Riding Hard by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page B

was offering himself as a guinea pig, but only if she could stop judging him long enough to help him work through some issues.
    He fell into step beside her. “Obviously I didn’t bring any spare clothes.”
    “I thought of that.” She didn’t want him to know how long she’d obsessed about it. “How close are you to Regan’s size?”
    “Pretty close, if you’re willing to raid his underwear drawer and maybe snag me a shirt or two. The jeans will be okay for another day or so.”
    “I’ll see what I can find and leave them in your room.”
    “That would be great. While you’re at it, maybe if you nose around you’ll come up with a spare razor, and maybe even a new toothbrush and toothpaste. Regan typically has backup stuff like that. He likes being organized.”
    “I’ll look. Under the circumstances, I’m sure he wouldn’t care if I raid his bathroom supplies.”
    “If you’d rather not, I could make a quick run home. Maybe that would be better.”
    “No.” Just the thought of him leaving caused panic to well up again. Her sense of security depended on him being right here. “Please don’t.”
    “Okay, okay. I won’t leave until Dottie drops her foal.”
    “Thank you.” Her panic disappeared immediately. But now that they’d mentioned Dottie, she wanted to reassure herself that the mare was okay. “Let’s check on her before we go in.”
    He nodded and switched direction. “Okay, assuming you can stand being around me for another ten minutes. If you want to let me do it while you head for the house, I won’t be offended.”
    “I’ll come with you.” She adjusted her path, too. “It’s good practice for me.”
    “Practice?”
    “For learning to be less judgmental.”
    “Ah.” He laughed and glanced over at her. “How about it, Tracy? Any chance your practice could extend beyond putting up with my stench?”
    “Such as what?” She had a pretty good idea what he was talking about, but she wanted to be sure.
    “Would you be willing to practice accepting my considerable failings, too?”
    She met his gaze. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”
    “Good deal.” He flashed his superwattage smile.
    He might think he’d convinced her just now. In reality, he’d had her at whale poop.

5
    D OTTIE HAD TEMPORARILY stopped leaking colostrum, so in short order Drake was back in the house and standing under a hot shower. He soaped up, grateful for the opportunity to get clean again. Tracy had found him a razor and a toothbrush. She’d even discovered an unused deodorant stick and a new tube of toothpaste that happened to be his brand. He’d replace all the items once this gig was over.
    God, he hoped he knew what he was doing by agreeing to let Tracy muck around in his psyche. But he’d learned that solitary self-exploration didn’t work for him, and he couldn’t hang out in the little cabin forever waiting for enlightenment to arrive. He wanted a plan, but so far nothing had occurred to him.
    As he’d predicted, his parents were royally pissed that he’d left in the middle of racing season. The guy who’d taken over his practice was quickly winning everyone’s confidence, which irritated his parents even more. They’d shoveled clients his way for years, and now some other vet was reaping the rewards.
    Drake didn’t care. He might continue to be a vet, but not in the world of thoroughbred racing. He hoped his temporary replacement would be interested in buying him out, which would probably be the last straw for his folks. Oh, well. He’d tried it their way and had ended up so confused and miserable that he’d thought boinking his best friend’s fiancée was a good idea.
    Talking it out with Tracy would be a relief, providing she could give up her tendency to judge him. She’d admitted that was a problem area for her, so their cooperative effort might turn out to be a very good thing. Ideally, they’d help each other.
    He hadn’t decided what to do about sex. They both wanted to