By Fault

  By Fault

  By Sasha Kay Riley

  Anderson Stables: Book Three

  Over the last year, Vince Anderson and his retired racehorse, Xander, have been competing at the Grand Prix level of the equestrian sport of show jumping. He’s also been enjoying a comfortable relationship with his boyfriend, Dustin O’Brien, who’s there at every show to support Vince as Xander’s groom. Instead of taking the winter off as usual, Vince decides to travel to Florida for one of the biggest shows of the season: the twelve-week-long Winter Equestrian Festival.

  While Vince expects the show to be a challenge for himself and Xander, it becomes so much more. As the wins add up, Vince discovers the highs and lows of gaining celebrity status. Demands on his time, his desire to hide his sexuality to protect Dustin, and incredibly tight living quarters all threaten his and Dustin’s relationship. Just when he thinks nothing more could be added to the impending pile of disaster, Vince learns the secrets of Dustin’s past.

  Vince must decide what really matters in life and what he truly wants for his future before he loses everything.

  For Julie. Thank you for joining me on the adventure to Wellington.

  Chapter One

  IT REALLY didn’t feel like Christmas to Vince Anderson. He’d helped take care of the horses at Anderson Stables, giving each former racehorse a peppermint candy cane with breakfast, and now the extended Anderson Stables family was crammed into the living room of the house Vince shared with his boyfriend, Dustin O’Brien, talking and playing with Vince’s son, Hunter.

  All of that was normal—well, Hunter was a newer addition to the scene than most of the others. But Vince’s mind was more focused on his upcoming show jumping competition with his thoroughbred gelding, Xander, than on celebrating the holiday. Especially because Jane Shaw, his personal accountant and Hunter’s mother, was going over the financial details with him. As if he wasn’t aware that he’d blown all his winnings from the last year on entering the classes he wanted to compete in for the twelve-week-long show he was leaving for.

  “You spent all that money on entry fees?” asked Jane’s boyfriend, Scott Bailey, who was also an accountant and fascinated by Vince’s part of the horse industry. “Dear God.”

  “There are also stabling fees,” Vince replied with a shrug. “And processing fees. And I bought a new trailer.”

  “What was wrong with the old one?” Scott questioned. “Wasn’t it brand-new?”

  “You try driving four days across Canada in a trailer without running water,” Dustin grumbled.

  Vince nodded. That show, back in September, had been the farthest they had traveled for a competition, and it had been the last straw for them. Vince had given the trailer with the small living compartment back to his dad and used his winnings from the show to make a deposit on one with a water tank.

  “Theoretically,” Jane added, “if Vince just wins his first couple of classes, he’ll make his money back. He and Xander have been kicking ass for the last year, in case you forgot. He hasn’t come back from a show without several hundred dollars, if not thousands, in profit for a while now.”

  Dustin leaned across Vince to knock his fist against the kitchen table. “Don’t jinx it.”

  “Yeah, if we start losing, I’ll be calling you,” Vince warned, but couldn’t help smiling. They had been doing well in the high-dollar Grand Prix classes for the last several months.

  Jane waved him off. “You’ll be a celebrity in the horse world soon enough.”

  Dustin laughed. “You’ll have more crazy girls obsessing over you online. And I’ll keep laughing about it when I see the activity on my blog.”

  Vince glanced to where Dustin was leaning against the wall behind him. “I told you to tell them I’m taken.”

  Dustin spread his arms. “I did. And do. All the time. They don’t believe me.”

  “They think your blog about being his groom is fake?” Jane asked, looking amused.

  “No, I just think they assume I’m messing with them about Vince and me. I post too many barn pictures and stuff for them to think I’m making the rest up.”

  “They just want to believe they can have him, then,” Jane said with a nod. “I don’t blame them. The way equestrian guys dress, with those tight pants and the tall boots and the jackets….” She sighed. “Oh boy.”

