Darque Wants, page 12
part #5 of Darque Billionaire Series
As he left the arena the announcer read his score, adding “And that folks is how you take a baby through a course. Good show Dustin.”
Dustin tipped his hat in acknowledgement, although he knew he didn’t take the class.
As it were, several horses took a dislike to the strange gate, many losing the full five points for the obstacle, eventually leaving Dustin in third position.
He willingly took his place in the lineup, and thanked the judges as they came to hand out the prizes.
The following morning he and Calico were drawn first in the Open Cutting, the first qualifying leg for the grand final, with a purse of eight grand to the winner.
As he rode into the arena a heavy sensation settled over him, one he was well familiar with, because even knowing that Calico could do the work on his own, there was always this sense of expectation that they had to deliver just that much more. That people expected them to.
He looked over the cattle, and then turned his gaze to the two herdsmen on duty, inclining his head in greeting to them. Before again assessing the steers. Cutting two was the norm, three, a guaranteed high score.
He settled on a deep cut first, to feel out the heard. He decided on the one with a white face. Calico seemed to sense his decision. And after the lengthy announcements were made the announcer finally conclude with, “Ladies and gent I give you the third time National Cutting Champion, Calico, and owner-rider Dustin Breen. Sit back and watch the best show you how it is done.”
The bell went, and Dustin guided Calico into the herd, and even before the heard broke away, the white faced steer put up a fight. Calico countered, pushing it out and separating it from the group. Just then, Dustin felt it his horse lower to the ground, indication enough that he could lower his hand to the stallions wither, and sit it out.
The steer was still fresh and put in a good effort, while Calico countered and Dustin kept count, only picking up the reins when they had to cut the next one.
Dustin heart raced, the adrenaline flowed through his body, it was one of the greatest sensations he knew, next to, no he caught himself, that would only cause trouble. That was what had happened last time.
They again made a deep cut, this time singling out a steer with dark points. Again he allowed his horse to do the work, although the second steer gave less of a show, but still enough for a decent mark. Dustin knew they were close to the time limit when he pulled Calico away from the steer, setting out for one more cut. This time he picked one off the side, let Calico decide which.
Calico picked the feistiest of the lot, the steer at first bolted a short distance from the others, then did an about turn, lowering its head threateningly as he ran for the herd, running right a them. Calico spread his front legs and lowered his head, snorting loudly. The steer hesitated for a step made to step past them only to have Calico counter him watching the steer, countering it as it tried to maneuver past them. The siren went, and with it a loud cheer went up. Dustin patted Calico’s neck and turned the horse for the gate, knowing they’d set a good score, one that would really challenge the others if they were to chase it.
He took the class, and Calico did his usual fancy step as the entered the arena for the lineup. It was not lost to him that Marcella had placed third, only nine points under him, enough to set people talking.
Later that afternoon, Dustin was cleaning his tack, while sitting on an upturned bucket outside his horse’s stall, more to keep the stallion’s admiring public from stuffing Calico full of carrots and apples, when the show veterinarian and his assistant approached him.
“Doc?” he questioned, rising from his seat.
“He’s been drawn for the random drug screen.” The vet said pointing to Calico. It was not the first time the stallion had been drawn for a random screening, and it was not something that concerned Dustin, there was no reason why the horse would test positive.
What did concern him was the sudden, impromptu, screening. He lifted the horse’s headstall from the bridle hook and asked, “Where you want him?”
“Just hold him, he’s not a problem.”
Dustin watched as the vet pulled out the vials from his case, labeled them, before entering the horse’s stall.
“So how many was drawn?” Dustin asked when the vet inserted the needle into the horse’s jugular.
“Ten.”
“Only ten?” He asked surprised, knowing there were well over three hundred horses competing.
We weren’t actually planning on any, most folks here might give them bute or something to hide a low level lameness. But then we had not foreseen the upset.”
“Anderson.”
“Yes, too many question that one rider’s success. She’s so far placed in every class. While she may be a good rider, people are starting to have questions. So screen it is. But I cannot call for their horses to be screened unless I test yours as well, would look too obvious if I overlooked the winner.”
“No problem,” Dustin said, unwilling to reveal the reason as to why Marcella could be winning. He knew it had to be draining on her. Instead he said, “I don’t know if anything could cause such an about face in a horse.”
