A Cowboy for the CEO

Chapter 16: Love the Way You Lie

That was it. Ali had met her at a competition. What was her name again? Kelly? Cate? No. She still didn't remember.

"Um, no." Ali lifted her arm, drawing attention to the cast and hoping the woman would stop revealing things she wanted to keep private. "Just vacation."

"Oh, bummer. Does that mean you're out this year?" asked the blonde with palpable regret as Ali's pod spun past her and started rising again. Just when she thought she was safe, not-Kelly-or-Cate called out again. "That's too bad, but maybe the rest of us will have a shot at that show-jumping crown now that your spot is available!"

Ali kept a poker face and just nodded, but all she wanted to do was slink down into her seat and become invisible. Hank had undoubtedly heard every word, and her secret was now out. It wouldn't even have been so bad had she not lied to him earlier, but she'd feigned a lifelong aversion to horses when she was, in fact, a champion horsewoman. Explaining that to him now would be worse than having to come clean in the first place.

On the other hand, Sarah was relishing the new—if completely misunderstood—topic. "Do you like jumping?" she chirped. "I got a rainbow-colored jump rope for my birthday and Mommy has been teaching me all kinds of tricks with it."

She gave the girl a halfhearted acknowledgment, but as the pod made its way to the top again for the final time, Ali had more on her mind than childish playthings. She expected Hank to confront her, but when he finally turned his head, he just silently stared. It was worse than any question or accusation as his eyes searched hers for an explanation. She remained speechless until Sarah once again grew impatient and began rocking the pod.

"I'm bored. Can we get off now?" The little girl sing-songed, tilting the seat forward and backward.

"Oh, sweetie, please don't do that," Ali begged, gripping the metal edge.

Sarah was undeterred. "But it's fun."

"Sarah. Please be nice," Hank instructed from below. "You shouldn't make Miss Ali more upset than she already is."

Appreciating his assistance, but keenly aware of the meaning behind his words, Ali felt worse than ever. He may now have known her weakness, but not her reasoning behind it. Revealing that would make her even more vulnerable, and she wasn't sure if going down that road was what she really needed. When they were finally on the ground, Ali quietly hung just a step behind the entire way back to the truck.

Darkness enveloped them as night set in, and within minutes of starting the drive back to Pebble Creek, both kids were fast asleep. Hank broke the silence. "Why did you lie?"

The question was inevitable, and while she wasn't happy about it, Ali was ready with an answer. "I couldn't get on that horse," she whispered, her voice quivering as she recalled the day of the storm.

"I realize that, but you could have told me the truth." A muscle in his jaw twitched as an approaching car's headlights reflected off his face.

"Why?" she asked, squirming in her seat and remembering the sheer terror she had felt at that moment. "You were a total stranger."

He briefly took his eyes off the road. "Do you usually lie to strangers?"

"No, but you would've made me get on," Ali said as she looked out the window and wrung her hands.

"Why do you think that?" His tone now was much more gentle.

Ali cleared her throat, holding back tears. "Because I don't have a good reason for being deathly afraid of getting on a horse."

He paused, no doubt considering whether to continue the conversation. "I don't know what happened to you, but anxiety is real. PTSD is real," Hank finally said definitively.