“So? He’s been my trainer for almost three weeks.”
“We’re not talking about jumping horses, A.J. He says he has an intimate picture of you two.”
“What!”
“You heard me.”
“Wait a minute.” A.J. was shaking her head. “I don’t understand—”
Garrett asked, “Are you really living with him?”
She turned and met her father’s distressed eyes. “Yes, and sleeping on his couch. It’s easier for me to train that way and Devlin has been more than accommodating.”
“I bet he has,” Peter said.
“Don’t be so insulting,” she bit out.
“I think you should come home immediately,” her father said. “It’s better for everyone that way.”
“Somehow I doubt that.”
Peter snorted. “And you think staying with this guy is a better option? It’s hardly becoming to be involved with your trainer.”
“We are not involved! And I don’t know anything about a picture.”
“Well, then I guess all of us can be surprised at what’s going to be in the paper tomorrow morning.”
Her father cut through their heated volley. “Please keep your voices down.”
“But he doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”
“And you don’t know what you’re doing,” Peter countered.
Garrett’s eyes implored her. “Darling, I want you to come home.”
“And what am I going to do with my stallion?”
“If you come back, Sabbath will be welcome at the stables.”
“No, he won’t,” Peter cut in. “When I said I’d never allow that beast on Sutherland soil, I meant it. If she insists on keeping that animal, the least she can do is behave respectfully and stop shacking up with this limping has-been.”
A.J. gasped and watched as Devlin, who had been silent, closed the distance between himself and Peter. Her stepbrother’s response was priceless. He looked like someone who’d stepped into the path of an avalanche.
“I’m going to do you a favor,” Devlin growled, “and forget you ever said that.” Turning to A.J. and her father, he continued with a disarming softness. “I think this argument is best left between family members. However astounding it is to witness the collective wisdom of the Sutherlands, I’d rather do something more constructive. Like watch paint dry.”
He turned and began walking away.
A.J. immediately went after him, reaching out and taking his arm. “I’m sorry he’s such a—”
Devlin carefully removed her hand. “I think you better settle this with your family first. Then we can deal with what’s going on between you and me.”
After he’d dissolved into the crowd, A.J. wheeled on her stepbrother.
“If I didn’t think he’d give you a shiner that would clash with your Day-Glo tie, I’d demand you go and apologize.”
“After the trouble he’s caused, I wouldn’t spare the breath.”
“Trouble? That man has done everything to help me after my own family pushed me out the door, and you just had the good graces to insult his character as well as his physical condition.”
Peter’s hand slashed through the air with anger. “Spare me the Scarlett O’Hara, kindness-of-strangers drivel. Thanks to your antics, the Sutherland name is on everyone’s lips and not in a good way. You’re an embarrassment to the family, and if it weren’t for the fact that your lunacy is making me look like a hero for kicking you out, I’d really be upset.”
“First of all, it was Blanche DuBois who said that. And exactly what kind of trouble are we causing the stables?”
A.J.’s father jumped in. “Peter is just concerned that all the speculation could hurt business. People don’t want to be associated with a farm that’s considered controversial.”
“I am not affiliated with Sutherland’s anymore.”
“But you’re going to want to come back,” Peter interjected, glancing over at Chester and Sabbath, who were still standing by the McCloud trailer. “How long are you going to be satisfied being with a boutique stable? How long until you want a new piece of equipment that costs more than most people’s houses? What’s going to happen when that trainer of yours can’t cut the checks to keep you interested?”
“You bastard.”
Garrett stepped between them. “Peter, why don’t you head back to the car? I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Fine,” he spat. “Just don’t expect her to be reasonable. I don’t have the patience to wait that long.”
After Peter marched off, Garrett took her hands in his.
“Arlington, I know this is difficult for you and I’m sorry. But Peter has a good point.”
“Peter’s had a lot of good points lately, hasn’t he?”
“I know he can go too far but so can you sometimes. I just want us together as a family. I want you to come home.”
“I can’t do that. Not now. Maybe not ever.” Her father looked like his heart was breaking so A.J. squeezed his hands with as much reassurance as she could muster. “I can’t go on living with my daddy forever. This break with the stables…I think it happened for a good reason and at the right time.”
“I worry about you.”
“I know. But I’m happy right now. I really am. I love that horse and I think I can make a difference with him. I’m anxious, scared and thrilled all at the same time. I’m alive. Even though I miss you, it feels good to be out on my own.”
“Believe me, I’m grateful that you’re fulfilled,” he said carefully. “Still, I have to ask. Are the rumors true? About you and…”
A.J. shook her head, meeting him square in the eye.
He released his breath. “I didn’t think so.”
But he was lying. She could tell because the relief in his voice was fresh.
“Even if we were,” she asked, “why would that be so wrong?”
“He’s your trainer.”
“So?”
“Well, he’s not…”
“One of us? Are those the words you’re looking for?”
“No, not at all. It’s just that his background is very different from yours.”
As much as she loved him, A.J. lost her patience.
“Look, I’ve got to get the stallion back to the stable. I need to get him ready for the trip.”