“In a horse I could accept, but she’s riding four, and word is Anderson is bragging that she’s unstoppable. There are also some sizable bets on the sideline.” The vet finished, gently tilting the tubes a few times.
Dustin had heard of one or two, none of them to the scale his had been, but enough to cause some concern. “Another reason why you suspect foul play?” Dustin asked loosening the stallion’s headstall.
“Let’s just say the stewards have been put on the alert. The folks around here may not know him all that well, but the association does. That man does nothing, unless there is some financial gain in it for him.”
Dustin made a point of avoiding Geoffrey, and all of his riders, as the show progressed. None of the selected horses had tested positive for any banned substances, and the speculation increased as the show approached the final day. Marcella had in fact proven to be the challenge Geoffrey had professed she would be, with a lot of the ringside talk centered around her. Her focus appeared to be on sorting, reining and pure handiness of the horses she rode. It was well known that two of the horses were up for sale
Their paths again crossed on the eve of the finals, in the most auspicious manner when he’d approached Calico’s stable, hearing soft murmurs.
At first he thought he was hearing things, for one of the voices he identified as Gareth’s, it was only as he looked over the door that he identified the second person, causing his blood to run cold.
“What are you doing here?” he harshly demanded, causing both of them to jump. Gareth looked suitably chided, although Dustin was not bothered by the young man’s presence in his horse’s stable, he was however concerned about hers.
“I… we .. were just.” Gareth hesitantly started.
“In my horse’s stable.” Dustin firmly said, “Doing what exactly?” Fixing Gareth with a hard glare.
“Um …she… eh… She wanted to see him.”
“She can look at him when he’s in the arena, just like every other person.” Dustin was well familiar with the uncertainty some youngsters experienced around girls, and how they would do foolish things, dangerous things even, in an attempt to curry favor with a girl. However the woman in question was more of a concern to him than the transgression. “What did she offer you as payment?”
At his demand, Marcella looked suitably angered, bordering on livid.
“Eh…” the boy looked from her to him, seeming uncertain as to how best he could answer the question.
Dustin pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “Trailer, now. We’ll talk later, when I’ve dealt with her.”
Gareth nodded his head and moved from the stable. When Marcella made to follow him, only Dustin caught her arm. A thousand tingles raced up his arm. Warming, tingling, making him overly aware of her proximity to him. Bringing far too many memories to the fore. He let go of her arm as she turned to look at him.
“You’re staying, I’m not done with you.” He said and waited until Gareth was out of earshot before continuing,
“If only that were true,” She challenged him, but he knew better than to rise to the bait.
“Just what did you offer him?” Dustin demanded once it seemed as it they were alone.
“What? you hoping to cash in on it.” She threw back, challengingly.
He felt his anger rise as he fixed her with a hard stare. They had not parted on the best of grounds, and she possibly knew what her presence could do to him, although he would not allow it, could not. One simply did not make the same mistake twice, no matter how pleasurable the mistake may be. “What did you swing as bait?” he demanded.
“I didn’t…” she started only for him to interrupt.
“I don’t buy that!”
“I didn’t,” She insisted, her voice almost pleading.
“Look, there are stories enough floating around about your willingness to engage in wild bets. I should know…” He started, but caught himself, knowing he’d said too much and was likely to regret it. He remained silent for several moments, she too seemed to wait for him to say something.
He looked her over, making a big scene of checking out her body, although he quickly regretted when his mind filled in what it knew lay beneath the clothes she wore. His focus rested on her breasts, remembering their softness as he watched them rise and fall under his gaze, a little faster than the moment or situation called for. It was good to know that he affected her as well, it gave him the boost he needed to push her away.
“I’m well familiar with how you use your body as a bargaining tool, have heard the rumor…” He had not even finished the sentence before she stepped forward, a sharp stinging sensation burned his cheek.
“Just who do you think you are,” She demanded, angrily, stepping back again, farther this time.
Anger was good, he thought. Anger, especially hers, gave him the upper hand, would get him through this without revealing how much her deception had hurt him.
“It’s not who I think I am, it’s the company you keep.” He calmly, possibly too calmly, replied.
