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I lingered in the barn a while longer, halfway handling business I had to tend to on my phone, and halfway paying attention to what Cole and the horses were doing. He didn’t stay with just Romeo, and I was sure to keep an eye on him for that. Romeo was the one I’d hired Cole to work with, not the others, but I wasn’t going to tell him he couldn’t use the other horses when it came to the training. I just didn’t want him to be doing things with the other animals that were going to mess them up when it came to the clients.
It happened to me before, and I wasn’t going to let it happen again, I didn’t care how much Romeo had responded to the little bit of time Cole spent in there with him this morning. I found that to be a good sign and mean Romeo was just as capable of doing this as any of the other horses. I wasn’t going to let it make me put my guard down around Cole. Not in the slightest.
If that’s what he was hoping for, he wasn’t going to get it. I would remain in the barn and watch him working between stables if he didn’t want to stay in the single stable with Romeo. That was fine. But I wasn’t leaving. I wasn’t going to let him take over the horses and teach them anything I wasn’t right there knowing about. That’s just the way it was.
Cole wound up spending most of the day working with the horses, and I was glad to see he was dedicated to the work. I was paying him a lot of money, and I hoped he would be willing to put in the work to get me the results I wanted. The fact that Romeo was already responding made me feel good, and by the time my shift was over, I actually felt amicable enough to ask Cole to hang out for a bit.
I wanted to get to know more about him, even if it was just pure curiosity fueling the need. He had a magic touch with horses, that was obvious, and I wanted to see if I could pick up on any pointers I could use with horses we had come through in the future. I didn’t want to have to bring in people from the outside if we could help it, so the more I could learn about working with horses and getting them used to working with people the better.
It would save time and money in the future, I was sure of that. And it was another thing I wanted to talk to him about if we had the time together. I was on my way to a local tavern, and I hoped he would accept my olive branch invitation to go grab a drink with me.
“In the city itself, right?” he asked after I put the question to him.
“It’s on the outskirts. You don’t have to go all the way in to get to the tavern. I like it because it’s on the way home, and it’s got a good vibe,” I said. “I’m not going to stay long but figured if you wanted to come along and keep me some company, I wouldn’t mind.”
“I have to get up early to work,” he said. “I thought you did, too.”
“I’m going to be up early. Like I said, I’m not going to spend all night there.” I felt defensive and wondered why.
“I’ll pass,” he said. “I don’t want to be in a fog when I get up tomorrow, and if I go to the tavern now, that’s what’s going to happen. You might find you get off to a better start with your day as well if you don’t pour poison down your throat the minute you get off work.”
“I was just asking if you wanted to come, that’s all.” I shook my head, making a show of rolling my eyes. “I didn’t mean to offend you or make it seem like you were free to grab a drink or anything.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said. “Have a good night.”
“You as well,” I said, before turning on my heel and walking out of the stables.
I’d left him for the afternoon to work with the horses since two more of the staff members had gone into the barn to get some of their own work done. But, if he was going to act that way, I wasn’t interested in grabbing a drink with him after all.
I was just trying to extend a bit of peace to him after the day.
But I now remembered he was a massive dick, and I shouldn’t expect him to treat me in any other way. It was just going to be a few weeks of putting up with him, then I could forget about him forever.
As long as he helped Romeo, that was the important thing. I’d get over the fact he’d turned me down to get a drink, and I could even turn it into a good thing in my mind. If he turned me down like that, then it was likely things would stay incredibly professional between us. With his good looks, that was definitely for the best.
I slid into the car, shaking my head.
He had to be here. He had to help Romeo. But I was starting to get a feel for the kind of person I’d gotten involved with, and I hoped it would continue to go amicable.
This was about Romeo. Not me.
It was all about that horse.
