Lost Highways (A Valentine Novel) by Matlock Curtiss Ann

Author:Matlock, Curtiss Ann [Matlock, Curtiss Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

At the Fair

Harry stood with the puppy at his feet, his forearms resting on the fence rail, and watched her ride Lulu in the outside exercise arena. She thought he looked good in his hat. Good was not exactly the right word, but close. There was something about him in that hat that made Rainey feel like smiling and jumping into his arms. She had to be very careful not to reveal this and make a pure fool of herself.

It was quite trying to keep every blessed impulse to herself. She was supposed to be paying total attention to riding and training Lulu; that was why she had come to the fair, after all, in order to race barrels. And she really needed to pay attention in the practice arena, because it was filled with horses and riders. Because she was so preoccupied with Harry in his hat, she almost had a head-on collision with a big man on a bay horse. It was the big man’s fault—he was too big to even be riding that horse, and he rode right in front of her—but she should have been prepared for his stupidity.

Telling herself to settle down and get to business, she went to riding Lulu in circles, working to limber her neck. The mare had stored up a lot of energy in the confines of the trailer and the stall. For a good ten minutes she loped around with her nose tugging at the tie-down and her tail flying. Rainey let her fly and then pulled her down, let her fly and pulled her down again.

Harry kept standing there watching, and Rainey’s mind kept being drawn away, and every time she sensed Rainey’s concentration slip, Lulu took advantage of it by making slow turns and casting her own attention all over the place.

Finally Rainey rode over to Harry at the fence and asked him to leave. “I can’t concentrate with you watchin’ me like that.”

He looked surprised, of course. “I didn’t mean to distract you.”

“I know that. It isn’t your fault. I’m just havin’ a hard time with Lulu today.” And with herself, she thought. “Maybe you’d like to go over and watch the pig races or something.”

He blinked. “Okay…”

“Would you take Fido with you? I don’t want to have to worry about him, either.”

“Fido?”

“The puppy—I’m tryin’ out names. It means faithful.” She thought she might like it. The puppy looked up at her, his face a question mark, as if he might be trying out the name, too.

Harry looked a little perplexed, then he said, “Come on, Roscoe,” and he went off, with the puppy right at his heels.

Rainey worried that she may have hurt his feelings but forced herself to pay attention to the job at hand. She never got her concentration going, however, and felt that both she and Lulu were just very out of rhythm. After another forty minutes, she gave up. She thought then that she really hadn’t come up to the fair to race barrels, but had simply been coming up here for someplace to go.

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