Michaels, Skye - Kelly's Challenge [Le Club 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read Free Page B

boy,” Justin crooned as he reached into his pocket for sugar cubes.
    “Justin, he is magnificent. I want to see you ride him. I know Calleigh will fall in love with him!”
    “I’d be happy to give a demonstration. We’ve been working with the sword and bow and he is really coming along. I can notch an arrow and shoot at a dead gallop now, controlling him with just my knees. I need to find someone to train with who can use a sword on horseback though. I have been using stationary dummies for training, but I want to move on to live competition.”
    “Now that is a skill set I would not think would be easy to locate.” Jason laughed.
    “You’re right about that! Not too many people are sword experts, never mind on horseback. Jester’s dressage training has been a real asset in preparing him for Yoseikan Bajutsu. A lot of the high-level dressage movements have battle applications. Passage, piaffe, canter pirouettes, half pass, and tempe lead changes, to name a few, would all be movements needed on the battlefield. All of that made Jester especially adaptable for use in Japanese martial arts on horseback.”
    “Where would you learn Yoseikan Bajutsu?” Jason asked. “I’ve never even heard of it before.”
    “The Ecuries du Grand Royal in Belgium maintains a school for this sport, and I trained there, as well as at a yabusame school in Japan, where I learned the art of shooting the whistling arrows, or kaburaya, at full gallop. Three targets are used representing the three kingdoms of Korea. Japanese antipathy toward the Koreans goes back a long way!”
    “That’s interesting. I’d like to see a demonstration.”
    “Are you interested in trying it? I promise not to decapitate you!”
    “I don’t think I’ll volunteer for dummy duty!” Jason laughed.
    The Japanese equestrian sports and martial arts gave Justin a feeling of being grounded in traditions going back hundreds of years. Even though his personal family history in Louisiana was long and illustrious, his unconventional childhood had left him to deal with some difficult issues.

Chapter Four

    Kelly had continued to watch him from the top of the lawn every morning, but Justin merely bowed in her direction and then ignored her. He sheathed his sword and started up the incline toward the house. “Good morning, Ms. Anderson,” he said. “Another spectacular day. Would you care to join me for coffee this morning?”
    “Oh…I couldn’t,” she stammered, flustered as always by his overwhelming, masculine presence.
    “Ms. Anderson, it’s just coffee, not a commitment,” he said with his soft, New Orleans drawl. “I’m planning on eating breakfast, not you, and I would really like some company.”
    “You make me feel very foolish, Mr. Devereau.”
    “Well, then join me for a cup of coffee, or better yet, some breakfast and we can feel foolish together,” Justin said with his Southern manners and most charming, one-hundred-watt smile. He took her arm and led her toward the table on the veranda before she could protest further.
    When they were seated and he had ordered coffee and a huge breakfast for both of them he said, “So tell me about yourself.”
    “Not much to tell. I’ve lived in Ocala all my life except when I went to Gainesville for college. I have a big family and they all live here. My dad’s a pediatrician and my mom’s a housewife. I’ve worked at the club since it opened and really enjoy my job. Anne Sutton is a great boss.”
    “Any boyfriend or other significant relationship?” he inquired.
    “Not since college. Tell me about your farm. I’ve heard it’s spectacular.” She really didn’t want to get into anything too personal with him, not that she had all that much to tell.
    “It will be. It’s called Devereau Plantation South. It’s located on U.S. 27 in Friendship. At the moment, the house is torn up and the only places that aren’t in an uproar are the barns and pastures. The polo fields have been graded and