By Chance (10 page)

Dustin grinned and shook his head while he walked off in the direction Vince had pointed him. Vince’s own amusement didn’t last more than a few seconds, though.

“If it isn’t the boy with the recycled pony.”

Vince sighed and looked up at the sound of the voice he unfortunately recognized. “Hello, Stephen.”

Stephen Wilks stood before him, looking basically the same as he always did: perfectly arranged blond hair, perfectly shaved face, perfect clothes that fit his six-foot slim frame just
perfectly
. And Stephen
knew
how perfect he was. If only his personality was perfect. Instead, his aura itself screamed “complete asshole.” He was a few years older than Vince and had always disliked him for doing so well with his “recycled” thoroughbred.

“I see you still have your useless nag,” Stephen commented casually.

“Yep, Xander is still going strong. I like that I don’t have to change horses every two weeks.”

Stephen chuckled. “I just got myself a new star. Purebred warmblood stud imported straight from France. He’s got an impeccable pedigree and has sired champions already.”

Vince pretended to be interested. “Are you proposing a breeding arrangement? Because Xander is a gelding and I’m not sure the foal would take. We could try, but I’m not paying until the foal stands and nurses.”

Stephen rolled his perfect blue eyes. “Funny, Anderson. Your sense of humor must be how you deal with your difficult life. Where’s your usual groom, by the way? I’ve never known you to change anything.”

Vince shrugged. “She had better things to do.”

“Your kid looks a little sore,” Stephen added. “Never thought you were a groom abuser. No wonder the chick left.”

Vince shrugged again. He’d learned long ago not to argue with Stephen. It just gave him more fuel. “Sometimes, I can’t help it.”

Dustin happened to return at that moment and innocently said hello to Stephen.

Stephen scoffed and said to Vince, “You’re the king of misfit toys. See you in the ring.” He turned and walked away, obviously not feeling Vince’s glare drilling a hole in his back.

Dustin turned to Vince. “What’s his problem?”

“He was born that way,” Vince explained, handing the lead rope back to Dustin. “He doesn’t like that I do better than he does when I don’t have a horse that was exclusively bred for show jumping.” He grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler in the back of the truck and offered it to Dustin, who thanked him as he took it. “That guy has been out to beat me since my first win with my former racehorse. His family imports and breeds warmbloods.” He grabbed himself a bottle of water, and each of them a snack-sized bag of pretzels from the box of food they’d brought.

“What’s a warmblood?” Dustin asked as he watched Xander graze.

Vince leaned against the side of the trailer. “They’re bred for competition like this—jumping, dressage, that sort of stuff.”

Dustin set his water down on the ground and looked at him in confusion. “And what’s dressage?”

Vince thought a moment, then answered, “I guess to someone seeing it for the first time, it looks like horses prancing around doing really boring dance moves. I don’t like it: it’s not very exciting, and it’s clearly not natural for a horse to do most of it. I’ll show you some videos, and you can see for yourself.”

“So he thinks his horses are better than Xander because they prance around?”

Vince snorted. “Well, more because they have perfect bloodlines and come from selective breeding programs. Meaning, before a foal is born, you’ve already spent thousands of dollars just getting the mare pregnant by artificial insemination and making sure the foal is born healthy and at the right time. Not that they don’t do the same when breeding racehorses, but in Stephen’s mind, it’s a more serious business when the horses are bred for showing, not racing.”

Dustin patted Xander’s neck. “So basically, his horses were bred to do this, so a horse that was bred for something else has no right to do better?”

“Exactly,” Vince said with a nod. “But Xane and I prove him wrong every time.”

V
INCE
WAS
even happier to have Dustin along with him as the day wore on. It was nice to have someone to talk to when he wasn’t getting ready for his round. He would have been able to talk to Jane, of course, but she would have found a way to make him talk about how he needed to be with Dustin whether he accepted it or not. Her inability to stop trying to play matchmaker was really bothering him. It didn’t matter if she knew he was gay and, therefore, wasn’t the least bit jealous of him dating someone else; it was still weird to have his ex trying so desperately to hook him up with someone.

