Chapter 11
Michael’s first training day dawned clear and sunny. Temperatures were a bit above normal, so Michael chose to ride in the outdoor arena rather than the indoor. He knew he risked Tempest being a bit more energetic working outside, but his experience riding Romeo had prepared him for almost anything a mischievous stallion could throw at him. Riding helmet firmly in place, he led Tempest out to the arena and approached the mounting block. Suddenly, Tempest lifted his handsome head and nickered to someone approaching the arena. Michael followed the horse’s gaze and saw Jessica approaching from the house. She was wearing jeans that fit her long, slim legs to perfection, and a crisp, white polo shirt open at the collar. Her long, mahogany-brown hair, was pulled back into a simple ponytail. As she approached, he noticed the sun magnified the red and gold highlights. Michael couldn’t help wondering if her hair was as soft and thick as it looked. He caught himself imagining his fingers running through it, and quickly pulled his thoughts back, hoping that the flash of desire he felt didn’t show in his expression. He schooled his features to present what he hoped was a neutral but friendly look.
“Good morning,” Jessica called. “I hope you don’t mind having an audience.”
“I didn’t expect you to be up so early,” Michael said. “I hope you’ve had breakfast.”
“I did. You have a very well-stocked kitchen, so I made myself some eggs and toast. I also tried to make coffee with your French press. I’ll need to work on that. I made it way too strong.” She blushed, rather becomingly, he thought.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Michael responded. “I’ll give you a lesson once I’m done here. In answer to your question, certainly you can watch. Have a seat on the bleachers and enjoy.”
“Thanks!” She climbed about halfway up the small set of bleachers next to the outdoor arena and made herself comfortable, or as comfortable as you can get on a backless, aluminum seat.
While the two had been talking, Tempest began to lose patience, and exhibited his frustration by fidgeting in place, clearly bored and eager to start working. Of course, he also wanted to demand more attention for himself.
“Easy, boy, I’m coming.” Michael reluctantly turned his attention away from Jessica, tried to soothe the stallion’s slightly bruised ego, quickly mounted him, adjusted his seat, checked the length of his stirrup leathers and began to get an overall feel for the horse. It had been almost 2 weeks since he had last ridden Tempest, and he wanted to take a few minutes to get reacquainted with him. It appeared Tempest wasn’t quite done showing Michael his displeasure at being made to wait to start work. The stallion tensed his back and crow-hopped a few times, testing Michael’s resolve and his abilities right from the start. Michael responded by immediately putting Tempest into a canter, and accelerated to a hand gallop, covering the perimeter of the arena in large, ground-eating strides, until Tempest finally relaxed and Michael could then bring him back to a smooth, rolling canter. “That was a test,” Michael called out to Jessica, who had been watching the stallion’s behavior with some concern.
“You handled him beautifully,” Jessica called back. “I agree that he needed a good gallop to get the kinks out.” She didn’t let on how afraid she had been for Michael’s safety. Nor would she let on that after seeing Tempest demonstrate his prowess at being naughty in an attempt to test a new rider, she was more than a little apprehensive about how she would react when, not if, that powerful horse would test her.
The rest of the ride was relatively uneventful. Michael put Tempest through some more basic collected work and made sure the stallion knew he could handle the occasional hint at rebellion. Overall, he considered the day a success. Tomorrow he would observe and possibly assist Jessica in her first ride. He was very much looking forward to it.
~ ~ ~
The following day also dawned sunny and from all appearances would be just as warm as the previous day. Jessica woke up early, dressed in her breeches and polo shirt, pulled on her socks then boots, and made her way to the main floor for breakfast. She was surprised to see Michael already in the breakfast room waiting for her.
“Good morning,” he greeted her warmly. “I hope you slept well.”
“I did,” Jessica lied. She had been tossing and turning most of the night, worried about how Tempest would react to her since he had unseated her the last time she rode him. “I have to admit that I’m more than a little nervous about my first ride on Tempest since Germany, though.”
“My advice would be to approach him as if this was your first encounter, and make sure you project confidence. Establish the boundaries with him from the very beginning. Remember, stallions are always looking for ways to challenge your authority. You can’t let him have an inch, or he will take it and try for more.”
“Right.” Jessica couldn’t keep a slight note of trepidation from coming through her voice.
“If you like, I can get on him first, and warm him up a bit for you.”
Even though a part of her welcomed the offer, Jessica felt she was being condescended to, and bristled at the implication in Michael’s offer that she couldn’t handle Tempest on her own. She lifted her chin in a sign of defiance and said, “No thanks, I can do this.”