  “Yep,” Dustin agreed.

  Vince reached back and lightly slapped his shin. Dustin just moved his leg slightly forward in response, and Vince left his hand where it was.

  At the same moment, Scott said, in a falsely offended voice, “Hey!”

  Jane patted his arm and turned her attention back to the original conversation. “So every time a prize check arrives in the mail, I will deposit it in your business account, move some to the account you both have access to for general expenses, and pay Dustin 50 percent of the remainder.”

  To Vince it seemed like it would be easier if they just had one account for everything, but he knew Dustin would never consider any of the money his own that way. Vince didn’t want him to not spend his own money. He owed Jane for the extra work she had to do this way, though.

  “And pay yourself some,” Vince told her firmly.

  Jane smiled. “I’ve told you no a hundred times. Bring me back a souvenir.”

  Vince sighed and took his hand back from Dustin’s leg. “Jane.”

  “Some souvenirs for Hunter too, then.”

  Vince crossed his arms and stared at her, though it was almost a glare.

  She just smiled back at him. “I’m not taking your money, Vince. I have a job, and I handle the books for your dad as a side job. I’m doing this as a favor to you. I’m sure you can manage your own money, but you’ve said yourself that you don’t have time.”

  “But you’ll be using your personal time to do this.”

  “And? I’ll stop here on my way home from work to get your mail. The bank is two minutes down the road. Moving money electronically takes moments. Stop worrying about us.”

  Vince, as always, relented with a sigh. “Okay.”

  Jane nodded. “Good. Now let’s get back to Christmas.”

  THE GATHERING ended when they needed to feed the horses that evening. When they got back to the house again, Vince stood staring at the Christmas tree for a while. There wasn’t much to clean up, just their unwrapped gifts, but Vince didn’t have the will. He was anxious about waking up and getting the trip underway at a reasonable time, about what the weather might be, about all the money he no longer had, about all the pressure on him and Xander to do well for all of their supporters….

  “You okay?” Dustin asked quietly, coming up beside him to run his hand down Vince’s arm.

  “Yeah,” Vince said with a sigh. He turned and pulled Dustin into a light kiss. “Is it rude to leave these things until we get home again?”

  Dustin looked at the tree and shrugged. “Not if we don’t need any of it while we’re gone.”

  Vince nodded and gave him another kiss. “We should go to bed, then.”

  Dustin smiled. “Sleep bed or bed bed?”

  Vince laughed and gripped his hand. “Whichever you prefer, as long as we’re upstairs.” But he pulled him back in for a lingering kiss.

  Dustin smiled at him playfully. “Come on, then.”

  VINCE DIDN’T mind losing sleep at all when Dustin was involved, but it meant coffee was a necessity for the early morning drive. They left the Anderson Stables driveway a few minutes after six o’clock and headed straight for the nearest McDonald’s before starting their three-day journey.

  Two hours later, Vince’s phone began to ring. Dustin took charge of it as he always did when Vince was driving, and read the name. “It’s Jane.”

  “Put her on speaker,” Vince requested as
he turned down the volume on the radio.

  “How’s the drive going?” Jane asked when they’d said hello.

  “Smooth so far,” Vince replied. “Only two hours in.”

  “I hope it keeps going smoothly for you. I didn’t call just to check on you, though. Scott proposed last night.”

  Vince glanced over at Dustin, who was grinning as he held the phone between them.

  “He did?” Vince asked, trying to sound surprised. “I hope you didn’t turn him down like you did me.”

  “Of course I didn’t,” she replied. “Unlike you, he never gave me the impression he was using me as a cover.”

  “Ouch,” Dustin said quietly.

  “Okay, I deserved that,” Vince stated. “But I’m glad he finally asked you.”

  “Did you know he was going to?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Not at all,” Dustin answered for him, but it didn’t sound convincing in the slightest.

  Jane’s voice was firm. “Vince?”