He saw her eyes flair, even in the dim light of the stable their color deepened, almost to the same shade, again h blocked his wandering thoughts, knowing that if he allowed them to intervene, he would be the one to suffer the consequences.
“How dare you?” She demanded.
“I don’t trust him, so by association I don’t trust you – especially not in my horse’s stable the night before the finals. So. Own up and I may consider letting you go.” Within moments of the words leaving his mouth he regretted them. He knew how playful she could be, how easily she picked up a challenge, and she would in all likelihood interpret his words as such.
“Well as I remember that was a problem we both shared… once.”
He fixed her with a stern glare.
In response she reached out to Calico. Dustin caught her hand before it reached his horse, “Hands off,” He firmly commanded, “I know what those hands can do, and the power they yield, so paws off.”
“You know you’re the only person I’ve ever told,” she said, attempting to turn her palm in his.
Dustin dropped it, almost as if it had burnt him, stating, “I don’t believe that.”
She folded her arms and lent her shoulder against the stall wall. “You’re the only one, Geoffrey suspects something but he does not know, doesn’t need to know, his motives are enough not to have anyone trust him.”
“Yet you ride for him.” Dustin replied.
“Of that I am guilty, but I have my reasons for it.”
“Like?”
“It gives me the opportunity to see the circuit, meet new people, possibly find something better.”
“And you think that cheating others is going to put you in anyone’s good graces.”
“I don’t cheat, okay, It’s not cheating, it’s using skills I was given. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t have them, I do and I enjoy using them, it makes it easier on the horses who would otherwise have to settle with ineffective riders.”
“It’s cheating, you have a distinct advantage over the other riders.”
“No more so than you have with him,” she said pointing to Calico. “I may be able to guide them better, even get them to perform better, but I cannot make them like what they are doing, give it their all, when they have no interest in the first place.”
Dustin had no idea how to respond to that, mostly because he had no idea what the limitations her talent had, however he knew she’d used it on him, had made him lust for her to the point where he thought he would lose his mind if he did not have her.
“He’s so calm, for a stallion, so at ease with things, much like you. There is no stress, no discontent in him, he knows he’s in good hands.”
“Is that what you’re getting from him?” he asked, thankful she’d pulled him from his musings. “You pick that up from him?” Dustin asked, surprised, at the same time weary of her intentions.
“Yes. It’s nice to be in the company of one so calm, he’s so different from them.” When she spoke her head moved in the general direction of Geoffrey’s crowd. “The horses there, they’re all sad. It’s draining.”
“What is?”
“Him, them. It’s always the same routines, different riders. There is little peace little affection for the animals. It’s numbing at times, I don’t want to be numb, I want to feel alive, content, but alive, they way you make yours feel,”
Her tone lowered considerably as she added, “The way you made me feel.”
Dustin fought the desire to pull her close, all throughout the week he’d been aware of her, had spent enough of those evenings reminiscing their past, and enough mornings jacking himself off to preserve his sanity. He could not, not then, he could not allow himself to again lose focus, which was possibly what she and Geoffrey were bargaining on. So he thought to turn the tables on him.
“If you’re not happy with Geoffrey, why stay? Why ride for him?”
“Because he made it possible for me to be here, besides he needs me.”
“Needs you, how?”
“He thinks I don’t know, that I’m naive, and I prefer it that way. But let’s just say his reputation has gotten the better of him, there are not as many clients willing to part with boatloads of cash in order for him to travel around the country parading their kids at various shows. Even his sponsors are threatening to pull out, if he doesn’t start performing better.”
“So, coming here to ensure your win tomorrow would go a long way in securing your terms with Geoffrey.”
She looked at him, shocked, “You cannot mean… that I would do something…”
“You have the incentive and the means.” Dustin said folding his arms, looking pointedly at her as he continued, “As likely as your story could be, Geoffrey has always found the clients, there are droves of them around, blinded by appearances. He has risen many times.”
“You should know that in this industry you get a rep, and that often it precedes you.”
“You should take note of that,” he deadpanned.
She seemed to brush it off, “And what should I do, quit? Go back to Vegas, to a two-bit job training little kids riding basics. That does not even cover my bills let alone allow me to purchase a horse or compete. To me this is an opportunity of a lifetime, it may not be the best, but it might land me a better job someplace.”
