By Heart Read online

  Plus he had learned from Jason this was the best way to go for the day.

  “I rarely lead by example,” Jason joked as they headed to the transportation vehicle. “I’m glad someone listened to me. The rest of my team ignored me. ‘We’ll just change in the bathrooms.’ Apparently I’m the only one who doesn’t think restrooms and locker rooms are the same thing.”

  Vince chuckled. “I just thought it would be one less thing to worry about. Except now I’ll be worried about getting dirty before I ride.”

  “I never did understand why we have to wear white pants around horses,” Jason commented. “I mean, horses are always dirty. The minute you give them a bath, they start rolling in the biggest dirt patch they can get to. Or better yet, their own poop.”

  “True,” Vince laughed. “Very, very true. At least Xander isn’t gray.”

  “Dustin would be constantly trying to get him clean,” Jason agreed. “He takes his job seriously, unlike my nephew. You’ve got a good one there.”

  Vince smiled. “I know.”

  When they got to the barns, they found Dustin grooming Xander. Xander stuck his head out of his stall to see Vince and gave a soft snort. Dustin looked up from where he was brushing out Xander’s tail and smiled.

  “Good morning,” Dustin said. “Are you feeling ready?”

  Vince smiled. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Dustin walked over to the stall door and gave Vince a quick kiss. Then he smiled at Jason. “Glad you stayed around even though you could have gone home when you were done.”

  Jason grinned. “Wouldn’t miss watching the rest of the equestrian team. I like it in person instead of the livestream. But since Vince is a friend and a client, I suppose I did really want to show some support.”

  “Thank you,” Vince told him, and he meant it.

  VERY SOON after that, things started happening rather quickly. Vince joined the other three riders for a meeting with Greg, who reminded them of the importance of the day.

  “Today is for team rankings and individual qualification,” he explained. “The faults earned by each team will determine which order we ride in for the next round. Plus only the best riders will be moved on to the next individual round, with a limit of three from each nation. So if all four of you end on the same faults, they’ll likely use the times to choose who gets to move on individually.

  “But remember, faults only matter for rank and your individual qualification,” he continued. “The team will start on a clean slate in the next round, but you will take your individual faults forward for that part of the competition. The team and individual events run together, with separate scoring until the final rounds. Now the order you will be riding in is Andrew, Nick, Mary, and then Vince. And no pressure,” Greg added, looking right at Vince. “Don’t consider yourself the anchor rider. That’s just how the order ended up. It’s only for ranking.”

  Vince nodded, but he couldn’t help feeling putting him last was intentional. Whether it was because Greg expected the others to do really well and they could drop his score if needed, or if it was because Greg actually considered him worthy of being the clutch rider, only time would tell.

  From there they finished getting dressed, and the horses were saddled and given another quick grooming. They walked the course as a team and looked at the size of the jumps, the distances between them, and the tricky angles they were going to need to take to have successful rounds. They talked about what the most challenging parts of the course were likely to be and gave each other advice.

  Vince felt his nerves easing when they loosened up as a team in the warm-up arena. Despite the fact that it was still morning and they most often never competed until afternoon, Xander was his usual self. All equestrian events were planned for morning and early afternoon hours to avoid the heat and humidity that seemed common for the area. At most shows Vince attended, the biggest classes were scheduled for later in the day to draw more of a crowd.

  Greg kept them up-to-date on the results from other teams as the competition got underway, but when it came time for Andrew and Sally to have their round, Vince joined his teammates, Greg, and Andrew’s groom in watching. From their vantage point, they could see most of the jumps, and they reacted collectively to each obstacle. Andrew and Sally were doing great until they got to the water jump. To Vince it looked like they just cleared the wide tray of water sitting low in the sand, so when the official at the jump raised a flag, signaling a hoof landing either on the line or in the water, he groaned with the rest of the team. But when no other jumps caused a problem, they cheered for the pair. Four faults was a decent start for the team.

  Vince decided he enjoyed watching his teammates as much as he enjoyed being there to compete. Not only did he want them to do well so they all did well as a team, but he wanted them to do well because he considered them friends, and it was fun to cheer them on. So far he was definitely enjoying the whole experience.

  Nick and Fly also finished with four faults, and then Mary and Tex had their first clear round, though barely. Tex just cleared the problematic water jump by a fraction of an inch.

  Then it was Vince and Xander’s turn to take on the course. His teammates, Greg, and Dustin were all watching him from the team viewing box. He was sure his friends and family back home were having one of their famous livestream viewing parties. Maybe his mom was even watching, if that was really possible. But he put all those thoughts out of his head and patted Xander’s neck as he rode into the arena.

  He concentrated on remembering the course and where the tricky spots were for a moment. Then the bell sounded, signaling the start of his round, and he turned Xander toward the first jump. Xander flew easily over it, and Vince felt himself suddenly become more relaxed. He hadn’t even realized he was tense until that moment.

