CHAPTER FIVE
Beck considered Cal’s suggestion. Was there a chance in hell he could beat him? Because if so, the race was on. He’d been uncertain in the saddle at first, but now he was plenty comfortable enough to know he wouldn’t embarrass himself.
He studied Cal, the muscles that strained at his T-shirt, his comfortable posture on Nereid. He could almost be a centaur, he looked so natural.
“I don’t know.”
Cal raised his brows. “You beat me once.”
That had been one of the best days of Beck’s life.
“Want to go for twice?”
“Hell yes.”
Cal grinned, looking so damn sexy, Beck would’ve been weak-kneed if he’d been standing. He might as well be in high school again for how foolishly he was mooning over Cal.
“We’ll go across these fields.” Cal gestured to the fallow fields in front of them. “On the far side, turn left, and follow me back to the house.”
Beck snorted. “Follow you? Who says you’ll be in the lead?” He kicked Jigsaw’s side and took off.
“Hey! Wait up!”
Beck laughed into the wind that whipped by him. No way in hell was he giving Cal any kind of advantage. He lay over Jigsaw as they flew over the ground to the thunder of her hooves, but when he reached the far side of the field, Beck couldn’t remember which way to go.
Left or right?
Jigsaw pulled right, and he figured she knew, so he let her have her head. She picked up speed, but they were heading toward a stand of trees, and Beck began to feel uneasy. He pulled back on the reins, trying to slow her down, no longer confident they were going the right way.
Jigsaw ignored him. Beck pulled harder, knowing Jigsaw could probably feel his desperation, which would only make her skittish. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Cal riding furiously after him.
They were going full tilt toward the creek. Fuck! Beck’s heart slammed against his chest. There was a low-hanging branch ready to knock Beck to the ground.
Could he clear it if he leaned forward?
Maybe. Maybe not.
He jerked on the reins as hard as he could, trying to turn Jigsaw. She ignored Beck and barreled on.
Fuck!
He yanked harder, finally succeeding in turning her enough to avoid the branch, but the quick change of direction made him overbalance. He slid from the saddle and landed on his ass on the ground, tumbling over a few times until he stopped himself in a patch of soft grass where he lay still, trying to catch his breath and figure out whether he’d sustained any serious injuries.
Jigsaw slowed and came to a stop in a thick patch of clover. “Fucking crazy horse,” he muttered.
Cal jumped down from Nereid’s back and raced over to him. “Are you okay?”
Beck took a deep breath before answering. “I think so. Mostly.”
“Beck, seriously.”
Cal started feeling his legs, probably checking for breaks or sprains. When he reached for Beck’s arm, Beck pushed him away. “I’m fine.”
“Did you hit your head?”
“No, but I was fucking lucky.”
He didn’t want to talk to Cal. He just wanted to go home, get in a hot bath, and forget any of this ever happened. Why had he been lured in by Cal and his fucking suggestion of a race?
Cal held out his hand, but Beck didn’t take it. He pushed himself to his feet and brushed the dirt off his jeans, then took a few tentative steps. His ass would be bruised as hell, and one wrist hurt a bit, but the biggest damage was to his ability to see Cal as something other than the bullying jock from childhood. He had to have known Jigsaw was prone to bolting.
“You could’ve told me Jigsaw was fucking psychotic.”
“I told you to turn left.”
Cal’s aggressive tone made Beck want to punch him. He might’ve if his hands hadn’t already hurt. “Don’t fuck with me, Cal. What the hell was this about?”
“Once she gets headed this way, almost nothing can stop her. She’s obsessed with this patch of clover.” Beck resented how calm Cal sounded.
“And you didn’t bother to warn me?”
“I…” Cal looked away, obviously uncomfortable.
Fucking fuck. “You planned this, didn’t you?”
Cal shook his head. “I told you to go left. If she hadn’t been on this trail, she wouldn’t have bolted.”
Beck clenched his fists. “So it’s my fault.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. At first I was going to trick you—”
Beck wanted to choke him. “I could’ve been killed if she hadn’t decided to obey me.”
Cal turned slightly green. “If I’d still meant to, we would’ve come around a different way, where it’s flat and there’s nothing that would hurt you.”
“Do you use this trick often?”
“I put all my new hands on Jigsaw. It’s just a joke, like an initiation. Nobody gets hurt.”
He hadn’t changed one fucking bit. “This isn’t a fraternity, Cal, and I’m not one of your hands.”
“I realized I’d made a mistake, so I took you a different way.”
Beck gave a disgusted snort. “You’re no different than you were in high school. Sure, you’ve modernized the farm, but you…you’re still the same bully you’ve always been.”
Beck’s stomach churned. He needed to get out of there before he let Cal see just how much he’d gotten to him. He couldn’t believe he’d actually intended to rent Grandma’s pastures to this asshole.
“Beck. Beck, wait.”
He ignored Cal and kept walking as fast as he could without actually running.
He heard Cal’s feet pounding the ground, but he kept his quick pace. Then suddenly Cal grabbed his arm and spun him around.
He jerked free. “Leave me the fuck alone.”
“I never intended for you to fall. You used to be a really good rider, as good as me or better.”
Beck thought his head might explode. “What? You used to tell me… What was it? ‘You ride like a girl, Becky.’”
Cal stumbled back like Beck had hit him. “God, Beck. I’m sorry I ever said shit like that to you. And I’m sorry about today. I never wanted to hurt you.”
Teenaged Cal had never apologized. Not one single time.
“Do you mean that, really?”
Cal nodded, and Beck could see the pain in his eyes. “I almost told you and took you back to the barn for another mount, but I was too fucking embarrassed.” He squeezed his eyes shut and scrubbed his hand over his face.
“Cal…thanks.”
Cal looked at him again. “For what?”
“For apologizing, not just for today, but for…back then.”
Tension rooted Beck to the ground as they stared at each other. Beck’s gaze fell to Cal’s full, soft lips. They seemed so at odds with his tough farm-boy exterior. Would they feel as smooth as they looked?
With a sharp intake of breath, he stepped back. What was he thinking? One apology and he was ready to jump Cal?
One heartfelt apology.
Could he be sure of that?
Cal watched him warily, like he was bracing for something he didn’t want to hear.
Beck rubbed his thumb over his lips, which tingled as if he’d actually kissed Cal instead of just fantasizing about it. “I… I need to go.”
Cal stared at him, still saying nothing. This time when Beck walked away, Cal didn’t follow.