gasped as she finally recognized her. The woman in the picture was Nikki Silver, one of the top models in the country. She was on the cover of at least one magazine a month. Her good looks were pure and classic: perfect features, flawless skin, and dazzling almond-shaped eyes, brilliant blue eyes. Shoot! Emily thought to herself, I should have realized David would know a woman like that. Stunning, rich, and famous, it figured, three things she would never be. Emily knew she was a good person, not perfect but fairly smart, witty and caring. She also knew that her outer appearance hid her inner qualities. How could she ever hope to compete with Nikki Silver?
When she walked back to the small kitchen table, David had already washed up at the kitchen sink. He had pulled several containers of food out from the fridge and had set out paper plates and taken the lids off most of the containers by the time she emerged.
There was a beer sitting by her plate.
“This officially doubles my beer consumption for the entire last year.” She grinned, holding up the bottle.
“We’ll sign you up for A. A. next week.” He grinned back then said, “Have some chicken.”
“I’d love some,” she said firmly, “but first I want to take a look at that cut on your forehead.”
“It’s no big deal. That big clumsy lump out there just forgot to watch out for me when he was getting up,” David protested, but he sat still and let her look at the cut.
“You’re right. It’s minor.” Emily grinned. “Now I can enjoy my lunch.”
“But that’s not my worst injury,” David protested.
“Oh really? Where else did you get hurt?” Emily was concerned.
“Where I landed.” David grinned. “On my . . .”
He stood up and reached for his belt buckle.
“Never mind, in that case you’ll have to take care of the problem all by yourself.” Emily laughed, grabbing a piece of chicken.
“Darn.” He grinned back at her with a mischievous glint in his eye.
Along with the fried chicken, there was homemade coleslaw and potato salad, and a crisp green salad, biscuits with honey and butter, and chocolate cake. There was also some carrot and celery sticks, and cottage cheese. They sat there talking companionably while they ate.
“This looks fantastic.” She sipped her beer then asked, “Do you always eat this well at horse shows?”
“Not usually,” David smiled back at her. “I just had my sister’s RV this time. She travels a lot. She also cooked the lunch, by the way.”
“Then shouldn’t we save some for her?” Emily asked.
“Not much, she cooked it for me.” He smiled. “She loves to cook but she has a really small appetite. Thank goodness.”
“I’ll echo that.” Emily grinned at him.
“So what do you think of your first horse show?” David asked her.
“Well, it’s hot, dirty, long and yet fast paced.” She paused. “I like it except for these darn jeans. I thought they were supposed to be comfortable but these are stiff as a board.”
“Wash them several times with lots of fabric softener.” David paused for a long swallow of his cola. “Not all horse shows are like this. Apart from gymkhana events, there are equitation events where horses are judged for their manners and riders are judged for their seat and hands. Those events are run in both Western and English divisions. They can be almost boring to watch unless you know what to look for. Then there’s also show jumping, dressage and so on. This is just the tip of the iceberg.” He looked at her with mischief in his eyes. “I already told you about the differences between horse shows and most other sports.”
“Well, yes, you sit on poor innocent animals while you compete,” Emily teased, then continued, “and men and women compete against each other as equals.”
“It’s a bit different in the judged events. There are trainers involved, and the trainers get clients by having their students win. So, of course, in some cases there can be favoritism. Still, there’s a feeling of fair play for the most part. Most of the judged events have all the riders in the arena at once.” David smiled. “That makes it harder to cheer on your competition.”
“Back to gymkhana, do you like competing against women?” she asked, a teasing note in her voice.
“I don’t mind competing against women unless they beat me,” David grinned, “and believe me, that happens more often than I care to admit.”
“What do you do when you’re not riding in horse shows?” Emily asked.
“I’m a lawyer, mainly corporate these days but I also do a bit of entertainment law.” He shook his head ruefully. “I used to do criminal defense, but I got tired of defending so many people who really did the terrible things they were accused of doing. Many times I thought they should be in prison or worse, which made it hard to give them the kind of defense I was obligated to give them and still sleep at night. What do you do?”
“I don’t work now, I have obligations at home. I was just finishing my B.A. in business, going part-time, when things got so, um, messed up,” Emily told him, the sadness in her eyes deepening.
“What do you mean messed up?” David asked tenderly, sensing her sadness. “You mentioned something before.”
“Well, I have to take care of my parents,” she admitted. “They’re both sick.”
“Both? That’s tough. Tell me about them.” His sympathy was sudden and real.
“Well, it’s how life goes.” She took a gulp of her soda and then explained, “My dad is a great guy, gentle and caring, and very funny. He’s got this fantastic smile and a great sense of humor. He also has cancer, terminal cancer. He hasn’t got very long.”
Her voice cracked, but she gathered herself and continued, “My mother recently had a stroke, probably partially due to the stress of my dad’s illness. She recovered the use of her limbs and her speech, but her mind is just not the same. She slips in and out of reality.”
“So you’re the caregiver for both of them?” he asked gently. “How did you get away today? Wait, I remember, you said Laura was staying with your folks.”
“Yes.” Emily was still quiet, reminded of her parent’s problems.
“She’s an inveterate matchmaker. Did she mention anyone before you came? Tell you about any of the club regulars? Anything like that?” he asked quickly.
“Not really.” She shook off her sadness and grinned impishly. “She just mentioned that I should look out for a hunk named David.” She paused, watching his eyes widen in surprise.
“Oh! Do you think she meant you?” she asked ingenuously.
“I can’t answer that.” He grinned.