With Dustin, he could talk about other things—mainly horses. Dustin was just as curious about showing as he had been about training horses, and Vince was more than happy to teach him as much as he could about it. Starting with how he should not take it personally if anyone was ever rude to him.

“A lot of these people—not all, but a lot,” he explained, “were basically born into rich families. They have money for whatever they want, and there are a number of them who think taking care of their horses is below them, that all they should be expected to do is ride and train and pet their horses a little when they venture into the barn. They all have grooms, and many don’t have much respect for them. To them, grooms are just there to act basically as servants and to make sure the horses are in perfect showing condition. So if anyone is rude to you, please don’t take it personally. Stephen is just one example of how other riders can be.”

Dustin nodded. “I guess I can understand that. And you’re not like that, so that helps.”

Vince grinned. “I’ve always tried to be the poster child for groom appreciation.”

T
HEY
WATCHED
some of the other riders before Vince and Xander had to start warming up, and Vince explained the rules and scoring to Dustin. “Basically,” he concluded, “the object is to go fast and clear. Jump everything without knocking a rail down or falling off, and ride as fast as you can.”

“Seems simple enough,” Dustin commented as they headed toward the warm-up ring with Xander.

“Easier said than done,” Vince clarified, shaking his head.

Dustin held Xander steady while Vince hopped into the saddle. He clipped the chin strap of his helmet and took up the reins before noticing that Dustin was looking at him strangely.

“What’s up?” he asked.

Dustin shrugged. “Can I tell you something without you taking it the wrong way?”

“Probably,” Vince replied, then smiled and added, “Unless you’re about to insult me.”

With a smile, Dustin shook his head. “No, I was just going to say that the riding outfit looks good on you.”

Vince was wearing his usual show clothes—knee-high black boots, tight white breeches, and what was basically a black suit coat designed for riding with a white dress shirt beneath it, complete with the pink tie he always wore in his mother’s memory and a pair of black gloves.

He grinned. “Thanks. Let me just say that I’m glad it’s such a dreary day or I’d be a lot hotter.”

Dustin shook his head and moved to watch from the arena rail while Vince got his horse warmed up. Vince was glad he had something to focus on other than the fact that, despite his suggestion that it wasn’t what it sounded like, Dustin had definitely just been flirting with him.

“What do you think, Xane?” Vince asked his horse, patting his neck.

Xander just tossed his head, anxious to get going faster than a walk.

Vince smiled slightly. “Yeah, you’re no help,” he murmured before moving the big gelding into a trot.

X
ANDER
NEVER
let him down. It was the one thing in life that Vince had come to expect and appreciate. The gelding flew over every fence like he was born to fly, and he kicked up the speed when Vince asked for it. His hooves never so much as nicked a rail, and they came out of their round on top. So far, they were the only ones to go clear, but there were four more riders to go.

“Loosen the saddle,” Vince said as Dustin met them outside the ring. “Keep him tacked up, though. If anyone else goes clear, we’ll need to go again.” He leaned forward and hugged Xander’s neck.

Dustin nodded and held Xander as Vince patted his neck and swung out of the saddle. “I have to say, I can’t see myself ever doing jumping with Justin.”

Vince laughed. “I didn’t expect you to.”

“I was never very competitive,” Dustin added with a grin.

“That’s just fine.” Vince took off his helmet as he spoke. “I’m not sure I would like to have to compete against one of my employees. And a friend. I don’t really have any in this sport.”

“That’s too bad,” Dustin said with a frown, rubbing Xander’s neck as they walked.

Vince shrugged. “Makes it easier not to care about the competition.”

Dustin just laughed.

V
INCE
TRIED
to suppress his joy when Stephen knocked down a rail and had no chance to place higher than Vince—but he didn’t try
too
hard. He didn’t intend to be unsportsmanlike but thinking about his own happiness was different than rubbing it in his competition’s face, which was something he definitely didn’t do. In the end, Vince and Xander were the only pair to go clear, and it meant they took first place.

Stephen ended up finishing third, and Vince could feel his eyes piercing daggers into him during the ribbon-pinning ceremony. He ignored it by smiling and patting Xander’s neck before the traditional victory gallop.