  The time wasn’t too constricting for this first round, something Vince had determined from watching his teammates, so he kept Xander at an easy pace while he focused on not taking down any rails. They practically floated around the arena, and no jumps seemed to bother Xander, not even the most brightly colored ones. When they got to the water, Vince hoped they would make it. It wasn’t Xander’s best obstacle.

  Vince gave him the same signal he used on the oxers that were two jumps wide. Xander jumped, and Vince felt him stretch forward beneath him. As soon as they landed, Vince gathered the reins to turn toward the next jump. Only the brief burst of cheering suggested they might have cleared the water. He liked that horse show crowds tended to cheer when the most difficult jumps got cleared. It made the rest of the round less stressful when he didn’t have to wonder.

  And they completed the course without any other issues. The board showed them with no jumping or time faults.

  Not bad for his first round of the Olympics.

  When he dismounted outside the arena, he was greeted with congratulations from his teammates. Mary hugged him, Nick and Greg both patted him on the back, and Andrew simply nodded to him. Greg did his job as the coach and smiled while telling him how impressive the round had been and where he could improve to make the next round even better. But Vince’s attention was on Dustin, who was smiling at him while holding Xander for the required vet check. Dustin held out one hand to him, and Vince stepped close to hug him.

  “I love watching you guys destroy courses like that,” Dustin commented. “You’re amazing.”

  “Thank you,” Vince replied. He stepped back and pulled off his helmet. “So are you,” he added before giving Dustin a quick, light kiss. Screw the cameras.

  “Love you,” Dustin said, smiling brighter.

  “Love you too.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  LATER THAT afternoon, Jason met up with Vince to head back to their room. Vince wanted to change into something more comfortable for hanging around the barns or checking out other events—the downside to having worn his show clothes to the stables in the first place.

  “So while I was watching you guys ride today, I sat
next to someone who is interested in talking to you,” Jason said conversationally.

  Vince waited for him to go on, and when he didn’t, he finally asked, “And?”

  “He’s one of the dressage riders,” Jason explained. “I guess he really looks up to you. I talked to him a bit, and when he found out I’m rooming with you, he asked if you’d be willing to meet him.”

  “If he’s on the team, I probably already have,” Vince reminded him. He definitely wanted to be a bright spot in the equestrian world, which was usually so full of elitism, so talking to someone who looked up to him for whatever reason just felt right. “But of course I’ll talk to him. Did he say what he wanted to talk about?” Maybe he was looking for a new horse and was interested in going with a former racehorse.

  “I think he’s really just a fan,” Jason said with a shrug. “All he said was he looks up to you and would love to meet you, and if I thought you would talk to him.”

  Vince nodded. “Of course. If you see him again, let him know. I’m fine with people approaching me.”

  Jason smiled. “I know. You’re like the coolest person in all of show jumping right now.”

  “I guess I just like being open, and I’m willing to make the sport accessible and visible to everyone who is interested in it,” he commented.

  “I’ve noticed,” Jason replied. “Lots of people have. You’re going to do a hell of a job when you get your students out there.”

  Vince grinned. “That’s the plan.”

  WHEN THEY got back to the barns an hour later, Vince noticed the two dressage riders remaining in the individual competition practicing in the training arena. One was a middle-aged woman he recognized riding a bay horse. If he remembered correctly, her name was Sarah Miller. The other was a man somewhere in his midtwenties riding a pale gray. Vince thought his name was Kyle Austin. Another rider, Theresa White, who hadn’t made the next round was watching with the coach of the dressage team, Ty Story. The team itself had completed its competition three days before, losing out in the medal round to three powerful European teams, Germany, France, and Great Britain. All that was left was the final round of the individual competition, which Vince planned to watch the following day. High-level dressage wasn’t something he really enjoyed, mainly because the movements didn’t really look natural to him. After all, no horse would prance in place unless it was stressed about something, and even then, he’d only seen that happen when a horse was trying to rush out of a closed starting gate on the racetrack.

  But the final round of the competition would be performed to music, which he guessed would make it more interesting to watch. Plus he wanted to support all the equestrians at the competition, not just the people on his team or Jason’s, which was why he and Dustin had watched the dressage team compete already.

  “That’s him right there,” Jason told him, nodding toward the schooling arena. “Kyle.”

  Vince nodded. He had met the youngest member of the dressage team before the opening ceremony, and had seen him around the barns and competing. Vince hadn’t had much personal interaction with any of the dressage riders, though. Their conversations were always horse-related, but Vince still felt more at home with those who shared the same sport with him.

  “Whenever he wants, I’ll talk to him,” Vince assured Jason. “Maybe I’ll run into him later.”

  “If I catch him, I’ll let him know,” Jason replied.

  Vince went on to the barn to see Xander and Dustin. He found Dustin talking to two of the other grooms outside Xander’s stall. One was a woman who must have worked for one of the dressage riders because she wore a USA polo, and the eventing horses had flown home the night before. But Vince didn’t know her like he did the show jumping grooms. The other woman wore a Canadian polo. They both stepped aside when they noticed Vince.

  “They wanted to see the super horse,” Dustin explained.

