Breaking Fences (The Breaking Series) (13 page)

“Delilah, her name is Bia and she’s my friend,” Garrett said. “Be nice, please.”

“Friend?” She raised her eyebrows at me and gave me a disgusted look as if I wasn’t worth a penny. “Yeah, right.”

“What are you doing here?” Garrett asked.

“Came to see
my
horse,” she said, walking toward me. I stepped to the side, granting her access to Midnight. He neighed and retreated to the back of the stall.

I didn’t blame him for not liking her. Besides her pretty face, there was nothing there to like. The girl was too mean, and no amount of beauty compensated for that.

“How is he doing?” she asked.

“He’s well,” I answered.

She snapped her head to me. “I’m not talking to you.”

“Delilah,” Garrett hissed. “Bia has done more with your horse than any of us the last two days.”

“I don’t remember daddy hiring you,” Delilah spat. “You don’t work here. You have no right to spend time with my horse. I don’t want you near him.”

Whoa, Audrey version two, but instead of obsessing about a guy, she was obsessing about a horse.

“He responds well to her, better than to anyone else,” Garrett said.

She tsked. “I don’t care. He’s my horse and I say who gets to deal with him, and you—” She pointed her finger at me. “—have no right to touch my horse.”

My mouth hung open, ready to pounce at this spoiled brat. However, Garrett cleared his throat, and when I looked at him, he shook his head, his eyes on mine, pleading with me to leave this alone.

I swallowed the insults on the tip of my tongue and rolled them in my mind for release, but it wasn’t the same. After she left, I would yell them, even if it were to the wall.

She turned to Garrett. “Make sure he exercises for half an hour today.
You
ride him.”

Garrett nodded. “Yes, Delilah.”

“I’ll be back for practice tomorrow.” She flipped her long hair at me, giving me the stink eye, and then sashayed out as if the stable corridor was a catwalk.

Garrett approached me. “Sorry about that.”

I raised my finger at him, asking for a moment. When I heard the tires of her car squealing out of the parking lot, I opened my mouth and let it out. “
Filha da puta, mimada, china, invejosa, rapariga sem vergonha, piriguete, recalcada
.”

“Whoa.” Garrett took a step back, pretending to be afraid of me. “What was that?”

“A lot of bad names. In Portuguese.”

“You were cussing my sister in Portuguese?”

I couldn’t help the smile that took over my lips. It felt good to let that all out. “Yeah, I guess I was. Sorry.”

He shook his head once and that lopsided grin appeared on his mouth.
Credo,
he was handsome, and when he fixed his eyes on mine the way he was doing now, it took my breath away.

I wasn’t going to force it though. If he were supposed to kiss me, it would happen naturally. However,
Meu Deus
, I was rooting for it to happen.

I turned to Pepper’s stall. “Do you think she needs some exercise?”

It took him a full minute to answer. “Um, probably, yeah.”

Without another word, I got Pepper ready and took her to the trail.

***

Pepper and I rode past the lake.
Droga
, I had forgotten my swimsuit again. It would have to happen soon or I would have to wait until next summer.

I hadn’t even survived one month away from home yet, and I was already thinking of next year. Good. That was how I was supposed to think. I wouldn’t let lies stop me from doing what I wanted. And I wanted to be here. I wanted to finish pre-vet and go to vet school. I wanted to spend a lot of time at this ranch.

I took a deep breath, feeling peaceful. Even with all the bad stuff, life was good.

After forty minutes, I brought Pepper back in. We exited the trail and headed to the arena ahead of us—a new riding group was setting up with the same horses from the previous group. I hoped that the horses weren’t too tired.

Among all the cars, a big black truck was parked in the parking lot beside the stable. I prayed Delilah wasn’t back or worse, Jonah. I didn’t want them to ruin my mood right now.

The riding group set off. Some waved at me as I neared the stable. It was odd how friendly Americans were. Everyone said hi or morning or evening to everyone, even if you had never seen them before. People in Brazil were friendly too, but only to their friends or acquaintances. We never walked around our neighborhood and said hi to anyone we found on our way.

Just outside the stable, I brought Pepper to a stop and jumped off her. I could hear Garrett and a new voice, but I couldn’t make out the words. Curiosity gnawed at me but I walked away. I tied Pepper to the fence. The voices still reached me here.

“Delilah isn’t happy,” the man said, his tone harsh. “She said Midnight isn’t collaborating. Is something wrong with that horse? He comes from a great lineage. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with him.”

“There isn’t anything wrong with him,” Garrett said, his voice strained. “He’s just too young to be jumping.”

“We’ve already discussed this. His age is not the problem. I can only think that the problem concerns you. She complained you’re not training her well. Midnight must be picking up on that.”

“I’m doing the best I can.”

“Apparently that’s not enough. I’m paying you to be the best trainer she ever had. Do you want me to hire someone else? Because I will.”

“No, sir. I can do it.”

“You better. She
has
to win the next competition. She
will
win the next competition. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

I turned around and glanced past the open gate. Garrett had his hands knotted at his back, and his head slightly lowered as a man I had never seen before stood in front of him. The man was almost as tall as Garrett, with dark brown hair under a black hat. He adjusted the collar of his white T-shirt.

“This isn’t a game, Garrett,” the man continued. He picked a packet of cigarettes from the inside pocket of his fancy black jacket. “This ranch isn’t a playground. I don’t need it anymore. I don’t make any money off this place. Hell, I actually put more money in to keep it running than I get back. However, I keep it because Delilah needs a place to train. If she loses the next competition, if she stops jumping all together, I have no use for this place and I will sell it. And you know what that means for you, don’t you?”

