Reyes willed his pulse to settle down while extending his hand. “Mr. Diamond, we haven’t been formally introduced. Reyes Torrez.”
He looked down, hesitated, then accepted the handshake. “Matt’s fine.”
The older man’s tone sparked surprise. It wasn’t anywhere near as confrontational as his rigid body language suggested it would be.
“What are you doing here?” Matt asked.
Her father stood a good two inches taller than him. Reyes lifted his chin slightly to meet his gaze. “I love your daughter, sir.”
“And she loves you.”
“That’s what she told me.”
He frowned toward the arena. “So you’re here to take her back with you.”
A statement, not a question, and it was full of resignation.
Reyes shook his head. “I’m here to support her in whatever she wants to do.”
Matt’s gaze met his once more, surprise mingling with hope. After a long moment, he nodded. “She’s about to ride. Let’s see how she does.”
22
Raine hadn’t spoken one word to her father on the way home to Texas, nor any time they crossed paths in the two weeks prior to their flight to New York for the Grand Prix event in which he’d signed her up to compete. She almost didn’t go, but having sought solace with Diamond Fire for countless hours out on the open Texas range to keep herself from wallowing, she felt closer to her mount than ever before.
He deserved the chance to jump. A ride of redemption.
She knew it sounded ridiculous—he had no such awareness—but she wanted to show the world they were stronger than ever after their fall last year. With a wry twist of her lips, she tugged at the hem of her fitted black jacket and smoothed a stray hair back into the severe knot at the nape of her neck. So, maybe it was better said as her ride of redemption.
And, based on the nervous excitement tingling in her body, a way to test herself as well. After they’d arrived last night, she’d taken a good hard look at her life and realized she needed to figure out her future for herself. She didn’t want to just go with what her dad expected, or ride because Reyes had broken her heart and she had nothing else to do. She certainly wasn’t going to ride because he told her to.
No. It was time she decided exactly what she wanted.
Reyes.
She ignored the
whisper of her aching heart and refused to allow thoughts of him to mess with her focus. Having already warmed up in the schooling ring after last minute advice from Charlie, she sat astride Fire to watch the other jumpers with a critical eye while waiting for their turn.
She knew most of them from the Grand Prix circuit last year, and they were all so good. No, they were better than good. The best of the best.
Her stomach got a little queasy with the realization she used to be one of them.
No—I still am.
The affirmation resonated deep in her soul, which meant she had a lot to prove to everyone today.
Seeing they were up next, Raine closed her eyes and visualized the course walk-through again. Once they made it over the vertical at the mid-way point, they’d be fine. She just needed to make sure she didn’t seize up before then. Or more importantly, at the jump.
“Do you trust Fire? Let him take you over it.”
Her pulse skittered at the vibrant sound of Reyes’ voice in her head. She did trust Fire. And, despite Reyes breaking her heart, she still trusted his advice when it came to her horse. They’d get through this as a team.
A deep breath quieted the white noise in her head enough for her to register her name and number had been announced. Diamond Fire pranced his way into the arena with an excess of energy that stirred the crowd. Raine mentally blocked out the noise, leaned forward with a murmured, “Let’s do this, boy,” and off they went.
She let years of practice and experience take over, and the second Fire cleared the first jump, a surge of exhilaration cleared her nerves. She’d argued with Reyes she wasn’t so sure she wanted the Olympics, but all it took was that one set of rails here in competition to cement her certainty.
She wanted gold as much as she still wanted him. She wanted both.