it to me?”
He flashed me one of his smug grins. “Because you’re already signed up.”
“No, I’m not. You didn’t give me the damn paper.”
“Don’t worry, Brazilian girl. We’re doing it together.”
“What? No! I’m working on the project with Phoebe.”
“I figured as much and put her in our group too.”
Instead of helping me, Phoebe sank in her seat and pretended she didn’t know what we were talking about.
“No. No.” I stood and went after the sheet of paper, but before I could get to it, the professor took it back.
“Something wrong, Miss Fernandes?”
“Um.” I slowly moved back to my seat. “Yes, well. Mr. Hudson added himself to my group without consulting my partner and me. We would like to remove him.”
“Ouch,” Jonah muttered.
The professor looked at the paper, then back at Jonah and me. “Well, Mr. Hudson is repeating this class. I guess he could use some help from you and Miss Erickson.”
I sat and stared at Jonah. “You’re repeating this class?”
He shrugged. “What? Last semester was my first semester as the president of The Bat. I had too many parties to attend, no time for studying.”
I shook my head. “But he could endanger our project,” I protested.
“Then I suggest you accept this challenge, Miss Fernandes.” The professor set the paper on his table. “I won’t accept any changes to th
e groups, and I expect a full report of your essay topics and how you’ll approach it by next Tuesday.” I opened my mouth to argue more, but he kept going. “Now, open your books to chapter eight.”
I glanced at Jonah, who still held that conceited grin. “So annoying.”
He shrugged. “Most girls say that before they fall at my feet.”
Meu Deus, I needed a mountain of patience or I would strangle him before we even started this goddamn project.
***
Since I had nothing better to do, I forced myself to study. I was deep into a poetic English essay when my bedroom door opened with a loud creak.
“Here she is,” Molly said, entering the room.
Behind her, Audrey stepped forward. Eyes narrowed, she put her hands on her hips and stared at me. “We need to talk.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “What did I do now?”
She glared at me. “Why are you after my boyfriend?”
“Your boyfriend? I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”
“Don’t play games with me, slut.”
Anger bloomed in my chest and I stood. “Okay, Audrey, I’m not in the mood for this.”
“Why are you after Jonah?”
“Jonah is your boyfriend?” So that was the weird vibe I had noticed at the mixer. There really was something between them.
She pressed her lips into a thin line. “Not anymore. But we’re working on getting back together.”
Which meant she was working to make him take her back. Okay, now everything else made sense.
“I don’t want anything to do with Jonah. He’s all yours.”
“Then why did you insist on working on a history project with him?”
“Meu Deus, woman. I didn’t insist. I even argued with the professor, trying to get out of the group. I don’t want to do anything with him.”
She flipped her blond hair. I swear, if one more girl did that while staring me down, I would punch her fake nose and put her in her place.
Breaking Fences (The Breaking Series) Page 6
