Blue Haven (Sunshine & Shadow Book 1) (2 page)

“You know, a lot
of travel, a lot of work, but for as hard as I work, I play even harder,” Lex
said. Everyone laughed. “And please, call me Lex.”

“And you call me
Jack.”

“Lex is being
modest,” Gretchen said. “The life of a celebrity nowadays isn’t all fun and
glory. It’s
a lot
of hard work.”

The driver of the
SUV nodded. “A lot of late nights, long days. Lex is actually working on his
new album right now, which means a lot of time spent in the studio.”

“Alright, Cash,
they get it.” Lex rolled his eyes.

Cash punched Lex
jokingly in the shoulder and said, “I’m just proud of you, little bro!”

“Bro?” Hailey
said.

“When I got signed
Cash became my manager.”

Cash slapped his
brother on the back. “We wanted to keep some control. I have two more clients
other than Lex. Another country singer and an actress. Both great! But no-one
can compare to my baby brother here! First album reaches number one four days
after release; how often does that happen!?” 

Lex looked
slightly annoyed. “Yeah, they get it, Cash.” He turned his back on his brother.
“So Jack, tell me about your ranch. When did you start taking guests?”

The topic got
changed. April’s mind spun over the exchange between the two brothers.

The next morning,
Hailey took Lex out to introduce him to the horse he would be riding. April
headed upstairs to look over the Master’s Degree brochures, although she didn’t
see much point in it. There was no way she was going to spend money and time
getting a degree she had no interest in at all. She knew it would make her
parents happy if she continued her education, so to placate her father, even
for a short while, she looked over the brochures.

Suddenly April
heard a commotion from her bedroom window. She looked out to see Lex on his
back in the dirt and Triumph, the horse she had chosen for him, bolting around
the arena. Hailey kept Lex lying down and yelled for help. Cash, Gretchen and
April’s dad had already reached the arena when April rushed past her mom and
out of the front door.

“What happened?”
she shouted as she hopped the fence.

Lex tried to get
up again.

Cash shoved his
impatient brother back into the sand. “Just lay there for five minutes. We need
to make sure you didn’t break anything.”

“I didn’t. I’m
fine!” Lex got up on his feet.

When April saw
that he wasn’t hurt, she turned her attention to Triumph.

The horse was
terrified, running around the outside of the arena like he had been shocked by
a cattle prod. Hailey was trying to block him and leapt for his reins numerous
times.

Gretchen turned to
Lex. “You need to get back on. Isn’t that what they say? When you fall off, get
right back on?”

“Oh shut up,
Gretchen, and do what I pay you to do. Which is apparently nothing!” Lex
snapped, brushing dust off his jeans. “There is no way I’m going near that
horse again. He’s insane! Damn thing almost killed me!”

April ignored him
and called out to Hailey. “Back off. Let me get him.”

Hailey returned to
the group and April faced Triumph. The large chestnut held his head and tail in
the air and pounded the ground with his huge feet. He danced backwards and
forwards along the fence, spooking every now and then at things like the wind,
or the small rocks scattering into the fence rails. His nostrils flared,
scenting for danger and reacting with a panicky snort. He careened along the
fence, spinning on his hind end and kicking up his heels in distress.

April took a deep
breath. She hadn’t seen Triumph like this in months. When they had first found
him on an abandoned farm down the road, he had been terrified of everything. He
would even spook at his own shadow
.
He was
flighty and took off at the smallest noise. When they first brought him home,
he was a rack of bones. His feet had never seen a farrier and his teeth had
never seen a vet. He was riddled with lice and ticks and had no life left in
his eyes. He was nearly feral.

But when the Blue
Haven crew had worked together to put weight on him and get him healthy again,
April had seen a spark in those huge, dark eyes. That’s when she knew he could
be saved. He didn’t have a name, so once she started working with him and found
that his will to survive was stronger than any horse she had ever known she had
named him Triumph. It suited him perfectly, even to this day.

April watched the
horse trot back and forth along the arena wall, trying to find an escape. She
attempted to step in front of him but he pinned his ears back and rushed her.
She jumped out of the way just in time and caught her breath. He wasn’t going
to be easy to get a handle on.

