“I do remember.” She wished she hadn’t let him in. Wheelchair or no wheelchair, Trevor was a jerk. If she’d recognized him she never would have opened the door.
“Don’t worry. Obviously, I’m not the guy I used to be.”
“Good.” The word came out before she could think things through, and she flushed. She wouldn’t wish a wheelchair on anyone, so it was hardly an appropriate response. “I mean…”
“You probably figure I got what I deserved.”
“Nobody deserves that.” She flushed again, wishing she could think of something to say that didn’t seem to reference his condition.
“I might have. I was so damn arrogant I thought I could do anything—ride like Ty Murray, drink like Johnny Cash, and drive like Dale Earnhardt. It was the last two that got me in trouble.” He looked down at his legs. “I was pinned in my truck for three hours before they found me. Gave me a lot of time to think.”
She nodded, lost for words.
“At least I hit a tree and didn’t kill anybody.”
She stared down at the floor, still at a loss for a response. What was wrong with her? She could make cocktail party chitchat with millionaires, stand up in front of a roomful of congressmen, and hold her own with businessmen twice her age. But here in this rustic cabin, she was as awkward as a shy teenager. Had she distanced herself so thoroughly from her old life that she couldn’t talk to regular people anymore? That didn’t bode well for her success in Two Shot.
“Anyway, your boyfriend took pity on me and gave me a job here. We’re raising quarter horses—good ones. You still ride?”
“No. And he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Too bad. I heard you were pretty damn good.”
She froze. Had Lane given this guy a play-by-play or what?
“You rode Coppertone Flash, right?”
Oh. He was talking about riding. And he evidently had a memory like a steel trap, because she’d ridden Flash twelve years ago, and only at a couple of rodeos.
Oblivious to her confusion, Trevor chattered on. “How come you quit?”
“My dad—Roy Price—he got killed.”
“That’s right. But you were good. I saw you ride that horse at Humboldt. You must’ve been what, fourteen maybe? Fifteen? Everybody said that horse was crazy.” He flashed a quick grin. “I thought you both were.”
Her mouth was dry and she could feel that bird thrashing in her rib cage again. Couldn’t he tell she didn’t want to talk about Flash? She wished she still had some good memories of that time. She vaguely remembered the triumph she’d felt when Flash did her bidding and the glow she’d felt when Roy talked to her about barn management with all the respect he’d give to a grown-up. But ever since that day, any mention of horses took her back to the day Roy died and the sad aftermath of the accident.
“I remembered hearing you were going to ride that horse at Humboldt just a couple days after the accident. Couldn’t believe how brave you were riding a killer horse like that.”
“He wasn’t a killer,” she said. “It was an accident. He saw something that spooked him and—it just happened in a bad spot, that’s all.”
Trevor shrugged. “I guess.”
“And I didn’t ride him that day. I don’t ride anymore.”
“Why not? It’s not like you can’t.” He scanned her head to foot and she felt a blush rising. It wasn’t a sexual look, it was an envious one—one that took in the fact that she had all the working parts she needed and wasn’t using them. “It’s just your mind that’s holding you back.”
He had a point, but her mind wasn’t holding her back from success. It was just holding her back from riding horses. And who needed that? She’d moved on. Millions of people never rode a horse in their life.
Trevor’s gaze lost focus and seemed to turn inward. There was a long silence before he shook his head sharply, as if to clear out old cobwebs.
“Well, I’m sorry for how I was back then.” He wheeled toward the door. “I had a crush on you the size of Texas. I just didn’t have a clue how to treat women back then, or I would’ve been nicer. And I guess Lane beat me to it anyway.” He gave her an exaggerated version of a lovesick grin and backed the chair up so he could wheel straight for the door. “So you’re happy with the cabin?”