Maybe Baby (31 page)

I heard him moan as he continued his exquisite thrusting. I could tell he was ready. He should pull out now I thought to myself. We were not protected. In the next moment, I knew I didn’t want him to stop. I'd gone beyond reasonable thinking as my release was ready to explode. I grasped his firm ass, still inside his jeans, pulling him closer to me as if I wanted to devour him there as well. We both climaxed at the same time, crying out so strongly I was sure we woke the horses. I felt Trey stiffen as he came, followed by the rhythmic pumping as he emptied himself inside of me. I was right there with him, pulling every last drop from him.

“That’s it Tylar, take it all,” he said, thrusting the last of his climax into me. When he’d finished, he pulled out of me and rolled onto his back, finally catching his breath. I was doing the same. Our breathing steadied; Trey didn’t move to pull me close or kiss me, which is what he usually did after we'd made love. I was covered with sweat and straw, but fulfilled in every way.

“What a fuck,” Trey mumbled, tucking his glistening member back inside his jeans and zipping up his fly. He lay back, raking a hand through his damp hair and promptly passed out in the straw.

My heart tore into a million pieces. I stood up in the straw and searched for my clothes. My vision blurred with flowing tears. I found my panties and shorts in one heap, my tee shirt a few feet away. I hurriedly dressed and ran from the stables. I stumbled back up the short path to my cottage. Slamming the cottage door, I let loose with sobs. His words came back to haunt me.

What a fuck?

That was the same thing Daniel had said to my mom on prom night. My mom, the whore, deserved to be talked to that way. I'd done nothing to deserve that.

When I'd heard him talking to Derringer in the stables, I felt my heart would burst with happiness. It was spoiled by Trey’s behavior after that; his anger with Mark; his disrespect towards me. There was nothing healthy about the situation that occurred tonight in the stable.

As my tears subsided, I knew that I needed to avoid Trey. I didn’t understand his behavior, and I'd never let it happen again. How pathetic I was to think that we were making sweet love? To Trey it was simply a
great fuck.

Chapter 30

Two weeks had passed since that unfortunate encounter with Trey and I was successful in avoiding him. He'd left to go back to Atlanta two days later and Mark and I tirelessly practiced for the dressage competition scheduled for the following weekend. Everything had gone exceptionally well with the competition. Derringer and I took second place, capturing a $30,000 purse. I felt like I was earning my pay with Sinclair Stables and that was important to me.

I'd received a letter from the law offices of Pierce, Harmon, Richardson & Sinclair the second week after Trey departed. There was a cover letter signed by Trey, with a copy attached of a letter that had been sent to Trey by Andrew Sneed of the law firm of Findley, Morris & Sneed, L.L.P. in Louisville. Mr. Sneed wanted to avoid a protracted civil case and was making an offer of a settlement to avoid a civil suit for $10,000. Trey’s cover letter requested that I call his office to discuss the matter.

I called Trey’s office and the switchboard put me through.

“Mr. Sinclair’s office, Tonya speaking,” his assistant said.

“Yes Tonya, this is Tylar Preston. I received a letter from Mr. Sinclair requesting that I call his office to discuss a settlement offer received from the firm of Findley, Morris & Sneed?”

“One moment please, Ms. Preston, let me see if Mr. Sinclair is available.”

A few moments later Trey came on the line, his smooth and silky voice still had the power to give me goose bumps.

“Tylar, how are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“I understand that you’ve received the copy of the letter from Mr. Sneed relative to the firm’s liability on the matter of the theft of your trust?”

“Yes,” I replied. “I’m confused though, why are they offering a settlement before you filed the civil charges?”

“It’s an attempt to avoid litigation. They want to present the position that we have a flimsy case based on their L.L.P. status, so they are making a token offer to avoid having to go to court and sort it all out.”

“Okay, I get it. Well, I’m fine with it.”

“Are you sure? It's just a token of the trust’s value.”

“I know, but when it comes to paying the attorney fees and all of that…”

“We can request compensation for attorney fees as part of the settlement.”

“I just really don’t want to mess with it all, okay?”

