Dark Harmony: A Vivienne Taylor Horse Lover's Mystery (Fairmont Riding Academy Book 2)

by Michele Scott

“I am Joel Parker and I am a freaking rock star,” he mumbles.

  “Really? That’s it? No. That is not going to work. I want enthusiasm. I want to feel it!”

  He sighs and repeats the phrase.

  “Better. But like this.” I yell out, “I am Vivienne Taylor and I am a pain in the butt!”

  I hear applause at the end of the barn aisle and then I spot Austen. “And I am Austen Giles and I second that! Vivienne Taylor is a pain in the butt!”

  I feel myself turn beet red and wish more than anything that I could go crawl under a rock.

  “Tell her what she wants to hear, man, and say it the way she wants to hear it. The girl is persistent, and she’s known for getting what she wants,” Austen says as he walks toward us.

  I shove my hands into the front pockets of my breeches.

  “Hey, Joel.”

  “Austen.”

  “Mind if I steal Vivvie here for a few?”

  “No. Go ahead.”

  “Thanks. Can we take a walk?” he asks.

  I look around to see if Tristan is nearby. He must be already tacking up Sebastian. I know that he is one row over. I’m not sure if I should go with Austen or not, but like me, he can be persistent. I know from growing up with this guy that he is also one who doesn’t typically take no for an answer.

  I can’t imagine what he wants, but I figure if it’s a talk I might as well get it over with. “Um, okay, let’s go.”

  CHAPTER forty-two

  Austen and I walk out of the barns. “Let’s check out the foals over there,” he says.

  I am confused and curious but he stays silent as we casually stroll next to the fenced pasture that houses a handful of colts and fillies with their mothers, all eating the grass that spreads out underneath them. There is a mist in the air and I pull my sweater tighter around me.

  “You cold?” he asks. “You can have my jacket.”

  “No. I’m okay.” I am getting good at this lying thing. I stop walking and so does he. Austen shoves his hands into his pockets and rolls back and forth on his heels ever so slightly. I have seen him do this many times with our old trainer, Gail. He’s nervous. “What is it? Why did you want to talk to me?”

  “It’s about your friend.”

  “My friend?”

  “Lydia.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “She’s not my friend.”

  “She isn’t?”

  “Uh. No. Not even close.”

  “She seems to think you’re friends. In fact, she speaks rather highly of you.”

  “Oh please.” I roll my eyes at him. “So typical.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’ll say anything to snag a guy—even that she and I are friends, I guess. I promise you that she and I are the opposite of close. I know Lydia is every guy’s dream come true, especially when she wears a dress like the one she wore last night. But I can almost guarantee you that if you get tangled up with her that she will become a high-maintenance nightmare who takes over your life.”

  “Do I detect jealousy, Vivienne Taylor?”

  I cross my arms, look down at the dirt, dig my boot into the ground, and shake my head. “No. What you detect is the truth.”

  “Then why did she do nothing but sing your praises last night? All she talked about was how cool you are, and how great of a rider you are.”

  “Are you that stupid?!” I cross my arms.

  He takes a step back, stops rocking on his heels, and stares at me. “What does that mean?”

  “She’s manipulating you. She knows you and I are friends. And, if she can make you think that she and I are BFFs, then that just gets her that much closer to her goal, which from what I could see last night is getting you hooked on her.”

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “And, you are being blind!”

  “I don’t know what your history is with Lydia other than she used to date Tristan, but I am pretty sure that is what this is all about. You are ugly possessive. I brought you out here to ask you if there is anything at all between us. I can see that you have Prince Charming, but, Vivvie, I know when we kissed last summer before you left for Fairmont that there was something there. When you were home over Christmas, there was something there between us, too. I wanted to be sure that you and I aren’t missing something, before I move forward with asking Lydia out.”

  “What? First off, let me tell you something, Austen.” I know the tone of my voice is awful, but I can’t seem to stop myself from continuing. “Lydia and I are nothing alike, so if she’s the kind of girl that you think you want, then go for it. I won’t stop you, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you. As far as what happened between you and me, it just happened. So what? It’s behind us now. And I’d never hold you back from going after something else, because I already have a boyfriend who I really care about. Finally, why are you even thinking about asking someone out while you’re here? Everyone is just going to go back to school after this . . . different schools. Shouldn’t the focus be to ride?”

  There is a part of me that immediately wants to take it all back, but his stupid accusations of possessiveness and basically not being open-minded toward Lydia have set me off. I can’t believe that Austen, of all people—the Austen that I grew up with, who I always thought was smart and had good instincts, would actually be interested in Lydia Gallagher. Then again, I am reminded that Tristan was her boyfriend for months. Guys are so stupid. And so easily played!

  Austen turns and starts walking back and, as he does, he says, “Thank you, Vivvie. I got my answers.”

  I watch him walk away and there is a pit in my stomach. I just wish so badly that Lydia would go away. Go find another girl’s life to make miserable. Leave my boyfriend alone and let him be, no matter what she knows about his family. I just know she is up to no good, and now she has her hooks in my friend. I definitely wish she would climb under a rock and stay there forever. Since that isn’t going to happen, I am realizing that the time to confront my enemy is growing increasingly closer.