  He cleared his throat awkwardly. “He may have asked me if I would be okay with it. Because of Hunter.”

  “When was this?”

  “Over the summer. I think it will be good for Hunter. He’s good for Hunter.”

  “I agree,” Jane replied. “I’m happy that he talked to you. That makes me feel even better about saying yes. I’ll let you guys get back to driving. Good luck.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And congrats,” Dustin added.

  “Thanks. You both better be ready to be in the wedding,” Jane warned. “Scott already mentioned that he wants you guys in it.”

  “I’ll be there,” Vince assured her.

  “Me too,” Dustin agreed.

  “Good. Bye, guys. Have fun in the sun while we’re freezing.”

  Vince grinned. “We will.”

  Dustin ended the call with a smile. “I’m happy for them.”

  Vince focused his attention on changing lanes to give space to a tow truck on the shoulder of the highway. “I’m glad she’s happy,” he said when he moved back to the right lane. “She deserves it.”

  He felt Dustin rest his hand on his thigh. “Are you happy?” Dustin asked quietly.

  That was an answer Vince didn’t even need to think about. Smiling, he squeezed Dustin’s hand. “Of course I am,” he declared, glancing over at Dustin. “I’ll be even happier when I’m not showing as much and I actually get to have a normal, peaceful life retraining off-track thoroughbreds and not traveling all over for shows.”

  “I like that you show. It’s nice to travel, and the show scene is intense. In a fun way, because it’s never boring.”

  “Okay, maybe I’ll still do a few shows a year,” Vince relented. “As a vacation.”

  Dustin laughed. “I like that idea.”

  VINCE HAD started off the day feeling a little excited about being on the road to another show, mainly because he enjoyed driving with Dustin. The weather was good for driving, so Vince had very little to worry about until he started thinking about putting more gas in the truck. He put it off as long as he could before pulling into a gas station with a sigh.

  Dustin had been watching him for the last several miles but hadn’t spoken. “Do you want me to get it?” he finally offered.

  Vince easily pulled up to a pump, effectively taking up the full row with the trailer hiding the second pump. At least the gas station wasn’t busy enough for people to care about that yet.

  “I still have enough on my credit card,” Vince told Dustin with a shake of his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Let me get it,” Dustin argued.

  “You shouldn’t have to pay for the gas. It’s my truck.”

  “Yeah, and all your money is going toward this show.” Dustin put a hand on Vince’s knee. “I’m not here for the job, I’m here for you. I’m your partner in this, so let me cover the gas on the way there. I’m sure you’ll repay me somehow if you really want to.”

  Vince finally sighed. “Okay. Thanks, Dust.”

  Dustin smiled and squeezed his knee. “You’re welcome. Now don’t bother arguing with me next time.”

  Vince reluctantly agreed, and for the most part he succeeded in not saying anything until Dustin insisted on buying their fast-food dinner too. He also lost that argument, which didn’t surprise him.

  They stopped at a truck stop for the night and Dustin walked Xander around in the dead grass beside the parking lot while Vince cleaned the trailer stall. He tossed the soiled shavings and droppings in a clump of brush at the base of a streetlight, then spread new shavings and got Xander’s dinner ready for him. He went to tell Dustin to bring Xander back in but paused when he saw them standing together under the streetlight.

  Dustin was talking to Xander while he checked over Xander’s blanket. Vince couldn’t hear exactly what Dustin was saying, but he didn’t need to. Dustin slid his hand under the shoulder of the blanket, checking to make sure Xander was warm enough, then took his hand back to scratch Xander’s neck. The scratch was followed by a kiss on the nose, and all the while Xander stood calmly and quietly, completely relaxed despite the cars rushing past the truck stop on the highway.