“April, get away
from that horse! I told you six months ago he was too dangerous!” Kip ran into
the arena and grabbed April’s arm. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

April shook him
off. “Kip, Triumph isn’t dangerous! Look at him! He’s just scared. You can
either help me, or leave.”

Kip chewed on his
bottom lip. April could see the deliberation in his eyes. He worried about her.
Whenever they worked a horse together he always wanted to be the first one in
the ring and the first one in the saddle. He would rather it was he who got
dumped than April. He heaved a sigh and said, “What can I do?”

“Get everyone out.
And get Caleb to help you move some panels in here. I need a smaller area.”

Kip hurried Lex,
Cash and Gretchen towards the gate, and Hailey ran to find Caleb. April stared
down the terrified horse. Triumph had planted his feet and faced her.

His black eyes
were glued on her blue ones and she took a deep breath. As she exhaled she felt
the breath travel down her body and sink into the ground beneath her feet. She
tried to send calming energy to the horse but the fear in the air was too
thick. She waited for the panels and stood her ground.

Triumph was
testing her. He would lean to the right and she would mirror him.

He would freeze.

Lean to the left.

Freeze.

The dance
continued until the gate swung shut with a clang and the horse spun on his hind
quarters and took off towards the far end of the arena.

April could see
Lex storming into the lodge, followed by his entourage, and she had a sudden
thought. She wasn’t about to take responsibility for this problem. She hadn’t
caused this. Something had happened. And she wanted to know what.

“Hailey!” April
beckoned for Hailey to join her.

“Need help?”

“Sort of. What
happened?”

Hailey raised her
eyebrows. “Experienced rider my ass. I told him to walk around the arena so I
could check out his position and he pulled back on his reins and dug his heels
into the poor horse’s sides. Not only does that guy have no idea how to ride,
but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was his first time ever going near a horse.
He’s clueless.”

April shook her
head. Trust city folk to lie about experience levels to make themselves feel
better. Someone was going to get hurt this week if the bullshit didn’t stop.
April had no patience when it came to putting her horses at risk. She looked
over at Triumph and wished she had asked for more details about Lex’s riding
history instead of just trusting Cash’s word.

 “Go get him,”
April said, “I need him here for this.”

“Lex? Are you
crazy? There’s no way he’s getting back on that horse.”

“You’re right.
There is no way he is getting back on the horse. But I still want him here. Go
get him.”

Hailey opened her
mouth to argue. April cut her off. “Hailey, I’ve taught you basically
everything you know about horses and horse training. If I tell you I want Lex
back in this arena, just do it.”

Hailey dropped her
head and nodded. She hurried inside. April didn’t like being strict with the
ranch hands, but sometimes it couldn’t be avoided. Hailey was one of her best
friends, but she was also an employee and needed to respect the chain of
command.

April saw Lex
storm up to the fence, noticing he’d already changed into new blue jeans. What
a prissy.

“Hailey said you
wanted me,” he said. “Why? I’m not getting back on that crazy horse.”

April didn’t take
her eyes off Triumph. “I know. Can you come here?”

“Why?”

“Look Lex, you’re
the one who scared him. He sees you as a threat. Get in here!”

Lex climbed over
the fence and April heard him come up behind her. She ignored him and watched
the horse run around and around the smaller pen Kip and Caleb were setting up.
Every clang the panels made as they were slotted together sent Triumph in a new
direction. Once the last panel was in place, Kip approached them and Caleb
tipped his hat and headed back to the barn.

“I’m still not
sure about this, April. Maybe give him some time. You know, let him calm down a
bit before you go in there.”

April shook her
head. “I don’t have time. We have to fix this now.” She glanced at Lex.

April and Lex
slipped through the panels and put them back into position. When she turned to
Lex, she noticed his piercing eyes. It was the first time he had really looked
at her, instead of looking right through her. Her tongue suddenly felt too big
for her mouth and her heart seemed to stop.