“The good ones don’t poach staff, and even less likely Geoffrey’s. He uses people, if not to rake in the prizes, to keep his bed warm. And if rumors of the bets made this week are true, I’d say Geoffrey has the upper hand in this one. You won’t be making any worthwhile contacts here. Most of these guys will see you as trouble, the kind of trouble they don’t need on their ranches. And if you do find one, you can be sure they expect another kind of work from you. No, I’d say he has you right where he wants you.”
“No, he doesn’t.” she countered, “I told him I won’t be one of his sluts.”
“You haven’t” Dustin asked, not that the thought had crossed his mind, but since she mentioned it he could feel his anger rise, he did not like the possible meaning of it, or the sense of relief that flushed over him. He knew that it was something that needed deeper reflection, but at the same time was not something he could do in her presence – just as he couldn’t afford to lower his guard around her.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “My bringing on the youngsters keeps him at arms length, but I know he’ll push the issue if I don’t bring in the prizes, which is why I’m looking for something else.”
Dustin shook his head, “He may need you now, and you may think you’re in charge now, but He’ll do whatever he needs to, to keep you. He knows how to play dirty. And in a few months you’ll be old news, and when you have served your purpose he will drop you in some two-bit town and continue without you.
“How do you know that?”
“Because he’s done it before.”
Marcella remained silent for several moments, “Why are you telling me this? I’m your strongest opposition tomorrow. Why warn me of something like this”
“Because nobody deserves what that man dishes out once he’s finished with someone. For now you’re his sweetheart, the one that increases the value of his horses, because you’re winning. He’s gotten several queries on the horses your riding, he’s not talking prices, because he knows that if you do well tomorrow, he can push all their prices. But if you tank tomorrow, he’s gonna make you feel utterly incompetent.”
“You speak as if it’s a given, that you will win tomorrow.”
“Win or lose, you should go home, and not look back.”
“And why should I do that?” She angrily demanded.
“Because if you up and leave, it will be on your terms. And you would have proven something far more important to everyone else- that you don’t need him, that you won’t stand for his tricks. Your prizes and achievements will also mean, more because you left a winner and people who know him will respect you for it. Where with him, you will just be a very good puppet that keeps his show running.”
Dustin tipped his hat in acknowledgement, although he knew he didn’t take the class.
As it were, several horses took a dislike to the strange gate, many losing the full five points for the obstacle, eventually leaving Dustin in third position.
He willingly took his place in the lineup, and thanked the judges as they came to hand out the prizes.
The following morning he and Calico were drawn first in the Open Cutting, the first qualifying leg for the grand final, with a purse of eight grand to the winner.
As he rode into the arena a heavy sensation settled over him, one he was well familiar with, because even knowing that Calico could do the work on his own, there was always this sense of expectation that they had to deliver just that much more. That people expected them to.
He looked over the cattle, and then turned his gaze to the two herdsmen on duty, inclining his head in greeting to them. Before again assessing the steers. Cutting two was the norm, three, a guaranteed high score.
He settled on a deep cut first, to feel out the heard. He decided on the one with a white face. Calico seemed to sense his decision. And after the lengthy announcements were made the announcer finally conclude with, “Ladies and gent I give you the third time National Cutting Champion, Calico, and owner-rider Dustin Breen. Sit back and watch the best show you how it is done.”
The bell went, and Dustin guided Calico into the herd, and even before the heard broke away, the white faced steer put up a fight. Calico countered, pushing it out and separating it from the group. Just then, Dustin felt it his horse lower to the ground, indication enough that he could lower his hand to the stallions wither, and sit it out.
The steer was still fresh and put in a good effort, while Calico countered and Dustin kept count, only picking up the reins when they had to cut the next one.
Dustin heart raced, the adrenaline flowed through his body, it was one of the greatest sensations he knew, next to, no he caught himself, that would only cause trouble. That was what had happened last time.
They again made a deep cut, this time singling out a steer with dark points. Again he allowed his horse to do the work, although the second steer gave less of a show, but still enough for a decent mark. Dustin knew they were close to the time limit when he pulled Calico away from the steer, setting out for one more cut. This time he picked one off the side, let Calico decide which.