It was getting late when they got back to the trailer, and Dustin took over untacking Xander and packing their things while Vince changed into clothes that were both more casual and more comfortable. He was changing in one stall of the two-stall trailer, Xander’s travel blanket hanging in the opening for privacy. He’d just gotten his annoying breeches exchanged for jeans and was working on the one stubborn button on his coat when Dustin called in to him.

“I did everything I can out here, do you mind if I bring Xander in?”

“Sure,” Vince replied, giving an inward sigh of relief when the button finally came undone.

As he slipped the coat off and easily pulled off his tie Dustin led Xander into the stall next to him. Vince reached over the partition and rubbed his horse’s forehead.

“I got everything in the truck,” Dustin explained as he tied Xander’s lead to the ring on the wall. “I just need his blanket.”

Vince nodded to the blanket. “I’d say to take it down, but the way Stephen was acting, if he’s still here, he’d try to have me suspended for public indecency if he saw me changing my shirt.”

Dustin snorted. “I’m glad you beat him, though.”

Vince grinned and reached over to pat Xander again. “Xanny does all the real work. All I do is tell him where to go and how fast and make his work easier by knowing how to ride. He’s the one running and jumping. Anyway, hop out and close the back of the trailer, then come back in this door on my side and take it. By the time you get it on him, I’ll be ready to go.”

“Works for me,” Dustin replied with a nod.

He moved back past Xander, who was too busy eating his hay to care, and closed the back of the trailer. When he heard Dustin at the little side door, Vince moved aside so he could get in and past him. Only when he noticed the way Dustin quickly looked away from him did he become fully aware of the fact that he had just taken off his shirt.

And the situation was suddenly awkward.

Vince quickly tossed his shirt onto the floor with the rest of his clothes and grabbed his T-shirt. “Do you want to stop somewhere for dinner?” he asked, trying to dispel the uncomfortable feeling suddenly filling the trailer. “And by that, I mean go through a drive-thru.”

Dustin finished getting the blanket down and shrugged. “Sure,” he answered without looking at Vince even slightly. “I’m pretty hungry.”

Vince yanked on his T-shirt and grabbed Xander’s halter so he didn’t spook when Dustin dragged the blanket up behind him—not that he was likely to with Dustin murmuring to him the way he was. The kid had more horse sense than Jane, that was for sure.

“There are a few places just down the road,” he said, still holding Xander.

Dustin got the blanket onto the horse’s back, and Vince let go, knowing Xander wouldn’t be bothered by Dustin getting the thing adjusted on him. While Dustin worked, Vince picked up his show clothes and hung them in a suit bag, then placed it flat on the floor in the empty stall.

They were soon on the road, after a quick stop at McDonald’s for a healthy and nutritious dinner. Dustin was quiet, and Vince wasn’t sure if it was because he was eating or because of their awkward moments at the show. When the eating excuse was no longer possible, Vince decided he couldn’t take the quiet anymore.

“Did you like coming with me, or not really?”

Dustin nodded. “Yeah, it was cool. I learned a lot. Mainly, that you’re a lot nicer than most of those other people. I’m glad you beat them all.”

Vince grinned. “Me too.”

“I was wondering,” Dustin asked a few minutes later, “why do you have all your ribbons and things at your dad’s house and not yours?”

“I don’t know,” Vince answered with a shrug. “I guess because he’s my dad and he wants to be proud of me, and I don’t need to look at my ribbons every day to be happy. Some people need to be reminded of their accomplishments every day, but I don’t. I guess if it wasn’t just me there, like if I had someone else to share in those accomplishments or kids who want to see how cool their dad is and show all their friends when they come over. So maybe when Jane has the baby, I’ll be more interested in displaying my ribbons.”

“Wait,” Dustin cut in suddenly, “Jane’s pregnant? With your kid?”

Vince sighed. “Yeah. I guess it happened right before we ended things. She was willing to have an abortion if I wasn’t ready to be a father, but I couldn’t do that. I realized I honestly
want
to have kids.”