Michael noted the tension emanating from Jessica, and realized his offer had likely crossed a line. He never would have offered to warm up a horse for a male professional rider, and she probably knew that. She took offense because it seemed on the surface he was treating her like a weak, inexperienced female, and he couldn’t blame her for being offended. Truly, he meant no offense. He was only trying to help. She even told him she was nervous about her first ride. If Jessica had known him for longer than a week, she would have known that his offer was meant to be helpful, not as an insult. As it was, she took his offer the wrong way. Probably best to retreat for now, and look for an opportunity later today to try to make things right. “Fine. Get something to eat, and meet me in the stable. I have to check in with Tiffany and see how the other horses are doing.” He left the breakfast area and walked out the front door toward the stables.
“Fine,” Jessica said. She found the eggs and toast and decided to try the French press again to perfect her coffee making skills. Inwardly, she berated herself for overreacting and losing her temper with Michael. What were you thinking, Jess? There’s no way Michael was going to follow up on his offer to help her after she had just bitten his head off. How could she have talked to him like that? Deep down she knew his offer didn’t come from condescension and that he was only trying to help. In truth, it was probably a good idea for Michael to warm Tempest up for her the first time she rode him in two weeks. She should have agreed. True, it was hard not being self-conscious and nervous in the presence of a bona fide Olympic champion. Now, she’d just pretty much told him she was too good to ask for his help. For goodness’ sake! Where did that come from?
Out in the stable, Michael checked in with Tiffany, looked in on his other horses, and went to Tempest’s stall to start getting him ready.
“Wait,” Jessica called as she approached from down the aisle, “I’d like to groom him and tack him up to get him used to me. Is that all right?”
“Sure. It’s a good idea, actually. While you’re doing that, I’ll set up the video recording equipment so we can record your ride for Liz.”
“Great!” Jessica’s smile was the most relaxed and genuine one he’d seen from her, and it dazzled him. I guess she must have forgiven me for my blunder. If he thought she was beautiful before, her heartfelt smile transformed her into the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And he had seen many.
When Michael turned away to find the video equipment, Jessica sighed with relief. It seemed Michael hadn’t held her little demonstration of pique against her, and was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. She visibly relaxed and prepared to take Tempest out of his stall and tack him up. “Hey, big boy,” Jessica greeted the big, black stallion. “Are you ready to go to work?” Tempest nickered at her, and seemed to nod his big head in agreement. Jessica laughed. “I’ll hold you to that.” Jessica grew serious as she looked into Tempest’s eyes while putting on the halter. “Be nice to me, big guy, all right? I really want to show Michael that I know what I’m doing, and that I deserve to be here. Can you cooperate for me today?” Tempest pawed the ground in a sign of impatience to get started, and Jessica led him to the cross ties.
After Tempest was saddled, Jessica walked him to the mounting block, mounted and entered the outdoor arena. Tempest immediately tensed underneath her as he noticed something new at the end of the arena. Michael had set up the video camera on a tripod in the center of one of the short sides of the arena to capture the entire arena on screen. Michael, unbeknownst to Jessica, had arranged for one of his barn workers to man the video camera, so the camera could zoom in when Jessica was at the far end of the arena away from the camera. Michael positioned himself in the center of the arena so he could assist Jessica if she needed it.
“If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave,” Michael offered. Jessica could tell that he was still a little wary of asserting himself too much after their interchange earlier that morning.
“No. Actually, I like that you’re here, at least for my first time in the saddle,” Jessica responded, purposely offering a bit of an olive branch to Michael. She nudged Tempest forward toward the scary video set up, and allowed him to take a good look at it before asking him to move on. The stallion snorted at the camera once, then his curiosity got the better of him, and he stretched his nose out to try to sniff the camera. The worker behind the camera smiled and spoke to Tempest to let him know there was a person there, too. After satisfying himself that the camera wasn’t a monster ready to devour him, Tempest settled down, and Jessica could feel his body relax underneath her. She tried to remember what Liz had told her that day in Germany when she first rode Tempest, and started out with a relaxed, forward trot to warm both of them up.
“His favorite gait appears to be his canter,” Michael called. “It might be better to warm him up there, first.”
“I’d prefer to work him in the trot first,” Jessica called back. “I really want to get him stretching through his back at the trot before I try a canter.”
“Fine,” Michael called back, smiling to himself. She was a woman with a mind of her own. He liked that. To be honest, the canter was Michael’s favorite gait to ride, so he might have started his warm-up in the canter just because it made him more comfortable, and Tempest just didn’t object. Her reasoning for not going along with his suggestion was good, too. He must remember that even though she was younger than he, she had a lot of experience, and was an excellent rider. This wasn’t one of his adult amateur students.
As they worked, Jessica felt a little uncomfortable in the saddle. Something appeared to be wrong with her stirrup length. She called out to Michael. “Can you see if my stirrup leathers are the same length? They feel uneven. My right stirrup feels longer than my left.”
She stopped, and Michael stood directly in front of Tempest and compared the two stirrup lengths. “You’re right. The right stirrup is one hole longer than the left. Let me fix it.”
