Learning the Ropes Read Online Free PDF Page A

hands on the paper towel beside his plate. “Did you have it professionally done?”
    “No, I did it myself.” Alicia shook her head as her mother blushed slightly at his compliment. “But, thank you.”
    Alicia caught Chris’s eye. “I think you have a little something right there.” She rubbed at the end of her nose. David choked back a laugh, covering his mouth with his napkin. Even her father laughed at the joke.
    “You hush,” her mother warned, playfully slapping at Alicia’s arm with her fingertips. “He can compliment my taste any time he wants to if it means he’ll come around more often.”
    Chris smirked at Alicia and turned toward her father. “Dad told me Bradley just sold one of his studs for $12,000. Was it the one you’ve been training?”
    “He was a great horse before I ever got my hands on him. I was just lucky to work with such a talented stud.”
    Alicia watched her father shake his head, lowering his eyes in humility. She hated that he wouldn’t take any credit for the work he did. He was an amazing trainer and was wasting time mucking stalls and grooming for someone else. He should be training and selling his own horses for that price. If only she was able to get the down payment for that property sooner . . . She looked down at her plate, suddenly losing her appetite.
    “That’s pretty impressive, Noah,” Chris commented. “You still afraid of them, Jessie?”
    Her mother laughed quietly. “Not afraid, just cautious. They’re so big! Did Alicia tell you she will probably be working with Noah soon?”
    “Really?” David asked as both cowboys turned to Alicia in surprise. He’d been quiet throughout the meal and Alicia glanced up at him.
    She set her napkin on the table and cleared her throat, unsure how to answer the question. She had no intention of taking Bradley Langdon up on his offer to train and show his horses. She wasn’t about to get trapped into the same life her parents had, working for a dream that wasn’t her own, but she hadn’t broken her decision to her parents yet. Until she could offer an alternative solution, or purchase the property she wanted, she’d been stalling.
    “Her riding prowess hasn’t gone unnoticed all these years and Bradley wants her to show his horses. Maybe even start training a few and giving lessons.”
    “That’s a big accomplishment,” David acknowledged, smiling at her.
    Her father looked at her proudly and her heart ached. He saw it as such a compliment and she saw it as a prison sentence. How could she ever make him understand?
    “I guess,” she agreed, hoping they would assume her hesitancy was discomfort and change the subject. “I still have to finish out this rodeo season,” she pointed out.
    Why was it that no one seemed to care that she wanted nothing to do with helping anyone else earn money from her work? If she ever quit rodeo to train, it was going to be to train her own barrel horses and give lessons on her own ranch. Why did everyone assume she would jump at the chance to train for the Diamond Bar.
    Chris frowned, his brows dipping low. “I think it’s a waste of talent.” Every set of eyes at the table spun to look at him. “I mean, Alicia is an amazing barrel racer, she always has been. Why quit to train cutting horses? Do you even want to show cutting horses?”
    She glanced at her father, biting her lower lip nervously. He turned to her expectantly, waiting for her answer. She couldn’t help but appreciate that Chris seemed to understand her desire to race, voicing her thoughts, but she could’ve kicked him when she saw the disappointment in her father’s eyes. “I don’t know. I never really thought about it before.”
    Chris sighed and rolled his eyes. “You’ve always talked about being a barrel racer and teaching other girls to run. I never once heard you say anything about showing.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin and placed it in his plate. “In fact, I remember you laughing at the