The lines of his
face were strong, like he had been sculpted to look like a warrior. But the
subtle curve of his full lips gave his face a softer tone. His nose was
perfect, straight and small, and his eyebrows curved delicately over his green
eyes. They were a sea of emerald, inviting the observer to drown in them.

April shook her
head. It had been a long time since she had been rendered speechless by
someone’s looks.

“Umm...yes?” Lex
said sarcastically. “Can we get on with this please?” He tapped his Rolex.
“I’ve got a video conference in an hour.”

April snorted and
turned her back on him, facing Triumph and moving to the center of the round
pen the panels had created.

“What’s so funny?”
Lex snapped.

“Nothing. Come
stand behind me.”
Pretentious prick,
she thought.

Lex rolled his
eyes but complied. April ignored his presence behind her and focused all her
attention on Triumph.

The horse was
still spooked but his energy was depleted now. He stood at one side of the pen,
his head lower, his eyes still wide and his muscles still bunched. April
stepped sharply towards his hind end and yipped. The sound made the horse jump
and the movement sent him running around the pen once again. His ears flicked
nervously in all directions and every step he took was stiff, like he was ready
to rush the fence any second.

“Hey! What are you
doing?” Lex grabbed April’s arm. “You’re just scaring him more!”

She shook him off.
“I’m pushing him. Not scaring him.”

She drove him
around and around the pen never leaving the middle area, moving him with the
sound of her voice and her body language. The horse charged on, a confused Lex
watching his every move. Triumph’s energy seemed endless, but April could tell
he was tiring. His breathing was labored and his coat was shiny with sweat. But
still his eyes were wild and his energy was defiant.

She stepped up the
pressure, sending the horse even faster around the pen, almost nearing a gallop
and kept him at that pace. She needed to exhaust him, mentally and physically,
to break through his fear and get him thinking again. April knew that was what
damaged horses did when they were scared. They would shut off and stop
thinking. She also knew that a scared horse was even more dangerous than an
aggressive horse. When they were scared their instincts could overrun their
mind and they could become almost wild again.

April was tiring
herself. Triumph was one of the horses on the ranch that she loved riding
because he could go out all day and not tire. She had forgotten that. She
watched his ears flick quickly in every direction and kept him moving.

Triumph’s inside
ear stopped moving and stayed on April in the center. The outside ear was still
flicking around, but that didn’t matter. April smiled.

“See that? His ear
glued on me?” she said.

“What does that
mean?”

“It means he’s
starting to think again.”

“... Cool.”

April’s lips
twitched at the wonder in Lex’s voice.

Around and around
the horse ran, but his body language was changing and April removed pressure as
a reward. His tail and head had dropped to a comfortable height, muscles
relaxing slightly. He wasn’t thumping the ground anymore with his hooves, and
April let him slow to a brisk trot. Triumph seemed to glide over the ground.

April held her
breath as she watched his lips twitch. They parted and his pale pink tongue
darted out quickly and licked once, twice, three times. She dropped her arm and
grabbed Lex as she turned her back on the horse.

“Whoa,” she said
firmly.

“What are we ...?”
Lex whispered.

“Shh.”

April waited.

She began to get a
little impatient after a minute passed. Then she heard what she needed to hear;
footsteps
on the sand behind her. Still she held
her breath and waited for the sound to get close. And stop.

She turned slowly
and stroked the horse once down the face. Lex turned too. She glanced at him.

“Wow ...” he
murmured. “He came to us.”

“It’s called Join
Up,” April said. “It’s a natural horsemanship technique where you show the
horse that you are the alpha, like in the wild. And when he accepts that, he
knows that you will keep him safe. He trusts you, just like he would the
matriarch of his herd.”

Lex was silent. April
stepped up beside the horse and ran her fingers through his mane. She saw Lex
reach up to let Triumph smell his hand. The horse jumped, his eyes showing
white again.

“Slow,” she said.
“Now keep your hand there and let him come to you.”

Lex froze and waited
for Triumph’s whiskers to tickle his hand. When they did, the celebrity’s face
broke out into a huge smile and his eyes filled with wonder. April noticed a
dimple on one side of his wide smile.