Breaking Down (The Breaking Series Book 4)
Breaking Down
The Breaking Series Book 4
Juliana Haygert
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 by Juliana Haygert
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
First Edition January 2021
www.JulianaHaygert.com
Edited by H. Danielle Crabtree
Proofreading by Jessica Nelson
Cover design by Najla Qamber Designs
Any trademark, service marks, product names, or names featured are the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if one of these terms is used.
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Contents
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Six Months Later
Thank you
About the Author
Also by Juliana Haygert
Author’s Note
I hope you enjoy reading Breaking Down!
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English - Portuguese
For a complete list of words used in the series click here!
Note that some words and expression don’t have a perfect literal translation. The translation you see here is the one that fits the context of my novels.
Abobaba – fool, idiot
Ai – ouch
Ainda bem – thank goodness
Até depois – see you later
Beijinho – a sweet made with condensed sweetened milk
Bem – fine, good, well
Boa noite – good night
Boa sorte – good luck
Boa tarde – good afternoon
Bom – well
Bom dia – good morning
Bomba – item to drink chimarrão with
Bombacha – typical pants used by gaúchos
Branquinho – same as Beijinho
Brigadeiro – a sweet made with condensed sweetened milk and cocoa powder
Café colonial – continental breakfast
Calma – calm down
Carreteiro – typical dish made of leftover steaks from barbecues
Chato – a name for someone who annoys you
Chimarrão – herb-based drink from the south of Brazil
Churrasco – Brazilian barbecue
Churrasqueira – a type of a grill where Brazilian barbecue is made
Claro – of course
Credo – jeez/damn
Cuia – kind of cup to drink chimarrão with
Dança folclórica gaúcha – typical dance from the south of Brazil
De nada – you’re welcome
De novo – again
Delícia – delicious
Desculpa – sorry
Deus do céu – Lord above/Oh my God
Droga – crap
E aí – what’s up?
É assim – this way
Eita – whoa
Então – so?
Eu não vou me atrasar – I won’t be late
Eu te amo – I love you
Eu vou te matar – I’ll kill you
Feijoada – dish made with black beans
Feliz Páscoa – Happy Easter
Filha da puta (daughter of a bitch), mimada (spoiled), china (it’s like prenda, but in a bad way), rapariga sem vergonha (girl without shame), invejosa (jealous) – insulting names for women/girls
Filho duma puta – son of a bitch
Gaúcho(a) – people from the south of Brazil
Graças a Deus – thank God, thank goodness
Grande coisa – whatever
Guria – girl
Idiota – idiot
Irmã – sister
Irmãzinha – little sister
Mãe – mother
Me dá – give it to me
Me deixa em paz – leave me alone
Merda – shit
Meu Deus – my God
Morena – brunette, but in Brazil this term is used in a caring way, like darling or sweetie
Não – no
Negrinho – same as Brigadeiro
Nossa – wow/whoa
O que – what?
O que é isso – what is this?
Obrigado (a) – thanks
Oi – hi/hello
Ótimo – great
Pai – father
Pão de queijo – cheese bread
Parabéns - congratulations
Peão/Peões –cowboys in Brazil
Perfeita(o) – perfect
Pois então – well/you see
Por favor – please
Por que/por quê – why
Porque – because
Porcaria – crap/jeez/damn/shit/bad stuff
Porra – fuck/shit
Prazer – Pleasure, a short way of saying “nice to meet you”
Prenda – just like a gaúcha
Presta atenção – pay attention
Preta – black
Puta merda – fuck/shit/bullshit
Puta que pariu – goddamn it, holy shit, fuck
Que droga – crap/jeez/damn/this sucks
Que foi – what?
Que mentira – what a lie
Que nada – nonsense
Que porcaria é essa – what the hell is this?