  Seeing Dustin with Xander reminded Vince once again how he had ended up hopelessly in love with the younger man. Dustin had known nothing about horses when Vince had given him a job as a stable hand nearly three years ago. Dustin had been homeless then, and Vince had convinced his father to hire Dustin out of sympathy at first. Dustin had learned his job so quickly that within a week it was hard to believe he’d never been around a horse before meeting Vince. His easy way with the horses had always been—and still was—the thing that constantly grabbed Vince’s attention.

  There was also the fact that Dustin had an amazingly positive outlook on life, despite having been thrown out of his house at seventeen for being gay and living on the streets for two years. Vince didn’t know much about those two years of Dustin’s life. Dustin didn’t talk about it very often, and Vince wasn’t sure he wanted to know the details. He knew that if Dustin wanted to tell him about it, he would, and he didn’t mind Dustin keeping it to himself. Dustin had been up front about the issues that could affect their relationship. He had been raped more than once, which made intimacy difficult at times even now, but somehow his STD tests showed nothing more serious than herpes. Vince had never considered himself very religious, but he thanked God all the time for protecting Dustin back then. He knew Dustin could have met with so many situations even worse than what he had encountered.

  “Ready for me to bring him in?” Dustin called, disrupting Vince’s thoughts.

  Vince nodded and motioned them over. “It’s all ready for him.”

  Xander’s shoes made a steady clip-clop on the pavement of the parking lot as Dustin walked him over. Vince reached out and rubbed Xander’s face before stepping aside to make room. Because of Xander, Jane had joked at first about Vince giving Dustin a job by calling Dustin another “rescue case,” and Vince knew she meant it fondly. Xander, or Sir Galaxy as his registration papers said, had been abandoned at the racetrack where Vince’s father helped to train thoroughbred racehorses. Starved and abused, Xander had been terrified of people for months after his rescue. His care at the Humane Society farm could only be carried out by sedating him, and some of the staff had claimed he would never be safe to groom, let alone ride. Vince never gave up on him, though, and their success in the show world was proof of what could be accomplished by slowly building trust with an animal. Xander was still hesitant about too many new people, but Vince made it a point to expose him to as much as possible at every show. This series was going to be his best learning experience yet.

  It was bound to be a major experience for all of them.

  Chapter Two

  THE NEXT two days of driving went just as smoothly as the first, aside from the fact that all three of them were getting restless from the inactivity. Vince was anxious to get to the showgrounds and discover where he co
uld lunge Xander before anything else—better to let Xander work out his excess energy by running in circles around Vince on the ground—but he found himself a bit distracted as they drew closer to their destination.

  “How do they keep these bushes so perfect?” Dustin asked. He was staring out the passenger-side window at the perfect hedgerow that lined the street. It had to be at least six feet high, totally straight at the top and gently curved along the roadside. “And these neighborhoods have the fanciest names I’ve ever heard of.”

  “Maybe they just throw money into the hedges and they stay that way.” In a figurative sense, he knew that was the answer.

  The hedgerow eventually gave way to open space, and then a solid wooden fence lined the road, along which galloped a horse harnessed with a lot more tack than Vince was used to seeing. The rider held the reins in the hand closest to the road, his other hand hidden from view on the other side.

  “What’s this?” Dustin asked.

  Glancing toward the end of the field, Vince saw several more horses, mostly bays and chestnuts, tied to multiple trailers. Some were tacked up while others were not. People milled around them, and nearby another horse was being ridden at a trot. This time Vince could see that the rider held a mallet.

  “Looks like it must be polo practice,” Vince replied. “That sign says it’s a polo club.”

  Dustin turned to keep watching as they drove past. “That seems like it would be a cool thing to watch.”

  Vince took a moment to check the road signs they were approaching. “We’ll be around here for a while. Maybe we can check into it at some point.”

  Dustin turned back to face the front. “I’m sure there will be a lot for us to do for our show, though. It’ll be okay if we don’t get around to it.”

  Vince reached over and rubbed Dustin’s thigh. “I promise you I will at least get some information. What does the GPS say about how close we are?”