Calico picked the feistiest of the lot, the steer at first bolted a short distance from the others, then did an about turn, lowering its head threateningly as he ran for the herd, running right a them. Calico spread his front legs and lowered his head, snorting loudly. The steer hesitated for a step made to step past them only to have Calico counter him watching the steer, countering it as it tried to maneuver past them. The siren went, and with it a loud cheer went up. Dustin patted Calico’s neck and turned the horse for the gate, knowing they’d set a good score, one that would really challenge the others if they were to chase it.
He took the class, and Calico did his usual fancy step as the entered the arena for the lineup. It was not lost to him that Marcella had placed third, only nine points under him, enough to set people talking.
Later that afternoon, Dustin was cleaning his tack, while sitting on an upturned bucket outside his horse’s stall, more to keep the stallion’s admiring public from stuffing Calico full of carrots and apples, when the show veterinarian and his assistant approached him.
“Doc?” he questioned, rising from his seat.
“He’s been drawn for the random drug screen.” The vet said pointing to Calico. It was not the first time the stallion had been drawn for a random screening, and it was not something that concerned Dustin, there was no reason why the horse would test positive.
What did concern him was the sudden, impromptu, screening. He lifted the horse’s headstall from the bridle hook and asked, “Where you want him?”
“Just hold him, he’s not a problem.”
Dustin watched as the vet pulled out the vials from his case, labeled them, before entering the horse’s stall.
“So how many was drawn?” Dustin asked when the vet inserted the needle into the horse’s jugular.
“Ten.”
“Only ten?” He asked surprised, knowing there were well over three hundred horses competing.
We weren’t actually planning on any, most folks here might give them bute or something to hide a low level lameness. But then we had not foreseen the upset.”
“Anderson.”
“Yes, too many question that one rider’s success. She’s so far placed in every class. While she may be a good rider, people are starting to have questions. So screen it is. But I cannot call for their horses to be screened unless I test yours as well, would look too obvious if I overlooked the winner.”
“No problem,” Dustin said, unwilling to reveal the reason as to why Marcella could be winning. He knew it had to be draining on her. Instead he said, “I don’t know if anything could cause such an about face in a horse.”
“In a horse I could accept, but she’s riding four, and word is Anderson is bragging that she’s unstoppable. There are also some sizable bets on the sideline.” The vet finished, gently tilting the tubes a few times.
Dustin had heard of one or two, none of them to the scale his had been, but enough to cause some concern. “Another reason why you suspect foul play?” Dustin asked loosening the stallion’s headstall.
“Let’s just say the stewards have been put on the alert. The folks around here may not know him all that well, but the association does. That man does nothing, unless there is some financial gain in it for him.”
Dustin made a point of avoiding Geoffrey, and all of his riders, as the show progressed. None of the selected horses had tested positive for any banned substances, and the speculation increased as the show approached the final day. Marcella had in fact proven to be the challenge Geoffrey had professed she would be, with a lot of the ringside talk centered around her. Her focus appeared to be on sorting, reining and pure handiness of the horses she rode. It was well known that two of the horses were up for sale
Their paths again crossed on the eve of the finals, in the most auspicious manner when he’d approached Calico’s stable, hearing soft murmurs.
At first he thought he was hearing things, for one of the voices he identified as Gareth’s, it was only as he looked over the door that he identified the second person, causing his blood to run cold.
“What are you doing here?” he harshly demanded, causing both of them to jump. Gareth looked suitably chided, although Dustin was not bothered by the young man’s presence in his horse’s stable, he was however concerned about hers.
“I… we .. were just.” Gareth hesitantly started.
“In my horse’s stable.” Dustin firmly said, “Doing what exactly?” Fixing Gareth with a hard glare.
“Um …she… eh… She wanted to see him.”
“She can look at him when he’s in the arena, just like every other person.” Dustin was well familiar with the uncertainty some youngsters experienced around girls, and how they would do foolish things, dangerous things even, in an attempt to curry favor with a girl. However the woman in question was more of a concern to him than the transgression. “What did she offer you as payment?”
At his demand, Marcella looked suitably angered, bordering on livid.
“Eh…” the boy looked from her to him, seeming uncertain as to how best he could answer the question.
Dustin pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “Trailer, now. We’ll talk later, when I’ve dealt with her.”
