go in to get their awards. David stayed where he was, with Emily, and listened as the awards were announced. Most of the riders led their horses in to get their awards, but some rode. They gave out awards for all three age groups at once.
The twelve and under group surprised Emily, since some of their horses seemed almost asleep, and others were prancing energetically. Next came the thirteen to seventeen group. Most of them seemed to be typical teenagers, and their horses were just a bit crazy, with only a few that were calm and well-mannered. The seniors ran the gamut from sedate to frisky. While the riders got their awards, some men were busy in the arena moving tall poles around, measuring the distance between each one.
As the awards were given out David turned to Cliff.
“I want to know whose bone-headed idea it was to stick a woman on the gate who not only doesn’t know a thing about horses, but is scared of them to boot! Not only that, but there’s no chair here for her. To top it off, she’s dying of thirst. Is that how we treat a volunteer?” He was livid. “It’s stupid, and potentially dangerous, and it’s a hell of a way to treat someone who’s trying to help out.”
“I’m sorry, Ma’am,” Cliff said to Emily. “I can replace you on the gate, if you wish.”
“Or I can help you until you get used to the job,” David offered, “and give you some insights on what’s going on with various horses and riders.”
“I’d really like that David, but could you do that and still ride? I’d hate to cause any fuss,” Emily said softly because she was enjoying his company.
“Sure I can. Target’s no problem.” He grinned at her. “I’ll just get someone to walk him around and keep him loose until I need to ride again.”
“In that case, I’ll stay, with your help. I’m really not that afraid.” Emily smiled at him.
Heck, it was one way to keep talking to the best looking man she’d ever seen. It was worth putting up with the horses just to spend some time with this thoughtful, friendly and gorgeous man. He couldn’t possibly know how unaccustomed she was to any attention from a man. Spending time with any man, other than her father, was rare for her. David seemed so nice too. She knew it was hopeless, he’d never be really interested in her but it was nice to be around him for a while. Half an hour of innocent talk with him would feed her daydreams and secret fantasies for a year.
“Okay, I’ll work alongside you and help you get the hang of it,” David replied, looking into her soft brown eyes and noticing the eagerness in her expression. “But I’m still going to kick some butt, if you’ll pardon the expression.”
“I agree.” Cliff turned to Emily. “I’m sorry Ma’am, if you want, I’ll send someone out to relieve you as soon as possible.”
“I’ll be okay, I guess.” She looked over at David and smiled shyly. “David here said he’d help me out.”
“There’s still the little matter of something to drink, and a chair.” David squinted at Cliff. “Do me a favor and take Target to the trailer and ask Nikki to walk him around for me after the awards are handed out.”
“I’ll get right on it. And Ma’am, feel free to shout up at Rusty if you want to be replaced, this is a horse show not a slave labor camp.” Cliff walked away only to return a few minutes later with a pair of cold beers. He handed one to Emily and one to David. “This is just a start, I’ll be back with a cooler and a chair. Thanks again for helping us out, Ma’am, we surely do appreciate it.”
“Thanks.” Emily very seldom drank alcohol but she pulled the tab and gulped the ice cold beer.
She had forgotten to bring any cold drinks with her and it seemed like she was too busy to head up to the cook shack. David watched with amusement as she drained her beer in one long gulp, handing her his unopened beer as soon as hers was gone. There was something appealing about this girl, he decided. She was so determined to do this dirty little job, and enjoy it, in spite of her shyness and the haunting sadness that never left her eyes.
“Here, take this. I have lots of cold drinks in my motor home,” he offered.
“Thanks.” Emily grinned, took the can and drank the second beer more slowly.
She was so thirsty, she never noticed someone coming over and taking David’s horse.
“Hey!” she exclaimed. “Where’s your horse?”
“Cliff took him over to my trailer to get him out of the way. I’ll ask Nikki to walk him around to keep him loose.” David explained, “It can be dangerous for a horse to cool off too much between events or to run without being warmed up.”
He looked up and saw Cliff hurrying back. “Here comes Cliff with a chair and a cooler.”
“Here you go Ma’am, I’m sorry that took so long.” Cliff smiled at her as he opened up the folding chair.
“It’s no problem, thank you, Cliff.” Emily smiled. “I’m Emily, by the way.”
“Nice to meet ya’ Emily,” Cliff drawled. “Regardless of how it looks, we appreciate our volunteers.”
He tipped his cowboy hat and left.
David pulled open the cooler. “I hope you like beer. I should have known that’s what Cliff would bring you.”
He waited for her response, then as she nodded he pulled out two cans, opened one and handed it to her.
“Wow! That’s three beers in one day. I almost never drink beer but today it seems perfect. Thank you.” Emily accepted the can.
David opened the second can for himself.
“Here, David.” A woman rode up, leading David’s horse.
She handed him a silver plate, about 10 inches in diameter. “You looked busy so I grabbed it for you.” Even dirty, with her hat pulled low to shield her face and sunglasses covering her eyes, Emily could tell she was gorgeous, and thin. Damn!
“Thanks, Nick,” David said in an off-handed tone. “Hey! Thanks for taking care of Target for me. Will you walk him until you have to ride? And throw this thing in the trailer?”
He handed the trophy back to her.
“Sure thing.” She walked her horse to David’s trailer to take care of Target.
The show started up again. As they talked, David and Emily let horses in and out. He explained the event to her and pointed out which riders were the best and which were not. The first group of horses had very young riders.
“Now, you must know by now that these are timed events and they are divided into age groups, 12 and under, 13 to 17, 18 and over. There are time penalties for knocking over a pole or a barrel, and going off course is a disqualification. Did you notice anything different about this sport than other sports?” David asked.
“Well, the horses for one thing,” Emily said, grinning. “It’s like a team sport with an animal as a teammate.”
“Exactly!” David smiled at her. “I approve of the way you put it. The best riders and horses really do form a team. What else?”
“Well,