Querida – dear
Rio Grande do Sul – southernmost state in Brazil
Sem rodeios – without rodeos, means without dillydallying
Senhorita –
miss
Sério – really
Sete de Setembro – Brazil’s Independence Day
Sim – yes
Tá bom/bem – okay
Tá tudo bem – it’s okay
Também – too/also
Tchau – bye
Tche – common expression used by gaúchos – it can mean many things. A salutation, an exasperated exclamation, or even addressing someone
Te amo – I love you
Te comporta – behave
Tia – aunt
Tio – uncle
Tudo bem/Tudo bom – how are you?
Um minuto – one minute
Vai com – go with
Veado – deer. In Brazil, it’s a nickname for homosexuals. Between friends, it’s used as a friendly, teasing name.
Vestibular – an extensive and hard test Brazilians take to enter college – each college has its own vestibular test and if the student doesn’t pass it, he/she doesn’t enter that particular college.
Você – you
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1
Gabi
“Hey, pretty boy.” I reached over the stall door and rested my hand on Tostado’s muzzle. “Did you have a good night sleep?”
My horse neighed, bobbing his head up and down. I smiled. If only he could really communicate with me. But maybe he could. I had had him for more than three years now. If he did understand, he would be the only one lately. Horse or human.
My phone beeped. I fished it from my jeans' back pocket and checked the message.
Priscila: Practice is canceled.
Merda.
Me: Why?
Priscila: The other girls are not coming. It would be just you and me.
Me: But the tournament is coming up.
And I would be away for the next ten days. We had to practice now, and then hard once I was back, or we would lose the tournament. Badly.
Priscila: That’s the other thing. The club is canceling the women's tournament. They didn’t get enough registrations, so they are only going to have the men’s tournament.
A wave of rage swept through me.
Me: That’s bullshit.
Priscila: I’m with you, but unless we come up with at least three other teams before next weekend, there will be no tournament for us.
Man, this sucked. We had barely four permanent girls to play on our team. We actually had six because one or more never could meet up for practice or games. Time and time again, there were two or three of us who showed up, and we had to forfeit games because of it.
Women’s polo was the worst, especially in Brazil.
I sighed.
If only I had someone to help me. Someone who had some influence and could talk to the club and ask them to keep the women’s category, even with only two or three teams signed up.
The person in my mind walked into the stable and a conspiring grin spread across my lips.
Me: All right. I’ll talk to you later.
I stashed my phone back into my pocket and turned my smile to the man approaching me.
“Oi pai.” I greeted my father. Like all Fernandeses, my father was tall with broad shoulders and bright green-blue eyes. Although, now in his mid-fifties, he didn’t have as much hair as my brother and my cousins.
“Bom dia, Gabi.” He glanced at my horse, then at me. “Going out for a ride this early?”
“No. I have to finish packing.”
His brows furrowed. “Oh, yes. You’re going to visit your brother. You’re leaving tonight, right?”
“Sim.”
“Don’t your classes start soon?”
I groaned. “Sim. In two weeks.” All I wanted was to forget about that for now. I wanted to go to Santa Barbara, have a great time with my brother, cousins, and friends, and enjoy my freedom before college life tied me down. I shuddered. “I’ll be back in ten days. Four days should be enough to get ready for college.”
There was nothing else to do, really. I was signed up for my classes, I had all the material I needed, and my accommodations and transportation were all set up—I would stay in our townhouse in the city during the weekdays and come back to the ranch on the weekends.
“That’s good.” He reached over and rested a big hand on my shoulder. “Finally starting college. It’ll be a big day.”
“Sim …” I pressed my lips into a thin line, trying to come up with the right words. “Pai, hm, you know the country club has a polo tournament coming up, right?”
“Yes, we’re sponsoring it, as always.”
“So … they said they don’t have enough women’s teams signed up so they are thinking about canceling the women’s category. I was thinking that maybe you could—”
“That’s good,” he interrupted me.
I gaped. “W-what?”
“Isn’t the tournament right when your classes start?”
