Asha King by Wild Horses Page B

she’d dated here and there, some long term and usually quite fun, but this ... This felt like a high school first crush and she loved it.
    She slipped on a hoodie hung just inside the door, pulled the hood over her head, and jogged out onto the porch, down the steps, and along the path toward Adam’s building. Water sloshed around her feet, thankfully not leaking into her boots, and rain pelted her head hard. She ducked fat drops falling from the awning, skirted puddles, and raced for the sanctity of the building. Gus and Dewey were in the office discussing camp for the week, so she didn’t worry about them seeing her. And Carlee—
    “Dani!”
    Damn it.
    Dani paused, squinting and holding the hoodie closed over her chest as she glanced around. Soon she spotted Carlee waving over by the indoor arena, apparently needing help with something.
    Dani wasn’t wearing a watch but she already knew it was almost one. She muttered under her breath and jogged over.
    Carlee had her horse on a lead, both of them a bit damp after coming from the barn. “He gets antsy when it rains—would you mind holding him while I get on?”
    “Um, sure.” Dani tried not to sound irritated. There really wasn’t anything particularly bad about Carlee—nothing that deserved her ire. But she was pretty and perfect and a horse person and got googly-eyed with Adam.
    Which, come to think of it, maybe was reason enough to be bitchy with her.
    Rain struck the metal roof loudly, hammering a steady beat. Sand dusted Dani’s boots, clinging to their dampness, as she walked in the arena. Pylons were bright spots of color in an otherwise drab setting, set up to mark the positions of barrels for racing.
    Sweet Pea stood off to the side, and Dani went to stand in front of him. She’d seen others do it the day before—stand in front of a horse while a rider hopped on—but she hadn’t done it yet herself. Her fingers grasped the sides of the bridle gently, holding on while Carlee checked the saddle.
    “I hope the rain’s done by tomorrow,” she said as she moved to the right side, flipped up the stirrup to check the cinch. “I’ll feel bad for the kids if they’re stuck inside the first day.”
    “Yep.” Just get on your horse. I have a sexy appointment with a hot guy and don’t have time for idle chat.
    She circled the horse, patting his nose lovingly, and smiled at Dani. “I’m really glad you’re here. I think we’ll have a lot of fun tomorrow. Gus has the usual camp instructor coming but it’ll be nice to have someone to talk to.”
    Great. They were going to talk. Fun times.
    Carlee moved to check the cinch on the left. “Last year it was just me, Adam, and Dewey when I stayed here after the show. And Gus. Never a chance to talk to another girl.”
    Girl talk. With Carlee . Not precisely what she’d been hoping for when she called Therese earlier. I just am not making friendship bracelets with her . “Sure.”
    “Maybe tomorrow,” she gave the saddle another tug and seemed satisfied with its placement, “we can go out, the four of us. Like...a group date.”
    “That sounds”— like a nightmare —“great.”
    Carlee grinned brightly. “Awesome.” She turned back to Sweet Pea and grasped the horn, put her foot in the stirrup. Dani held onto the bridle as the horse shifted, then Carlee heaved herself up onto the saddle. She got her right foot into the other stirrup, took the reins, and nodded. Dani stepped back and left her to trot about the arena.
    A group date. So... was she dating Adam? Or sort of angling for him still? He had a bit of a temper and could be a jackass now and then, but she had no doubt otherwise of his integrity. He wouldn’t actually have something going on with her and Carlee.
    Would he?
    She tried to quell the nervousness in her stomach as she stepped back into the rain and toward the other building. She’d be late for their “appointment”—maybe that would give her an opportunity to ask him, point