The Impossible Art of Falling (Impossible Art #1) (2 page)

“She’ll be okay, Rob,” Mac assured. “You really are doing the right thing. This place is full of nothing but the ghosts of the past for her. She needs to find something else to help her get back up, get back on her feet. I know she’s old enough to be on her own, but in many ways, I don’t think she’s ready. And being with family will help her heal.”

“Yeah, I hope you’re right. I still just keep wondering if taking her away from the life she knows is the right thing. Maybe she would be better on her own. ” Rob ran his hands through his graying hair. “This is the only home she has ever known. Not only that, but I’m taking her to a different world. She’s grown up in the spotlight, traveling around and showing since she was old enough to walk. Hell, she’s been on the Olympic track for the last several years. I’m afraid my small farm isn’t going to be enough for her.”

“Maybe the spotlight isn’t what she wants anymore.  Maybe she needs family.” Mac stood to leave, his boots echoing on the hardwood floor.  “You are doing the right thing, Rob. You may not know it, and she may not realize it, but taking her away will help her.” He placed his hand on Rob’s shoulder and stood for a moment, both men silent. “I’ll go tend to the horses.”

Jena listened from the top of the stairs. Her uncle was wrong, of course; this was the right thing. At least for now. She knew she couldn’t stay here at this farm, and she had nowhere else to go. She just needed a place to be for a few months. She needed enough time to figure out where to go next, and then she could leave… start over somewhere new. As far as competing? Mac was right on that one. That part of her life was over. There would be no Olympics in her future. In fact, she wasn’t sure she would ever ride again.

chapter 2

T
HE GRAYSON RANCH WAS PREPARING for the arrival of the new horses. Meg Grayson was anxious to see her niece again. The last time she had seen her was the funeral, just over a year ago. She looked out at the two men in their early twenties, working on one of the fences. It wasn’t hard to notice that only one of them was actually working.

              “When they get here, can you make sure you go help Rob unload the horses? They are going to need water, a good rubdown, and a long turnout,” Meg yelled, from the front porch.

              “Sure thing, Meg,” Luke replied from the fence he was repairing.

              “You, too, Kyle.” Meg brushed her hands off on her apron and went back inside.

              “Of course,” the other man answered from where he stood a few feet away. Luke clenched his teeth in annoyance. One of the horses had cracked a board on the fence, right next to the barn. Luke was fixing it, while Kyle stood and watched, playing on his phone. Luke Thomas had been living at the Grayson Ranch for a little less than a year. Meg and Rob had taken him in when he didn’t think he had anywhere to go. They offered him room and board in exchange for help around the farm. They also paid him for helping with the trail rides. The three of them had worked well together; then spring came and the trail rides started to get busy. They had hired Kyle to help until he went back to school in August. Kyle Marshall. He supposed that at one time, he would have considered him a friend, but that time felt so far away. There was too much between them now. Kyle had only been here for a few weeks and the tension between the two was tremendous. It was all he could do to keep from punching him at times. Even now, he clenched and unclenched his fist hanging at his side.

              Kyle seemed oblivious of their past, and this made Luke dislike him even more. How could he act like it was nothing? How could he pretend that he hadn’t played a part? Luke shook the dark memories from his mind, unwilling to let the very presence of Kyle take him to that place. As if reading his mind, Kyle looked up and smirked. Luke narrowed his eyes and walked past him, brushing his shoulder hard. It was the only physical contact he allowed himself, knowing that if he raised a fist to punch, they would both end up in a long overdue battle in the dirt.

              “Asshole,” was Kyle’s only reply, but Luke kept on walking. He shoved his tools back into the toolbox in the barn and walked back into the house. The screen door creaked open, announcing his presence. Meg already had lunch laid out for them. Ham sandwiches, potato chips, fresh veggies, and tall glasses of sweet tea. He took his seat at the table, and a moment later, he heard the plodding sounds of Kyle joining them.

              “Rob is bringing back a few mares and my niece’s horse,” Meg said, placing a cold pitcher of tea on the table. “Her horse can go out by himself in the south paddock, now that you have fixed the fence. He can be a bit feisty, and he’s used to leading a pampered life. We’ll need to keep an eye on him as he adjusts.” Kyle nodded, taking a bite of his sandwich.

              “What’s this niece of yours like, Meg?” Kyle interjected, and then placed a potato chip into his mouth. “Does she actually know about horses, or is she just some spoiled kid coming to stay for the summer?”

              Meg and Rob hadn’t told either of them the circumstances of her niece’s new living arrangement. That was Jena’s business to tell, if she wanted, they had figured.

              “Kyle, please be kind. My niece is certainly not a spoiled brat, and she’ll be staying as long as she wants. You’ll learn all about her when she gets here. All I ask is that you give her some space and time to adjust. Don’t bombard her with questions.”

              “Of course, Meg.” Kyle said sweetly. His hands flew up in mock surrender. “It’s just that you said that her horse was spoiled, so I just assumed…” Meg’s sharp look prevented him from continuing his commentary, and he focused back on his lunch.

Luke stayed quiet. Frankly, he wasn’t putting too much faith in this girl coming to stay. Rob and Meg had become bleeding hearts. First, taking him in and then Kyle. He just wanted to stick to his plan. Besides, the ranch was getting a bit crowded. He would finish out the summer at the ranch, save his money up, and then take off on his own. Maybe head to California. There was no life left for him in Townsend. Hell, there was no life left for him anywhere in Tennessee, and while he liked it here with the Grayson’s, he needed to strike out on his own.