It would actually be a week later. “Yes …”
“It would be hard to play the games and attend classes. This way, you can focus on college. Besides, we both know that there’s no future in polo for you. You’re a great player, Gabi, almost as good as your brother and cousins, but you know that women’s polo isn’t going anywhere. You can fight for it, but you’ll only be wasting your time. Better to focus on college, which is a more concrete path.”
I clamped my mouth so the words of outrage and frustration didn’t spill past my lips, and clenched my fist. I knew he wasn’t trying to be harsh. He was just stating the facts—and he was right. I knew he was right. But that didn’t mean I had to accept it.
If I had to go to college to satisfy my parents while I worked toward my dream, so be it. One way or another, I would play polo for a living. I would live my dream. Someday.
With a happy sigh, I plopped down on the couch and propped my legs on the coffee table. Now, here was exactly where I wanted to be.
“Hey, if you’re gonna put your paws there, take off your shoes.”
The company, though.
I rolled my eyes and lifted my hand, giving my brother the finger.
He groaned, and beside him, Hilary chuckled. “Gui, let her be,” she said.
“But her boots are dirty,” he complained. I glanced over my shoulder and witnessed as my brother, my big, strong brother, pouted at his girlfriend.
Hilary chuckled again and waved him off. “You do that all the time.”
“That’s different,” he snapped, glaring at me.
Shaking her head, Hilary whirled around and grabbed a tub of ice cream from the fridge.
“Oh, I want some too,” I said.
“One scoop? Two scoops? Three scoops?” she asked, grabbing bowls from the cabinets.
Gui took the tub from her and began serving the ice cream—our Friday afternoon snack. Looking at them moving around the kitchen like they had been doing that for years, no one would have guessed they had only been dating for six months. And, last week on Valentine’s Day, Gui invited Hilary to move in with him. And she had accepted. They were moving her stuff in this weekend, and I would probably help, since I was here visiting.
We had a big party with lots of food coming up tonight, so I just said, “One scoop is fine. For now.”
“Aren't you going to ask how many scoops I want?” Gui asked her sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and handed him a chocolate bar. He wasn’t a fan of ice cream, but he always made some kind of joke when we were all eating it.
I picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned on the TV. Even Netflix here was different from in Brazil—there were more movies and series options here. And I wanted to find a new obsession to binge during the remaining nine days I had here. Not that I wanted to spend my time watching TV, but everyone else was busy. Gui, Leo, Ri, and Pedro had practice, Bia and Garrett went to vet school, Hilary would go back to L.A. on Sunday night for her classes, Hannah had the ranch, and Iris was in college. They would all be busy during the day and I would be alone. Sometimes, I wondered why I even bothered visiting
them outside of holidays.
A soft shuffling sound came from the hallway leading to the bedrooms and Pedro came into the room, dragging his flip-flops across the hardwood floor. He looked like shit—apparently he and Iris had had a big fight and hadn’t spoken in four days. And Pedro refused to tell anyone about it.
“I heard the word scoops.” Even his voice sounded like shit. He glanced at Hilary, then shifted his gaze to the bowls of ice cream. “Can I have some too, please?”
“Sure,” Hil said. She reached behind them and grabbed another bowl, and Gui served him.
Pedro plopped down on the couch beside me and started devouring his ice cream.
I couldn’t take his miserable looks. “Want to talk about it?”
“No,” he grumbled.
“Okay.” I scooted a little away from him, pretending I was afraid of him. “Sorry for asking.”
He sighed and looked at me. “No, sorry. I’m just …” He sighed again. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Hil and Gui joined us in the living room. They sat on the other couch and Gui put his feet up the coffee table—but he had on socks.
Trying to break the awkward silence, Hil glanced at me. “Gui told me your classes start in March. Vet school without pre-vet. So cool.”
In Brazil, there was no pre-vet, pre-med, or pre-law. A person wanting to become a veterinarian only needed to apply for it and take a test called vestibular. If the person passed it, she was in. Those majors took one or two years longer than other degrees.