Page 76 of Cowboy Stole My Heart
Chapter 20
MIApulled her mare up, checked her and stopped her from racing forward.
“Whoa girl, nice and steady,” she murmured, holding the reins tight then releasing as Indi lifted up, hooves tucked up neatly as she soared through the air. They landed with a soft thud, clearing the jump easily. They were half way through the course now and they were making great time.
Mia swallowed hard as they turned sharply and raced toward the next fence. Her stomach was churning, nausea making it hard to concentrate, but she refused to give in. She was here to win, and nothing was going to stop her.Nothing.
Indi was going too fast and she slowed her for the last two strides before letting her do her thing without interfering. They cleared the next one easily, and then the next, until there were only three to go. Mia gagged, bile rising in her throat.
“Dammit,” she swore, riding hard, focusing on her horse, only wanting to think about the stretch and pull ofhorse muscle beneath her, the power of Indi as she pushed off from the grass. Mia cringed, hearing a knock, but when she glanced back she saw the rail had only rattled and hadn’t fallen.
“Two more to go,” she whispered. “We can do this!”
She pushed her on, cantering fast, soaring over one and then the other. But instead of fist pumping the air and letting her mare enjoy the applause and show off, snorting with her tail in the air, Mia rode straight for the exit. She slowed to a trot and her stomach settled a little, but she didn’t feel great. Where was Tanner? She knew he’d been here, he’d come to see her earlier and help her get her team ready, but… there he was. Talking up a pretty brunette, leaning in, all charming as usual.
“Tanner!” she called out, riding toward him, dismounting when she reached the crowd and pushing through. “Tanner!”
He looked up, smiling until he saw the look on her face and strode toward her. “What is it?” he asked, concern etched on his face.
“Take her,” Mia managed, thrusting the reins at him and undoing her helmet strap. She tucked her whip under her arm and ran, sprinting for her horse truck. She could see it, the big black horse design on the side. She reached it and ran around the back, bending over just in time, out of sight from prying eyes as she retched and retched, her stomach heaving.
Mia finally stood up, leaning against the truck, hand on her stomach. What had she eaten? What was going on?
“Mia?”
She heard Tanner’s deep voice and she wiped at her mouth, stomach still tender. “Hey, I’m just around here.”
“What happened?” he asked. “Everything okay?”
“It’s just my stomach. I don’t know what’s going on.” She leaned back against the truck again as Tanner stood with her horse. She was feeling light-headed now, like she could faint. “Must have been dinner last night. I wonder if anyone else is sick?”
He frowned. “You sure that’s all it is? You haven’t seemed yourself lately.”
“That why you decided to come watch me today? You felt sorry for me?”
Tanner gave her a steely stare. “I’m your brother. I might be a dick a lot of the time, but I know when my little sister needs some company. Besides, you looked like shit yesterday. Maybe you’re coming down with something?”
She rolled her eyes then laughed at herself. She was behaving like a child and Tanner was only trying to be nice. “Thanks for the compliment. Nothing better than someone noticing the dark rings under your eyes.”
“Seriously, is everything okay, or is there something going on?”
“Asks the guy who’s probably broken more hearts than I can count.” She wished she’d kept the thought to herself, because when her brother leveled his gaze on her, she knew he was going into overprotective mode. She’d kept her family in the dark for weeks but now that she’d been to Sam’s house, she wasn’t interested in protecting him or lying to her family about what had happened.
“Some asshole hurt you?” he glowered. “Who? That horse guy?”
She shrugged. “Not his fault entirely. He told me he didn’t want anything serious, that it was no strings, and I stupidly thought it had turned into something more.”
Tanner looked pissed. His jaw was clenched tight and there was a weird vein standing out from his forehead. “He ended it?”
“More like he walked out my door and went back to his wife’s bed. But yeah, I guess you could say he ended it.”
“Motherfucker,” Tanner swore, looking like a kettle about to boil over. “I see him, I’ll kill him.”
She took a tentative step forward, waiting to see how dizzy she felt, but the wave of nausea seemed to have passed. She took the reins, happy to deal with her own horse. They had another round coming up after the clear round, and later in the day she’d be competing on one of her young horses. She lay one hand to her brother’s broad chest, smiling up at him.
“No, you won’t,” she said. “Look, I thought what we had was something more, I was the stupid one. It’s not something you haven’t done to countless women before, so don’t go pretending like he’s the only villain in the world, okay?”
“Yeah, well, we’re talking about you,” he grunted. “And for the record, I’ve never been married and if I did ever make a commitment like that? I’d never cheat.”