The trio finished their meal in silence, as was typical when Rob wasn’t around to keep the conversation going. Luke had nothing to say to Kyle, and Meg had given up trying to get the two of them to play nice. Neither one had any desire to engage the other in small talk.

“I’ll go out and make sure the stalls are ready,” Luke finally said, grabbing his empty plate and bringing it to the kitchen. Meg nodded in agreement. Kyle didn’t even look up to acknowledge him and certainly didn’t make a move to help him. Kyle seemed to only do the minimum job requirement. Just one more thing that Luke detested about the other man.

Luke walked back to the barn, his boots kicking up small clouds of dust around his heels. The stalls were ready to go. He had simply been looking for an excuse to go back out. Luke took one last look at the stalls, piled high with fresh sawdust and tossed in a few flakes of hay. He checked to make sure the water buckets were filled. When he was satisfied there was no more preparation to do, he walked down the aisle to the small room around the corner.

Luke lived in this small room in the barn. Rob and Meg had offered him a room of his own in the house, but he had declined. They were too kind to him. He already felt like an outsider and knew that playing house would only make it worse. Besides, he liked the solitude and the peace that living near the horses brought him. The room was simple enough, and there was a full bathroom as well. It was big enough to keep a full size bed, nightstand, and dresser. There was even enough room for a sitting area in the corner. He looked at the ragged quilt thrown haphazardly over the mattress, the indent from his head still on the pillow, and frowned. He didn’t have a lot of belongings, and it was only him. Still, he tried to keep his room tidy. A plush chair sat next to the window that opened up to let the summer breeze blow through. It offered a breathtaking view of the mountains. A small stack of unread books sat on the floor at the foot of the chair. He sat down and grabbed the top book off of the pile; some mystery he had picked up at the used book store. There was nothing left to be done until Rob arrived with the trailer full of horses, and downtime was few and far between on a farm, so he took advantage of it. His room was the one place he could go where he knew Kyle wouldn’t bother him.

Fortunately, Kyle only worked for the Grayson’s. He lived in Knoxville, where he went to school at the University of Tennessee. This was only a summer job for him. Kyle never struck Luke as the type who liked to work on a farm. Sometimes he wondered if Kyle was here just to torment him. It was almost as if Kyle knew that Luke would struggle to move on with him there. Luke allowed a brief thought of his sister to surface, before shoving it down back down. He had put up a fortress of all things having to do with her and rarely opened the gate. Not a brick was out of place. Not a memory allowed to escape.

The sound of gravel in the driveway pulled him away. Setting the untouched book back on the pile, he walked to the barn door and watched as the truck and trailer pulled around. Rob parked the truck near the barn and got out, stretching his legs after the long journey.  A moment later, Meg came rushing out and enveloped the slender girl who seeped out of the open door on the passenger side. Blonde hair curled around her shoulders and hung down her back in waves. She turned toward him, and Luke found himself staring into sad, gold eyes. He was startled for a moment when he realized that her eyes carried the same sadness as his own.

chapter 3

T
HEY HAD BEEN DRIVING FOR hours, and Jena had barely uttered a word. It’s not that he didn’t want to talk to her, but what would he say?
Sorry your dad died. Sorry your mom’s an idiot. Oh, and I hope you like living with your aunt and me.
Instead, Rob chose to give her the space she desired. She would talk when she wanted.

"We're almost there," he finally said, in a quiet voice. "Just about twenty more minutes, and we’ll be pulling in." He glanced over at where she sat, staring out of the window, watching the mountains roll by. "Your Aunt Meg is getting a room ready for you. It won't be much. I didn’t know how much you had to bring with you. After we move your things in, we can go into Knoxville to get anything else you might need or want."

She nodded briefly at him, letting the corner of her mouth turn up in an attempt at a smile, before turning back to stare out the window. She knew he was trying. Of all people, he perhaps, understood her loss the most. After all, he had lost his brother. And, both her aunt and uncle had stepped up when no one else had. She really should talk to him. She just couldn’t. It was too hard. Every time she tried to open her mouth to say something, she nearly choked on the words that had been left unsaid; everything she had been trying to say for the last year, but no one was there to listen.

The road curved and Rob slowed slightly as the truck and trailer shifted, the horses shuffling to keep their balance through the tight turn. He had taken four mares to add to his own breeding program. Rob only dabbled in breeding, but wanted to expand it. He ran a small trail riding stable at the base of the mountains, but liked to breed and sell quarter horses on the side. He had never been as successful in the show ring as Ted, but felt the same longing for the animals as his brother had. Jena had followed in her father's footsteps, riding since she was three and getting in the show ring shortly after. Her mounts had been a series of ponies, and then experienced horses until she was a teenager, when she began helping her dad out with the business.

Rob had brought her horse Gatsby with them so that she could feel more at home. He also thought she could show next year as well, but when he mentioned it, she simply shrugged. He hadn’t realized that she had stopped riding until Mac had told him. Riding was something he never thought she would give up. Horses were in her blood, part of who she was, just as they were with her father. It was too bad, really. She was an extremely talented rider. He only hoped that she would find peace at the ranch and hopefully, learn to love riding again. Whether she competed again would be up to her.