  CHAPTER forty-three

  I push the conversation I had with Austen out of my head as best as I can, and walk back to the barn to start tacking up. Today is going to be super busy, as we are to just get our horses out on our own and do some flat work with them in order to get them acclimated to the change from being away from home.

  As I reach the barn, I see Tristan standing at the end of the aisle with a halter in hand. He looks like he’s waiting for me. “Where were you?” he asks.

  “On a walk.”

  “With Austen?”

  Something tells me that lying this time would not be in my best interest. “Yes. I did take a walk with him. He was asking me about Lydia.”

  “That’s it?”

  I nodded. “Yes.” So, a partial lie is told.

  “Why?”

  “He’s interested in her, is all, and he wanted to know if she’s a good girl.”

  “Why is he asking you?”

  “I don’t know,” I snap. “I guess because we are friends.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “Oh my God. What is this? Am I on the stand here? I told him that she was fine. I don’t care if he goes out with her. It’s not my business.”

  He nods. “I would have thought, though, that if he’s such a good friend that you might let him know what she’s really like.”

  I walk into the barn and grab Harmony’s halter off the rung. “It’s not my business. The last person I am going to care about or think about while I am here is Lydia Gallagher.”

  “Do you care about me?”

  I stop and face him. “Insecurity is not nice on you. Don’t ask me such a stupid question. I think Sebastian is waiting for you.”

  He turns and heads down the barn aisle and I stand ther
e feeling exhausted, as if someone has stuck a big sharp pin into my happy, excited little bubble.

  I walk into Harmony’s stall and wrap my arms around her neck. A flood of love comes over me. This horse knows me. I start to back away from her when I get something from her. She wants to tell me something. She shows me Joel standing outside her stall, and next to him in the image is Chris Haverly. And, for the first time ever while communicating with Harmony, I can actually hear the conversation the two are having. “I am warning you, Parker. If you say a word, you’re dead.”

  Then, I see Joel’s face more clearly, and he has that fear in his eyes that I have seen a few times since he came to Fairmont. It’s intense.

  The image that Harmony shows me fades, and I am totally baffled and at the same time elated in a strange way over the fact that Harmony was able to share with me an actual conversation happening between two people. And, this was no ordinary conversation.

  I sigh as I hook the halter onto my horse and realize that the week’s focus may not be just on winning. I am getting the big picture that I have a friend in trouble and that he needs my help.

  CHAPTER forty-four

  I need a favor, V.” Joel is mixing Melody’s bucket for the evening feeding. My surprise as to who this guy is always kind of amazes me. I had always pegged him as one of those rich kids who allow the grooms to do everything for his horse, but Joel loves his mare like I love mine and he seems to enjoy taking care of her himself.

  “Sure,” I say. “What?”

  “I need you to go to dinner with me tonight.”

  I look up from Harmony’s bucket after dumping in some ground flaxseed. “Okay, but I had planned on going to the social. What’s the deal?”

  “We can make the social. I promise. The deal is that my future stepmonster and crew have arrived and they want to have dinner.”

  “You couldn’t have just said forget it? I mean, it isn’t like they don’t know there is tension between all of you,” I reply.

  “True.” He sighs. “But it’s complicated. Tiffany apparently wants to make amends and meet some of my friends. My dad is insisting that I go. You know how family is.”

  “I do. But, your dad is a jerk and he left your mom. You don’t owe these people anything.”

  “Actually, I do.” He nods his head toward Melody. “If my dad wasn’t footing the bill for her, then sure, I guess that I could walk away. But I can’t. This is all I have. My horse. School. You. My other friends. So, I have to go tonight and I have to play nice. But, I need some backup. You in?”

  “Sure. I’m in, but I really do want to make it back for the social, and we have to get to bed early. Tomorrow is the beginning,” I reply, referring to the jog-out.

  “No worries. It’ll go down that way.”

  “Okay.” I finish fixing Harmony’s bucket and bed her stall. Joel finishes up. I check my watch. The vans will be here in fifteen and I don’t know where Riley and Tristan are. As I walk over to where we are supposed to be picked up, I see Riley up ahead and I walk over to him. “Hey, where have you been?”

  “I went over to talk to Christian about Santos. He just felt a little off today, and I wanted Christian to check him out. I don’t want him to get spun at the jog.”

  Riley is referring to when we do our jog-out in front of the judges and vet tomorrow. If the horse is lame at all, it won’t be permitted into the competition. No one ever wants to get spun at the jog-out. “That doesn’t sound good. But I didn’t see you come back to the barn. Did you guys get him out? What did he say?” I ask, concerned for Riley and Santos.

  He shakes his head. “I don’t know what to do, Vivvie.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m worried about my horse, but there’s also something else. I saw Christian and Kayla Fairmont kissing—like really going for it. It was not a you’re my friend kiss on the cheek.”

  I remain silent.

  “Vivienne? What should I do?”

  “Nothing. There is nothing we can do,” I reply.

  “Are you kidding me? She’s married to Holden. That guy has to know.”

