Free Winter Circuit (The Show Circuit -- Book 2) by Kim Ablon Whitney Page A

around the barn and I’d grown to love him like I’d never loved any animal before. But now I didn’t even know if he remembered me.
    I’d heard stories of horses remembering their owners years after they’d last seen them and certainly all horse movies made it seem like every horse would gallop up to the pasture fence, whinnying, when its owner came. But how many horses really did that?
    “It’s me,” I told Logan, as if that would jog his memory.
    His ears flicked at my voice but that was it. He kept chewing.
    I put my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. I breathed in his wonderful smell. Maybe it didn’t matter if he remembered me. Maybe all that mattered was how much I loved him.
    Chris poked his head over the stall door. “I have to call Craig back. I’ll be in the office.”
    I knew Craig was Lily’s father.
    I had no idea where the office was but I was fine hugging Logan for a while longer. I ran my hand over his neck and stepped back to take a look at him. Then I ran my hands down each leg and picked up each hoof. His legs felt tight and cool, not at all puffy or hot. His hooves looked strong too. Wow. He looked amazing. He was more muscled along his topline and hind-end, and his coat gleamed. Under Chris’s care he got things I couldn’t have given him—time on the treadmill for fitness, time spent standing on the vibrating pad, and wearing the magnetic blanket. Most of all, though, he looked happy. I was so lucky Dad had agreed to send him with Chris.
    I stayed in his stall a few minutes longer. As I was closing the stall door behind me, I turned and found Dale blocking my path. We stood closer than I had maybe at any other time before. Abnormally and uncomfortably close. I could see the lines around his eyes and mouth. For someone who rarely smiled, he had a lot of laugh lines. Probably from too much sun exposure and squinting. I wished I could go right back in the stall, or that Logan would swing his head over and save me.
    “This is a big winter for him,” Dale said.
    At first I thought he meant Logan, and I was confused because I didn’t think Dale cared that much about Logan. But then I realized he meant Chris. Dale had a quiet voice—he never talked loudly. But it was a serious voice. He continued, “Losing Harris was huge but he’s making out okay. He’s recovering from it. He’s got a few clients. This is the big stage here. It doesn’t get any bigger. Do you get that?”
    I nodded, even though I hadn’t really thought about it. To me, Florida had always seemed like just another horse show. But judging from what I’d already seen in terms of the farms and the pure wealth, it was very different.
    “This is where he lands another sponsor and gets a number one horse. This winter is when he gets back in the game.”
    I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say to Dale. I wanted all that for Chris too. We were on the same team—Team Chris.
    “He can’t have any distractions,” Dale added.
    “I’m a distraction?” I said.
    “Before you he had Harris.”
    “That wasn’t because of me,” I said. “Or we don’t know it was just because of me.”
    I knew Chris had told Dale about Harris’s wife making a pass at him and Chris rejecting her. Chris told Dale everything. They were more like uncle and nephew or big and little brother than rider and barn manager.
    “Don’t ruin this for him,” Dale said.
    “I’m not going to,” I promised him. “I want everything you want for him.” As much as I felt like Dale was out of line, his intentions were good. He wanted Chris to be the best in the sport and I didn’t get the sense it was because it would promote Dale or get him something he wanted. Sure, if you’re the barn manager for an Olympic Gold Medalist you get more attention and accolades. But I’m not sure your pay gets any higher really. Dale loved Chris and wanted him to reach his fullest potential. Which was what I wanted too, but Dale couldn’t see that we were