“If that’s what you want,” he replied.

“It’s what I want. You can take your portion of the attorney fees out of it and send me a check for the balance.”

“I wasn’t planning on taking
any
attorney fees.”

“I don’t want to take advantage of you.” I heard silence on the other end. He didn’t know how to respond.

“Is there something upsetting you, Tylar?”

Oh hell no, Trey - nothing at all.

“Hey, I also wanted to congratulate you on placing second in the competition last weekend. Good job. I was sorry that I couldn’t make it to the arena. You brought a nice purse in for Sinclair Stables. You know that 10% of that will be coming to you.”

“I hadn’t really thought about it, but thank you.”

“Well then, okay. I'll send the communiqué to Mr. Sneed. We’ll forward your check to you as soon as we receive it.”

The next few weeks, Mark and I prepared exhaustively for the next competition. The rest of the crew had already returned to school, so new fall semester interns were populating the estates. Dressage competition was in full swing in the U.S.; the next competition was September 22 and 23. It was the Fall Horse Trials at Malvern Park near Leesburg, Virginia. It was a two-day event that included dressage, show jumping, and cross country jumping events.

Mark had entered Derringer and me in a musical freestyle event. It was set to a shortened version of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” Mark eliminated the introduction portion of the song as the freestyle was going to be done with the lyrics left in, timing at just a little over three minutes in length. Mark was also entering two horses from Sinclair Stables into a Quadrille event, combining the talent with two horses from a neighboring stable. A fellow trainer Mark had worked with previously had suggested they combine resources. It was a fairly hefty purse, even when split in half.

I purchased a new riding outfit before the competition at Malvern. The tack shop was close to Denise’s salon, so I told Mark I wanted to run over there and see if she could fit me in for a trim and some fresh highlights. He told me to call him when I was ready. I spotted Denise as soon as I walked in the shop. She was cashing a customer out at the counter. Her eyes lit up upon seeing me.

“Hey sweetie, how are you?”

“I’m fine, Neecie, how about you?”

“No complaints here. Is this a social visit or business?"

“Both if you can fit me in?”

“No problem, darlin'.” Denise did my hair herself, her hands moving expertly as she spoke. “So, how are things going between you and Trey?”

“They’re not,” I replied. “He's barely around and when he is, we do our best to avoid each other.”

“That’s a shame,” Denise, said, shaking her head.

“Maybe it’s serious between Trey and Charlotte,” I said, wondering if Denise knew anything. I'd provided a nice segue for her.

“Please,” she hooted. “I already told you that's not happening. He’s not seeing anyone that I know of or else Ray would probably be aware of it.”

We changed the subject to more pleasant topics. I phoned Mark when Denise said I had about ten minutes more under the dryer. She finished up with me, twirling the chair around so that I could take a look at the finished product. I paid the cashier on my way out, sending a generous tip to Denise. Mark stood waiting for me when I got outside, leaning up against his bright red truck. He saw me and let out a long wolf whistle, grinning like a kid.

“Stop,” I said, laughing.

“You’re gonna look great in the navy dressage coat with your new hair color.”

“Except that I'll have my hair back in that awful hairnet under my derby hat, remember?”

“I know, but I really think going with the blue on your jacket will lend itself well to the music we selected. Maybe we should think about dying Derringer’s tail?”

I looked at him quickly but saw that he was still grinning.

“Speaking of which,” I said, “I'd like to braid Derringer’s mane for this competition. Is that okay with you?”

“Just as long as you leave his forelock unbraided, I don’t want anyone mistaking him for a mare.”

Back at the cottage, a note had been left on my door that I had a letter at the office. I went up and got it, seeing immediately it was from Trey's office in Atlanta. I tore open the envelope. There was a check in the amount of $10,000 made payable to me. Trey had attached a note on his personal stationary that read, “From the Desk of Trey M. Sinclair, Esq.” I wondered what the middle initial ‘M’ stood for? I'd never asked Trey about his middle name. His note was brief, and to the point:

Tylar,

Hope all is well. Here's the check for releasing liability of the handling of your trust from the firm of Findley, Morris & Sneed. Accepting this does not waive your right to criminally prosecute your mother, should her whereabouts become known. I'll forward you the deed on your property in Radcliff once it has been executed by the Recorder’s office. You'll need to contact the auditor’s office in order to get the semi-annual tax billing sent to your current address. Also, I recommend you contact the utility companies in Radcliff and have them put the billing into your name. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Very truly yours,

Trey M. Sinclair, Esq.