  I sigh. “Look, I have suspected something between Christian and Kayla for a long time, but I had no real proof.”

  “You suspected the two of them?”

  “Yes. I saw them hug fall semester in a way that looked like they were way more than friends, and Tristan and I saw them down on the beach one evening having this intense conversation.”

  “You didn’t tell me?”

  “I keep secrets.”

  “Yes, I guess you do.” He looks away from me.

  “Let’s be real, Ri. What can we do about this? I think it’s wrong, too, but it isn’t our business.”

  “But they coach us, and Holden is such a great guy.”

  “I know, but come on, think what would happen if this all came out. If Kayla and Christian are having an affair, then things might really change at Fairmont. In fact, Fairmont might cease to exist. I don’t want to risk that.”

  “I see your point, but it’s still wrong.”

  “Yeah, it is, and I really don’t know the right thing to do, either.”

  As we make it to the van with this heavy dilemma weighing us both down now, I see Austen up ahead with Lydia—hand in hand, and all giggles. Nothing like taking things slow.

  CHAPTER forty-five

  The restaurant that Joel and I meet his soon-to-be stepfamily at is delicious, but as the clock ticks on, I am beginning to worry that we won’t make the social. The whole scene is really awkward and I want to leave—badly.

  So here’s the deal. Tiffany is the scandal-tainted jumper trainer who worked with Joel and who had also broken up his parents’ marriage by running off with Joel’s father. Her daughter is named Paisley, a name that fits her perfectly. She is oddly quiet and feminine in a lithe, almost ballerina, way. Paisley doesn’t say much at all. Her boyfriend, James, is at dinner, too, and he puts off a weird vibe.

  I am pretty sure that Joel’s stepmom is paying for the dinner. I hope someone is paying because I looked at the prices and my eyes about popped out of my head.

  Joel, meanwhile, is acting like the arrogant kid he seemed to be when I first met him. He’s also using words such as splendid again, which totally annoys the hell out of me. Tiffany is having her share of wine, and before the main course is ever set in front of us she’s slurring her words.

  “Your father and I have been thinking that Melody is such a special horse. Look how far you’ve taken her.” I watch her with curiosity, as she seems very close to drunkenly knocking over her full glass of water.

  “She truly is, Joel,” James says, in his seriously affected voice. I wonder why Paisley wants him as a boyfriend. “I remember her at Liberty, and frankly, I was shocked that your father would have purchased her for you, and then allowed you to make an event horse out of her.” James takes a sip of the tea he’s ordered.

  “Thank you, I think, Tiffany. I’m not even going to respond to you, James, other than to say that Melody is all heart and a perfect event horse,” Joel replies. “We’ve worked hard.”

  “Yes. However, we are questioning whether or not her true forte is being an event horse,” Tiffany slurs. “James does have a point. She is a fine animal.”

  “Excuse me?” Joel says. “What’s going on here? And, who is this ass”—he points to James—“to even have a say in anything?”

  I shift uncomfortably in my seat and focus for a few seconds on the crystal chandeliers in the room and my breathing. I really don’t like where any of this is going.

  “Yes and, well, she is a fantastic jumper,” Tiffany says, ignoring Joel’s question. “But cross-country is so . . . hmmm . . . hard-core. We think that Paisley should have Melody, and we will find you a suitable horse for your sport.”

  Joel is staring at
her. “What? No. No way! Melody is my horse, and there is no way that I am letting her have my horse!” He points at Paisley, who looks down at her plate. “This is why you came here? You didn’t come here to cheer us on like my dad said. I knew it. He didn’t even have the guts to come down here himself, so he sends you to tell me that you’re taking Melody away! You are not taking her. There is no way. I’ll die before that happens!”

  “I don’t think that’s for you to decide,” she slurs. “We pay for Melody. It’s our say.”

  “You’re a drunk, a home wrecker, and a gold digger!”

  I want to help Joel calm down, but I understand why he’s losing it. They are threatening to take his horse from him. On the other hand, he is kind of off the Richter scale with that comment. I reach out to touch his arm, but he pulls it away and continues, “You don’t pay for Melody. My father does. You won’t be taking my horse home. My parents are still legally married, and I will be calling my mother. She owns half of Melody, and I am sure she will side with me on this. If you want to try and do this, I will do everything that I can to make sure my parents’ divorce stays in the courts for as long as possible, until every last dime of my father’s is spent.”

  “Calm down, Joel. Don’t speak to Tiffany like that, and I suggest you never insult Paisley again. I think you need to be reasonable here,” James says.

  “Shut up. You’re a douche bag and everyone knows it, and there is a lot I know about you, if you remember correctly. I’d get off my high horse and go back to the rock I crawled out from under, dude.”

  James stands up. “You’ll regret speaking to me that way.”

  “I’m scared, man. Really scared.”

  As I watch this spectacle go down, I’m feeling kind of impressed. Wow—it’s a seriously smart move on Joel’s part to bring his mom and the divorce in on this. He does have some lawyer in him. But there are strange aspects of it, too. What is Joel talking about with this James kid?

  Tiffany cackles. “Good luck with that, son. Your threats are so not scary. I am not troubled in the least.”