“You don’t have to do that. I can fix it.” Jessica shifted her right leg back, and started to reach down to move the stirrup leathers. Michael was already there, and fixed the leather himself. When he shortened the leather a notch, he took Jessica’s right thigh in both hands and moved it back into place on the saddle. A bolt of awareness shot through Jessica at his touch, and she trembled a bit at her strong reaction. Michael’s eyes flashed desire before he masked his expression to appear nonchalant about touching her, and Jessica thought he held her leg for just a bit longer than he had to. He slid his hands down her thigh a few inches before letting go, a movement that wasn’t really necessary. She didn’t say anything, though. It actually felt very pleasurable.
“Thanks.” Jessica’s eyes met Michael’s and she thought she saw a hint of a more than friendly interest before he broke away and stepped back.
“My pleasure.” The corners of Michael’s lips turned up in a very slight smile, and his eyes sparked with mischief before he walked away.
Now that her stirrups were balanced, she completed their warmup then put Tempest through a few collected movements and spent some time getting a feel for how he behaved under saddle. Today, there were no scary moments, and Jessica’s confidence grew as she was able to successfully execute large parts of an Intermediare I test. When she finished, Michael complemented her on her handling of the stallion.
“You did really well, Jess. Liz will be happy to see your performance today.”
“How soon will she be able to see the video?” Jessica asked.
“I should be able to upload it today,” Michael replied. “You may even be able to discuss your ride with Liz before dinner.”
While Michael was busy uploading her video onto YouTube, Jessica placed a call to her sister, Hailey.
“Jess!” Hailey exclaimed upon answering her cell phone. “I’m so glad you called. How are things going over there?”
“Things are great, squirt, but I have some news. Liz is heading home.” Jessica checked her watch and did a quick calculation. “Actually, she should be there by now. Her flight left Heathrow about eight hours ago.”
“What happened, Jess? Is the competition over already?” Hailey’s concern was evident.
Jessica rushed to correct Hailey’s misperception. “No, not at all. It’s just that Rick has just filed a motion with the divorce court for full custody of Amy, and is trying to use the fact that Liz is spending sixty days here in the UK with me to try to prove to the court that she’s an unfit mother.”
“What a jerk!” Hailey responded. “So how are you going to train with Tempest when Liz is over here?”
“Michael was kind enough to set up a video camera to record our sessions, and upload them to YouTube so Liz can watch them and give me training advice. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.”
“Michael, eh?” Hailey said. “You’re getting pretty cozy with Mr. Stafford, aren’t you, Sis? I really can’t blame you for falling for him, though. There’s no denying he’s gorgeous.”
Jessica felt herself blush. This was the second time she had been teased about her familiarity with Michael. “That’s not how things are, Hailey. Michael is just being kind. He already had the video equipment here, and it’s not that big a deal to set it up.” Jessica didn’t mention that Michael had also arranged for one of his barn staff to man the video recorder and that he was personally uploading the video to the Internet for her. Hailey didn’t need to know all of that, did she?
“I wish I could be there with you, Jess,” Hailey said. “This is my last week of school, and it’s going to be really lonely around here with you gone.”
“You know, now that Liz isn’t staying here, it’s kind of lonely for me, too,” Jessica replied. “Maybe I’ll check with Charlotte McMillan and see if her brother is willing to fly you over here on his private jet. If he has business in the UK anyway, it wouldn’t be an extra trip to bring you as well.”
“Really, Jess? You’d do that for me?” Hailey’s excitement was infectious. “That would be great!”
“I’ll call Charlotte tomorrow and ask. The worst that can happen is she says no. But first, I’ll call your therapist and make arrangements for you to continue your therapy here in the UK. Until I get that arranged, just keep doing what you’ve been doing. You need to stay in shape if you ever want to try to play soccer again with prosthetic legs.”
“Thanks, Jess. You’re the greatest.”
Just at that moment, Michael appeared at Jessica’s bedroom door and signaled that the video had been uploaded. Jessica smiled and mouthed the words “thank you” then returned to her phone call.
“I’ve got to go now, Hailey. I’ll call you tomorrow after I’ve talked to Charlotte. Hopefully, I’ll have an answer tomorrow.”
“Bye, Jess, and thank you! I’m so excited!” Jessica heard a squeal on the other end of the line before Hailey hung up.
Jessica ended the call and looked over at Michael. “I hope you don’t mind, but I just invited my sister Hailey to come over here and stay with us, if she can get a ride on Blake McMillan’s private jet in the next week or two.”
Michael wondered if Jessica realized that her characterization of herself and Michael as “us” made it sound as though they were a couple. At the same time, he was amazed that the idea of himself and Jessica as a couple, living here together in his home, didn’t bother him in the least. Most likely because that eventuality would never happen, he concluded. He was painfully aware of how his recently earned reputation as a hard partier and womanizer had tainted his image in the dressage world. Best not to dwell on what could never happen.