Gareth nodded his head and moved from the stable. When Marcella made to follow him, only Dustin caught her arm. A thousand tingles raced up his arm. Warming, tingling, making him overly aware of her proximity to him. Bringing far too many memories to the fore. He let go of her arm as she turned to look at him.
“You’re staying, I’m not done with you.” He said and waited until Gareth was out of earshot before continuing,
“If only that were true,” She challenged him, but he knew better than to rise to the bait.
“Just what did you offer him?” Dustin demanded once it seemed as it they were alone.
“What? you hoping to cash in on it.” She threw back, challengingly.
He felt his anger rise as he fixed her with a hard stare. They had not parted on the best of grounds, and she possibly knew what her presence could do to him, although he would not allow it, could not. One simply did not make the same mistake twice, no matter how pleasurable the mistake may be. “What did you swing as bait?” he demanded.
“I didn’t…” she started only for him to interrupt.
“I don’t buy that!”
“I didn’t,” She insisted, her voice almost pleading.
“Look, there are stories enough floating around about your willingness to engage in wild bets. I should know…” He started, but caught himself, knowing he’d said too much and was likely to regret it. He remained silent for several moments, she too seemed to wait for him to say something.
He looked her over, making a big scene of checking out her body, although he quickly regretted when his mind filled in what it knew lay beneath the clothes she wore. His focus rested on her breasts, remembering their softness as he watched them rise and fall under his gaze, a little faster than the moment or situation called for. It was good to know that he affected her as well, it gave him the boost he needed to push her away.
“I’m well familiar with how you use your body as a bargaining tool, have heard the rumor…” He had not even finished the sentence before she stepped forward, a sharp stinging sensation burned his cheek.
“Just who do you think you are,” She demanded, angrily, stepping back again, farther this time.
Anger was good, he thought. Anger, especially hers, gave him the upper hand, would get him through this without revealing how much her deception had hurt him.
“It’s not who I think I am, it’s the company you keep.” He calmly, possibly too calmly, replied.
He saw her eyes flair, even in the dim light of the stable their color deepened, almost to the same shade, again h blocked his wandering thoughts, knowing that if he allowed them to intervene, he would be the one to suffer the consequences.
“How dare you?” She demanded.
“I don’t trust him, so by association I don’t trust you – especially not in my horse’s stable the night before the finals. So. Own up and I may consider letting you go.” Within moments of the words leaving his mouth he regretted them. He knew how playful she could be, how easily she picked up a challenge, and she would in all likelihood interpret his words as such.
“Well as I remember that was a problem we both shared… once.”
He fixed her with a stern glare.
In response she reached out to Calico. Dustin caught her hand before it reached his horse, “Hands off,” He firmly commanded, “I know what those hands can do, and the power they yield, so paws off.”
“You know you’re the only person I’ve ever told,” she said, attempting to turn her palm in his.
Dustin dropped it, almost as if it had burnt him, stating, “I don’t believe that.”
She folded her arms and lent her shoulder against the stall wall. “You’re the only one, Geoffrey suspects something but he does not know, doesn’t need to know, his motives are enough not to have anyone trust him.”
“Yet you ride for him.” Dustin replied.
“Of that I am guilty, but I have my reasons for it.”
“Like?”
“It gives me the opportunity to see the circuit, meet new people, possibly find something better.”
“And you think that cheating others is going to put you in anyone’s good graces.”
“I don’t cheat, okay, It’s not cheating, it’s using skills I was given. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t have them, I do and I enjoy using them, it makes it easier on the horses who would otherwise have to settle with ineffective riders.”
“It’s cheating, you have a distinct advantage over the other riders.”
“No more so than you have with him,” she said pointing to Calico. “I may be able to guide them better, even get them to perform better, but I cannot make them like what they are doing, give it their all, when they have no interest in the first place.”
Dustin had no idea how to respond to that, mostly because he had no idea what the limitations her talent had, however he knew she’d used it on him, had made him lust for her to the point where he thought he would lose his mind if he did not have her.
“He’s so calm, for a stallion, so at ease with things, much like you. There is no stress, no discontent in him, he knows he’s in good hands.”
“Is that what you’re getting from him?” he asked, thankful she’d pulled him from his musings. “You pick that up from him?” Dustin asked, surprised, at the same time weary of her intentions.