Garrett nodded, his gaze still low. “Yes, sir.”

The man turned to Midnight’s stall, and I returned my focus to Pepper.

“Hey, there.”

I jumped and suppressed a yelp. Tom was right beside Pepper and me.

“Want to scare me to death?”

He grinned. “Not really, but I thought it would be fun. For me.”

“Crazy old man,” I muttered, reaching for Pepper’s reins.

“That I am.” He reached under Pepper and unbuckled her saddle. “So, you met Mr. Hudson. Well, not met, but now you know who the owner of this place is.”

My mouth formed a little O. “That’s Garrett’s father.”

“Yeah. And Jonah’s father, and Delilah’s father, and Stella’s father.”

“Stella?”

“Yeah, the oldest of the trio.” He stared at me seriously. “She’s older than Garrett too.”

“Wait. If she’s older than Garrett …” I started and Tom nodded. “I thought Garrett was from a previous marriage or relationship.”

“No. Mr. Hudson cheated on Mrs. Hudson with Garrett’s mother.”

“Oh.”

It didn’t make sense. Why was he here? I mean, if my father ever cheated on my mother and showed up at home with another kid, I probably wouldn’t acknowledge the other kid. I would probably be mean to the other kid, without really intending to. Well, Delilah was mean to him. Nevertheless, he was still here. With the other family.

“Where’s his mother?” I asked.

Tom took Pepper’s saddle off. “She died when he was sixteen. He was going into foster care, but social services found his father and he took Garrett in.”

“You mean they forced Mr. Hudson to take Garrett in?”

“No. I don’t think they can force a parent to take in a child. Mr. Hudson could have signed away parental rights and left Garrett to the foster care system. I think he didn’t want that though. Mr. Hudson might not love or care for Garrett that much, but I don’t think he’s cruel.”

“Wow.”

“Indeed.”

Tom walked to the stable as Mr. Hudson exited the other side. He rushed to his big truck and drove away. I stayed outside, unsure what to do. Should I stroll inside and act normal, as if I hadn’t learned a bit about Garrett and seen how harsh and rude his father was to him? And how submissive Garrett was with him—what was up with that? He had never given me the impression he took crap from others.

I checked my phone. It was almost noon; I should probably go. As much I wanted to, I couldn’t stay here all day.

To my surprise, Garrett exited the stable with the gray mare, Felicity.

“Going for a ride?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Need to blow off some steam,” he said, his expression still hard. I bit the inside of my cheek, unsure what to say to that. He stopped by my side and checked Felicity’s saddle. “I would invite you to come with me, but I really need a few minutes alone.”

Again, I wasn’t sure what to say. “This is the second time I’ve seen you with her.” I gestured with my chin to the mare.

That alluring half-grin spread on his lips. “She’s mine.”

Smiling, I reached to her and stroked her chin. “She’s beautiful.”

He nodded, looking at me. “She is. There are plenty of beautiful things around here lately.”

My hand stilled. Taking a deep breath, I decided to play it cool. “Any new customers I haven’t met yet?”

“No. Not a customer.” He turned his body to me and I gulped, feeling the intensity and the heat coming from him on my skin. “Some brown-haired girl with an easy grin and too much charm.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I thought you liked having me here because I do half of your tasks.”

He brushed a strand of hair out of my face, grazing his fingertips on my cheek. I stopped breathing. His fingers splayed down my neck and he leaned into me. “That is an added bonus.” He leaned closer.

I vaguely lifted my chin, angling myself to him as my mind spun. What was his interest in having me here if it wasn’t because I helped with the chores? I wasn’t dumb. I mean, he could be interested in me, but I found it impossible he didn’t have a girl. He was too handsome and sexy to be alone. Well, there was Jennifer. I had seen her all over him before, though I had no idea what was going on between them. Besides, why would he want anything with me after the lies Audrey had been spreading?

Droga
, that was it!

His breath teased my lips. I inhaled and stepped back.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked, his eyes shining with confusion.

“I … I’m not sure.” I frowned. “I don’t think you have the right idea about me.” And kissing him this easily would add to that misconception.

I had had my fair share of kissing because the guy was cute and it had been fun, but this wasn’t the time or the place. Not with all the lies. What if I kissed him and he told his friends? And his friends told everyone at The Bat? And that went to the ATN? By the time the news got there, it would have grown. They wouldn’t be talking about Garrett and me kissing; they would be talking about us having sex in an empty stall. That would be ammunition for Audrey, and she would use it against me. And this time, I wouldn’t even be able to defend myself, because she wouldn’t be lying, not completely.

As much as I wanted to kiss him, I shouldn’t. I took another step away from him.

A knot appeared between Garrett’s brows. “What do you mean?”

I shook my head. “I better go.” I patted Felicity’s neck. “Have a nice ride.”

I turned around and ran.

Chapter Twelve

Monday was a long day. Molly ignored me, and Phoebe couldn’t make it to our lunch date. I thought my mood couldn’t get any crappier. Until Audrey stepped between my dorm building and me.

She took a step toward me, towering over me because she was in five-inch heels. “I thought I warned you to stay away from my boyfriend.”

Seriously? “As far as I know, you don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Jonah came to the house last night to talk to me. I was so glad he was coming to his senses, until he opened his mouth and started talking about you. He asked me to tell you there’s nothing going on between us. I couldn’t believe my ears.”

“Audrey—”

“I didn’t know how to answer him, but I think he misunderstood my shocked silence for consent. But I’m not ready. I’m not ready to give up. He’s perfect for me and I’m perfect for him. I won’t let you, a Brazilian slut—”

“Watch it.”