The wind in her face, Pixie’s frantic hoofbeats jarring her bones…it was cleansing. The guilt over what had happened to her beloved Sugar had weighed on her for years, another reason she’d never thought she would race again. But Pixie was bred to do this, trained to do it. After going through it with her, Macy couldn’t wait to unleash her full potential. The horse overcompensated for her name in size, but she could damn sure fly. She rode like a dream.

When she pulled back on the reins and wheeled Pixie around, grinning at her dad, she felt reborn. All from running a pattern so familiar it was practically ingrained in her. She’d missed it. God, she’d known that she missed it, but she hadn’t even realized how much until that moment.

Her dad didn’t make a big deal about it. No running up and hugging or fawning all over her. His cool acceptance told her he’d always known this day would come. Congratulations weren’t necessary, because she should have taken this step as soon as the doctor gave her the okay to return to riding with his one simple admonishment: “If it hurts, stop.”

It hadn’t hurt. It had felt damn spectacular, and she was damn lucky. She would take advantage of that, not live a sham of a life.

“Thanks, Dad,” she said later as she helped him with brushing. He glanced at her over Pixie’s golden back, his expression as unreadable as usual. It was only because she knew him so well that she knew he had something to say.

He shrugged. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Well, you might think you didn’t, but you did. Thanks for, you know, my life, for everything. After what happened, you probably thought I was ungrateful for all the things you’ve done for me, but I never was.”

“I never thought that.” He gave Pixie a pat. “You know, when I saw the way you hit the ground…I almost hit the ground too. And all I could think about was holding you on Prancer for the first time when you were barely big enough to walk, how your eyes lit up. I thought of that a lot in the weeks afterward. You always had that spark. After your accident, though, it went out.”

“I know,” she said quietly.

“But I never had any regrets, Macy, and I wouldn’t have, no matter what that doctor said when he first came out of your operating room. Because that spark was beautiful and something a lot of people never have no matter how long they live or how many miles they walk.”

“I’m sorry if I let you down.”

“Let me down? Not at all. I don’t think I was ever prouder of you for the way you fought your way back. Hell, if you never wanted to look at another horse again, I wouldn’t have blamed you. I might not have liked it, but I would’ve understood.”

He probably didn’t realize how close she’d been to that extreme at first. She’d practically forced herself back in the saddle. Little by little, it had gotten better. Baby steps, she realized. She’d been taking them even back then. She’d only thought she’d toddled as far as she could. No more of that. She was ready to get up and walk boldly. No, run.

“You’ve got it back, you know,” her dad said, gesturing at her without really looking up from his task.

“What?”

“You’re lit up.”

“I don’t feel very lit up,” she laughed, though for some reason his words made her beam. Hell, maybe he was right.

“Not just today, either. Yeah, you’ve been kind of grumping around the place for a few days, but overall something has brightened you up. Is it Jared?”

All at once, her bright shiny mood shifted dangerously toward crashing. “No, Dad. It’s not Jared. I hate to burst your bubble, but it won’t ever be Jared.”

“Well, then, I figure it must be someone. So out with it.”

“I’m in love.”

“No shit.”

“Dad! I just…I don’t know.”

“You just said you were in love. So what the hell is there not to know?”

“I’m going to go ahead and risk your coronary and get it over with. You know the comedic trope where the well-to-do daughter gets mad at her parents for one reason or another and hires a guy totally inappropriate for her to bring home and pose as her serious boyfriend or fiancé to get back at them?”

“I’m somewhat familiar.”

“Let’s just say if you meet him, you’ll probably be asking yourself what you’ve ever done to me. He’s Brian Ross’s best friend, if that tells you anything. They work together.”

“Tattoo artist, huh? You’ve said Brian is a good guy, right?”

“He is. He’s great.”

“Well, look, kid. I know you have a good head on your shoulders. I know you wouldn’t do anything stupid, and you wouldn’t settle for some idiot punk. I trust your judgment.”

“Thanks, Daddy. I guess after everything Candace went through—”

“Candace’s parents are ass**les. They’re worried about who’s good enough for their little princess. But I trust that I raised a strong enough woman to know who’s worthy of her and who isn’t. If this guy is good enough for you, and he’s the one who has you floating around on cloud nine and giving you back your spark, you can be damn sure he’s good enough for me.”

Idly, Macy ran the brush over Pixie’s coat, her mind miles away.

“And someone worth keeping around,” her dad added. “Just in case a certain stubborn mule-headed woman keeps pushing the poor guy away.”

“Oh, Dad.”

“Am I wrong?”

“You’re not wrong. You just don’t know everything about the situation.”

“I don’t have to.” He stood up straight, his gaze direct and steady on her. “Whatever’s wrong, you know if it’s worth fixing or not. If it is, then fix it. If not, leave it alone and move on. If I raised you to be strong, then that means I didn’t teach you to sit around and wait on life and happiness to happen to you. You go after it, Macy.”

And if something is standing in your way, you go through it.

Right. You go through it. Her dad didn’t say the words, but he had before. Many, many times.

She wondered how this man had allowed her to lie down for so long. Maybe it was only because he knew this was a point she needed to get back to mostly by herself. Maybe he knew her well enough to realize all she needed to get back to her fighting spirit was something worth fighting for. “You know, it’s good to get your speeches again.”

He grinned. “For such a long time, you didn’t want to hear ’em anymore. I’m afraid your break’s over, though. We’ve got work to do.”

In more ways than one. “I’m ready.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mezzanine Music wasn’t a place Macy ever had reason to visit. Hopefully that would never change, because after today, she might be banned for life.

“What does she drive?” she asked Candace over the phone, staring at the building as she sat in her Acadia and mustered her nerve.

“Actually, I don’t know.”

No way of determining if Raina was working today, then, without going in to find out. Cornering the girl at her job wasn’t the smartest way to handle this; she knew that. But there weren’t any other options. She didn’t know where she lived, and neither did Candace without asking someone and blowing the whistle on Macy’s plan. Besides, any meeting with this girl needed to be at least somewhat public so Macy didn’t end up decapitated in a ditch somewhere.