“Yes. It’s nice to be in the company of one so calm, he’s so different from them.” When she spoke her head moved in the general direction of Geoffrey’s crowd. “The horses there, they’re all sad. It’s draining.”
“What is?”
“Him, them. It’s always the same routines, different riders. There is little peace little affection for the animals. It’s numbing at times, I don’t want to be numb, I want to feel alive, content, but alive, they way you make yours feel,”
Her tone lowered considerably as she added, “The way you made me feel.”
Dustin fought the desire to pull her close, all throughout the week he’d been aware of her, had spent enough of those evenings reminiscing their past, and enough mornings jacking himself off to preserve his sanity. He could not, not then, he could not allow himself to again lose focus, which was possibly what she and Geoffrey were bargaining on. So he thought to turn the tables on him.
“If you’re not happy with Geoffrey, why stay? Why ride for him?”
“Because he made it possible for me to be here, besides he needs me.”
“Needs you, how?”
“He thinks I don’t know, that I’m naive, and I prefer it that way. But let’s just say his reputation has gotten the better of him, there are not as many clients willing to part with boatloads of cash in order for him to travel around the country parading their kids at various shows. Even his sponsors are threatening to pull out, if he doesn’t start performing better.”
“So, coming here to ensure your win tomorrow would go a long way in securing your terms with Geoffrey.”
She looked at him, shocked, “You cannot mean… that I would do something…”
“You have the incentive and the means.” Dustin said folding his arms, looking pointedly at her as he continued, “As likely as your story could be, Geoffrey has always found the clients, there are droves of them around, blinded by appearances. He has risen many times.”
“You should know that in this industry you get a rep, and that often it precedes you.”
“You should take note of that,” he deadpanned.
She seemed to brush it off, “And what should I do, quit? Go back to Vegas, to a two-bit job training little kids riding basics. That does not even cover my bills let alone allow me to purchase a horse or compete. To me this is an opportunity of a lifetime, it may not be the best, but it might land me a better job someplace.”
“The good ones don’t poach staff, and even less likely Geoffrey’s. He uses people, if not to rake in the prizes, to keep his bed warm. And if rumors of the bets made this week are true, I’d say Geoffrey has the upper hand in this one. You won’t be making any worthwhile contacts here. Most of these guys will see you as trouble, the kind of trouble they don’t need on their ranches. And if you do find one, you can be sure they expect another kind of work from you. No, I’d say he has you right where he wants you.”
“No, he doesn’t.” she countered, “I told him I won’t be one of his sluts.”
“You haven’t” Dustin asked, not that the thought had crossed his mind, but since she mentioned it he could feel his anger rise, he did not like the possible meaning of it, or the sense of relief that flushed over him. He knew that it was something that needed deeper reflection, but at the same time was not something he could do in her presence – just as he couldn’t afford to lower his guard around her.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “My bringing on the youngsters keeps him at arms length, but I know he’ll push the issue if I don’t bring in the prizes, which is why I’m looking for something else.”
Dustin shook his head, “He may need you now, and you may think you’re in charge now, but He’ll do whatever he needs to, to keep you. He knows how to play dirty. And in a few months you’ll be old news, and when you have served your purpose he will drop you in some two-bit town and continue without you.
“How do you know that?”
“Because he’s done it before.”
Marcella remained silent for several moments, “Why are you telling me this? I’m your strongest opposition tomorrow. Why warn me of something like this”
“Because nobody deserves what that man dishes out once he’s finished with someone. For now you’re his sweetheart, the one that increases the value of his horses, because you’re winning. He’s gotten several queries on the horses your riding, he’s not talking prices, because he knows that if you do well tomorrow, he can push all their prices. But if you tank tomorrow, he’s gonna make you feel utterly incompetent.”
“You speak as if it’s a given, that you will win tomorrow.”
“Win or lose, you should go home, and not look back.”
“And why should I do that?” She angrily demanded.
“Because if you up and leave, it will be on your terms. And you would have proven something far more important to everyone else- that you don’t need him, that you won’t stand for his tricks. Your prizes and achievements will also mean, more because you left a winner and people who know him will respect you for it. Where with him, you will just be a very good puppet that keeps his show running.”