Trey’s all-business tone was yet another slap in the face. If I thought that scene in the stable last month between us was humiliating, it was nothing compared to this. He was totally indifferent about his cruel behavior in the stable. His total lack of emotion diminished me to the core. What kind of a fantasy world had I created for myself those past few months? It was nothing that a future could ever be built upon.

I spent the next week and a half at the arena from sunrise to sundown working with Derringer. Mark was concerned at my obsessive practicing but it felt therapeutic to me; it made the days go faster, it wore me out so that I could sleep without dreams.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Malvern Park was a five-hour drive from Bristol. I was riding up with Mark; his dually was pulling the horse trailer with Derringer. Ray and Charlie were driving some of the other horses up. We would be staying at a hotel near the park.

We made fairly good time, arriving in Malvern a little after noon. Mark dropped me at the hotel while he took Derringer on to the stables to get registered and settled in. He said he’d meet me later for some dinner.

Once in my room, I unpacked my clothing and hung up my riding outfit. The early morning and long drive exhausted me and I promptly fell asleep across the king-sized bed. I didn't wake up until Mark phoned my room at dinner time. After we ate, we took a ride over to the park. I visited with Derringer while Mark discussed tomorrow’s schedule.

The following morning, just after five a.m., I got dressed and applied some make-up. I brushed my hair back into a tight bun. I covered it from the top of my crown to the base of my hairline in back with a hairnet that was close to the color of my hair. That would secure it and still allow for my derby to fit comfortably on my head.

My dress boots were shined to perfection and my riding outfit was stunning. My navy blue derby actually looked a little saucy perched on my head. White gloves in hand, I was ready. I headed down to meet Mark for breakfast. He was already in the hotel restaurant, waving to me as I approached the entrance. He stood up as I arrived and grasped my hand.

“Tylar, you look fantastic!”

I knew what he was doing; he wanted to assure me all was fine so that I could concentrate on the competition. Nerves played a very big part in the results of these competitions.

Mark signaled for the waitress and then turned to me. “Don’t worry. You're prepared. Derringer is prepared. Do you know what your greatest strength is as you enter the arena today?”

He had me there.

“Your biggest strength is that your horse loves you. You have a bond that, in all of my years in this business, I’ve not seen until now. Use that bond, Tylar, trust it. You'll be fine.”

We arrived at the park early. I went to Derringer immediately to brush and tack him up. I braided his mane while Mark checked on the horses scheduled for the Quadrille. I took advantage of this opportunity to have a one-on-one talk with Derringer as I braided. I told him how much I loved him. I told him that no matter what, we just needed to go out into that arena and give it our best. I finished the last braid, tying the plait into a button with yarn. He looked magnificent.

When it was time, Mark and I led Derringer to the arena, awaiting our cue.

“Everything will be fine," Mark assured me.

I nodded and managed a meek smile.

It seemed like no time had passed at all and we were being announced.

“Introducing five-year-old Derringer, owned by Trey Sinclair of Sinclair Stables, Bristol, Virginia; trained by Mark Montgomery; ridden by Tylar Preston.”

The opening chords of Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way” came across the speakers. It was as if Derringer just took over. We were out in the arena; Derringer commenced his prancing as Lady Gaga continued. From the halt and salute at the beginning to the halt and salute at the end, the execution was perfect. Derringer’s impulsion, his stride in the collected canter, his leg yield in trot were perfectly choreographed to the sound of the song. His circle right was flawless. The collected gaits down the center line couldn't have been any better. Derringer had impressed everyone.

Mark stood waiting at the arena gate, grinning from ear to ear. He pulled me down off of Derringer, twirling me around and around before he set me down. We waited for the judges to post our scores.