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Raya
I stepped forwardas the trainer pulled up.
Cole Hudson.
If he was anything like his website claimed, he was pretty damn amazing. I hoped the site didn’t hype him up too much beyond what he was really capable of doing. The fact of the matter was that Romeo was in need of some help, and I wasn’t in the mood to waste time and money on someone who wasn’t going to deliver on the services.
He stepped out of the truck, a cast on his leg, and while I was immediately struck with how good looking he was, I couldn’t get past the cast.
Not that it came as a total surprise.
Wrenley told me she’d come across this person because of work, and she was an ER nurse. Clearly, someone she’d met coming through her work was going to be someone who had an illness or injury of some kind. She hadn’t told me, however, that he was dealing with a broken leg, and I hadn’t thought to ask at the time.
Now, with him out of his truck with his leg wrapped in front of me, I wasn’t quite sure how to respond. There was part of me convinced this was going to be a disaster from the beginning. How the hell was anyone with a broken leg going to deal with that horse?
I had all confidence Romeo would come around with the right training, but I knew he was a project animal, and it was going to take someone with the right – everything – to reach him. I wasn’t sure someone with a broken leg would be able to get through to Romeo, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to put the horse through the trauma of trying.
But, there was also the reviews I’d seen on that site, not to mention the fact he had come all the way out here to look at Romeo, and I figured that was a good sign. I already made it clear to him I was going to have to have him out at the ranch for five days during the week, and here he was. If that was a problem, I figured he wouldn’t show up at all. Yet here he was.
I put a smile on my face and stepped forward, willing to give this a shot and see how things turned out despite my doubts in the beginning. I knew the worst to happen would be to talk to him and tell him it wasn’t worth my time, and we’d part ways.
But, my inner schoolgirl evidently had other ideas.
When I drew nearer to him, I was even more taken with how attractive he was. Tall, dark, and handsome. More my type than I even knew was my type, really. And I was expected to be professional and in charge dealing with him, and my initial reaction was to flirt. I dismissed the initial reaction, wondering what had gotten into me to make me feel that way.
“How are you going to handle a horse that is in need of a strong hand when you have a broken leg?” I demanded.
“You said he needs a strong hand, didn’t you? I didn’t break my hand,” came the cool reply.
I was briefly caught off guard. I hadn’t expected him to be a smartass on top of everything. But that was fine. I didn’t have to have him be polite. He just had to know what he was doing when it came to horses.
“Cute,” I said. “So tell me how you’re going to handle this?”
“I’m better than anyone with two legs. I’m not gonna stand out here and argue with you about that, either. Just show me where the horses are, and I’ll let you know if I can work with them. Simple as that, isn’t it?” he asked.
“I’d rather show you where you’re going to be staying as long as you’re here,” I replied. “If you’ll come with me this way, I’m sure you’re going to find it able to suit your needs. We’re not the Four Seasons Hotel or anything, but I’m sure you’ll find the roof doesn’t leak and there’s not much of a draft when the door is closed.”
“I’m sure that’s all well and good,” he argued. “But I would really like to see why I’m here to begin with. Not that this isn’t a nice place and all, but I really didn’t come to look at where you plan to put me up for the night. I wouldn’t have come all this way to spend the weeks in your lodging for the fun of it. Nice as they are, I’m sure.”
He gave me a look that made me want to slap him.
I wasn’t sure what it was about him, but as much as I was taken with his looks, I wasn’t quite sure how to handle his abrupt manner. He seemed nice enough, but I also got the strongest impression he was somewhat of a dick. Perhaps a massive dick, really.
I did my best to remain unaffected by the fact he was arguing with me, but it was difficult. I was the boss here, and I wasn’t sure how he thought I was asking him to come with me to see where we were going to be putting him up for the nights he was here. I was certain I had been more direct with telling him to come along with me before we went to see the horses, but he felt free to argue with me about it.
And being surprised as I was, I didn’t have an answer ready for him, which made him ready to pounce on me as soon as I hesitated.
“Really now, you know as well as I do that I’m here for the horses, and if I’m not happy with what I see here, it’s not going to matter what you have for me to stay in. I’m going to have to ask you to move the animal to my facility for me to work with him closer.”
I was even more shocked with the idea I would be sending Romeo away anywhere else, and how he was still so casual with his delivery of the news. As though I was the one who should be hoping to pass the test with keeping Romeo here. I almost told him to get back in his truck and I would find someone else, but I bit my tongue.
He clearly liked to argue, and considering the people I worked with, I reminded myself there were people out there who liked to argue and liked to be difficult. He could be one of those people who liked to feel like he was in control over what was going on, and if it made him feel better to look at the horses first, I could allow it.
After all, I reminded myself, I was the one who was calling the shots here, even if he was the one training the horses. The only reason we were on our way to the barn to see the animals now was because of the fact I was allowing it. If I really wanted to stay and chat right here, we would. Or, if I really wanted to show him where he would be staying while he was working with Romeo, we would do that, too.
At least, that’s what I was going to tell myself. It made me feel like I was the one in control and deciding how we were going to handle things and less like he had just told me how we were going to do this, and I was obeying. I called the shots in this facility. At least, as far as he was concerned I did.
