Leaping Hearts(84)

“I’m not just worried. I’m frustrated and I’m angry because I’m trying to save you from yourself.” He expelled a breath harshly. “Which is pointless. If someone had tried to put the brakes on me, I wouldn’t have listened, either.”

“Devlin, I’m strong and determined but I’m not reckless with that stallion. I’m scrupulous about keeping after his legs. I’m so careful—”

He was shaking his head. “You just don’t get it, do you? It’s not just about Sabbath. It’s about you.”

“And I need to do this.”

“If you don’t make it to the Qualifier, what do you think is going to happen? There won’t be any more trophies to win? No more events? Don’t get so fixated on three weeks from now that you forget there’s a whole damn calendar year full of rings to compete in. It doesn’t have to happen all at once.”

“But you’re the one who told me not to pull back at the fairgrounds. You were the one who refocused me after Marceau jumped all over us. Why are you telling me to turn back now?”

“Because you don’t look well.”

“Thanks,” she said gruffly, and pulled away. “Just because I’m not in show clothes, you don’t think I can take it.”

“That’s a cheap shot and you know it. Besides, what I’m telling you is to slow down, not walk away.”

Their eyes met and he hoped he’d reached her but when A.J. turned toward the windows, he knew she wasn’t going to change her course.

“What will you do if I keep going?” she asked finally.

“I love you,” he said to her back. “And I made a promise to you. I’m not going anywhere.”

He watched as her shoulders relaxed.

“I can’t get through this without you, Devlin.”

“Then don’t ask me to sit back and watch you self-destruct.”

“I’m a lot stronger than you think.”

She came over to him and he felt her arms come around his waist. He accepted her body against his, tucking her into him, wishing he could shelter her.

In Devlin’s heart, he prayed that getting her to the Qualifier wasn’t going to tear them apart.

Devlin and A.J. returned to the barn in a tense silence they tried to camouflage with banal conversation. Chester had just finished grooming the stallion and was putting the brushes away.

“It’s back to the pool for you,” A.J. informed Sabbath. “And this time, you’re getting your feet wet.”

“You’re going to try and get him into the water?” Devlin asked.

“That’s what I’ve been shooting for. The more exposure he gets, the better. What could be closer than getting four hooves in the jump?”

“But it’s cold out there.” Devlin was silent for a moment. “Wait. If you’re going swimming, I think I’ve got what you need.”

“Oh, no,” Chester said. “Not the Swamp Thangs.”

A.J. shot the man a curious look. “What’s a Swamp Thang?”

“They’re pretty indescribable.”

Devlin returned with the ugliest, most misbegotten set of rubber waist-waders A.J. had ever seen. They were big, they were motley green and they smelled awful.

“You’re kidding me.”

“These are no laughing matter.”

“You got that right.”

“They happen to be specially made.”

“Out of old trash bags?”

“You’ll thank me later,” he said, holding them out.

“Only if you make me.”

A.J. put them up against her and then went to step into one side. It was like volunteering to go into a mudhole.

“Hold up. You’re going to have to lose the shoes,” Devlin told her. “They’re meant to be worn with only a pair of socks.”

“An’ a blindfold, if ya happen to be around any mirrors,” Chester said.

With a curse, she stripped off her barn boots. “Off-loading some self-esteem no doubt helps as well.”

When she pulled the waders up, the waistband came to her chest and she had to readjust the suspenders to their limit. Excess rubber flapped around her as she walked around, sounding like fish on the bottom of a boat.

“They smell like old sneakers,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

Chester laughed. “When they made ’em, had to make sure all the senses were offended. Seemed only fair.”

“I feel like I’m wearing the Jolly Green Giant’s Depends.”

“Enough with the wisecracks,” Devlin cut in. “They’ll keep you dry and that’s what matters.”

“All right, then, let’s get down to it. These things aren’t going to look better with time.”

She took Sabbath off the crossties and saw he was giving her outfit the once-over. His look seemed to say, You can’t be serious.

“Don’t start,” she told him. “In a few minutes, you’re going to be so busy being nervous you’re not even going to notice what I’m wearing.”

Once A.J. and Devlin got the stallion into the ring, they turned him loose for a few minutes. After Sabbath had settled down, A.J. hooked a lead line to him and took him over toward the water, being careful to keep her injured arm out of the way. As a result of their hard work, she was able to get him standing at the edge of the pool but he balked as soon as she asked him to step into the water with her.