  Vince smiled and rubbed Xander’s forehead. “He is pretty super, that’s for sure. And I think he likes having admirers now.”

  “He didn’t used to?” the Canadian girl asked, watching Vince pet Xander.

  Vince shook his head. “He was abused before I got him. It took a long time for him to be okay with me and everyone at home. And it took a lot of work and patience to get him to really like people visiting him at shows. I used to beg people to pet him and give him treats.”

  Dustin offered them each a carrot. “As I was planning to do.” He glanced at Vince and added, “We only beat you here by less than five seconds.”

  Vince grinned. “Thanks for showing him off.”

  Dustin snorted. “You do better showing him off in the arena. I just present my grooming skills.”

  “Which are excellent,” Vince assured him.

  “So are your riding skills,” Dustin replied, smiling.

  “They are so the perfect couple,” the Canadian girl whispered to the other girl.

  Vince caught Dustin’s gaze and found himself agreeing with that assessment.

  IT WASN’T much later when Vince ran into Kyle. Whether Jason had found him and sent him to find Vince, or whether they had simply happened to meet up at the field where Vince was grazing Xander by hand, he had no idea. Kyle just seemed to appear while Vince was responding to a text from Anna about how things were going at home. Vince looked up when Xander did and smiled at Kyle. The guy looked nervous, standing with his hands stuffed in his jeans pockets and his shoulders hunched.

  Vince held out a hand to shake. Even if they had met before, it still felt like the most natural thing to do. Kyle responded a bit hesitantly. “How are you?” Vince asked.

  Kyle nodded and took his hand back. “Pretty good. I just wanted to get the chance to tell you that I’m a fan, even if it’s not my sport.”

  Vince chuckled. “Thank you. I’ve been watching you guys compete, even though it’s not my sport either. Your gray’s a nice horse.”

  Kyle finally smiled. “Trix is pretty great. I really lucked out that I got to ride him. Hell, I lucked out even getting here. I was just supposed to be an alternate.”

  “Yeah?” Vince asked. “How’d you end up being pulled onto the team?”

  “Tina’s horse needed colic surgery the day before we were scheduled to fly in here,” Kyle explained. “Best phone call I’ve ever gotten, but I feel bad for her.”

  “Is the horse okay?” Vince asked. Colic could be a tragic thing for horses.

  “Last I heard, he was going to be fine,” Kyle answered. “And I doubt we’ll medal tomorrow, but I’m thankful I got to have this experience.”

  Vince nodded. “You never know, though. Some of the best riders could have horrible days, and you could have a perfect one.”

  “Not any of those guys,” Kyle argued. “Maybe if my ancestors hadn’t left Europe for America, I might have a shot. I swear they have something in the hay over there.”

  Vince laughed. “I feel that way too sometimes.”

  “But jumping isn’t subjective,” Kyle went on. “You either knock a rail down or you don’t. I love dressage, but the scoring isn’t the most objective thing.”

  “Ever thought of trying something else?” Vince asked. “I’m going to start taking students next year.”

  “I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try jumping,” Kyle replied, looking away. “Maybe someday. I mean, I’ve made it here, so it’s not that bad.”

  “True,” Vince agreed. “I’m still amazed when I wake up here in the morning, just about every morning.”

  Kyle laughed. “I’m glad I’m not the only one.”

  “I’m sure many people feel that way,” Vince assured him.

  Kyle was quiet for a moment, just watching Xander graze. Finally he glanced back at Vince and admitted, “I just wanted to say that I guess I look up to you. Is that weird?”

  “I don’t think it’s weird, but it’s not something I’m used to hearing, so thank you,” Vince replied, smiling to put him at ease. “But I appreciate that and I’m glad I’ve
been able to be something for someone in the equestrian world in general.”

  “Jason was telling me how you rescued your horse and trained him yourself,” Kyle went on. “I really appreciate that. And I’ve seen what you’ve put out online about wanting to take on students and work with them when it comes to the finances. You seem like a genuine person who doesn’t care about the money involved in the sport. And you’re so open about your sexuality. I’ve seen that video online where you just came out on a show’s livestream. You make it look so easy.”

  Why Vince had never expected to have this kind of conversation with someone, he had no idea. It made sense that if he was going to be such an open person in the show world that someone might want to talk to him about something other than horses. He’d been so focused on bringing the sport to people who hadn’t paid any attention to it, and to people who needed help going for their goals and dreams, that he’d totally missed the other people he might be able to do something for. It wasn’t just about changing and promoting the sport.

  Now he just had to figure out how to do this right.

  “I’d been with Dustin for quite a while by then,” Vince explained. “It just felt right and natural to stop putting a barrier between that part of my life and my show life. My family already knew and accepted us, so I knew we had support if anyone gave us crap at a show after that. And his family has never been a factor. It was the right time for it. I’m sure everyone has their own right time. The important thing is to know where your support is.”

  Kyle nodded. “I mean, there are plenty of other people who are open about it in the dressage world, but it feels like everyone is so stuck up and hard to talk to really. Of course family isn’t always the best thing. Sometimes they just pretend to care about you.”