“We are very lucky.”
Megan gave Ellie a hug. “We saw the news coverage. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.”
Then a man’s voice boomed over the speakers welcoming everyone and telling the first competitor to come to the starting line. Then he gave the crowd the rundown on the rules. Each skier got one chance to complete the course with added time penalties for anyone who missed a gate or a jump or dropped or missed a ring. The skier-rider team that finished the course with the fastest time got to split a prize of five thousand dollars.
Ellie willed herself to stay calm. “After Dan, I made a promise to myself not to get together with any man who enjoyed taking risks, and look at me now.”
Janet leaned closer. “That recklessness is probably why you’re attracted to Jesse in the first place.”
Ellie thought about that for a moment. “You’re right. I’m drawn to the part of him that rushes in when other men are afraid.”
That’s why Daisy was alive today.
The announcer’s voice ended their conversation. “First up are Carina Johnson and Billy Springer riding Thor. Is the team ready? They are ready.”
A pistol shot sent the horse galloping forward, hooves churning up clods of snow. The skier was promptly jerked off her skis and dragged a short distance down the street.
It was hard to watch, and Ellie had to remember that she wasn’t here as a first responder or an RN today.
God, she hoped Jesse wouldn’t be hurt.
The next pair had trouble when the horse, spooked by the pistol shot, reared rather than ran, and then stomped in nervous circles. The next finished the course, but missed one of the gates and failed to catch most of the rings.
“They’re racing in the order they signed up, so Jesse and Nate are going to be one of the last teams,” Megan told her, shouting to be heard above the cheers. She patted Ellie’s arm. “He’s going to be okay. Nate said he was a natural.”
Ellie drew a deep breath and did her best to get into the spirit and enjoy the show.
* * *
Jesse stoodnear the starting line, heart pumping with anticipation.
Nate was talking to a skier who’d wiped out on the last jump, leaving blood on the snow. He came back, shared what he’d learned. “He says the course is running fast. He says he caught an edge on ice on the way up the ramp and lost his balance. I guess you’ll need to watch those edges.”
“Right.”
They were the second-to-last team to compete, with three more teams ahead of them. The first of those three finished the course with the fastest time so far—one minute and nine seconds. The second finished, as well, but was penalized for missing a gate by having four seconds added to her time of one minute fifteen seconds. The third wiped out coming off the first jump, injured his ankle, and was taken away by EMTs.
“You ready?” Nate took Buckwheat’s reins.
“Hell, yeah. Let’s do this.”
The announcer’s voice boomed through the air. “Next up, Jesse Moretti and Nate West riding Buckwheat.”
Cheers.
Jesse glanced around. “I guess everyone in Scarlet knows you and your horses.”
“You think they’re cheering for me? They’re cheering foryou, buddy. Everyone in this town knows your name now.”
Jesse didn’t believe that for a moment.
Nate mounted Buckwheat, rode over to the starting line, while race volunteers, Sasha among them, straightened the tow rope.
“Good luck!” she called to him.
Jesse drew the slack out of the rope, adjusted his grip, flexed his knees a few times, then waited for the announcer.
“Is the team ready? The team is ready.”