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

by Michele Scott

  I also get from the tack room an infrared machine designed for healing and recovery. I run the wand connected to the machine over her neck and back. She is standing there so kindly with her eyes half closed. She’s exhausted, and I probably am, too, but it hasn’t caught up with me yet.

  I sit down in one of the folding chairs outside the tack room after treating her, and wait for her icing to be finished so that I can poultice and wrap her. Today was tough, and I want her as ready and recovered as possible for tomorrow’s stadium round.

  I close my eyes and finally breathe a sigh of relief that we made it through the cross-country phase. I am startled out of my reverie by someone saying my name. “Vivienne, isn’t it?”

  I open my eyes to see Chris Haverly standing over me. “Yes. Hello.”

  “Nice ride. Looks like you just sealed your fate in joining us at Liberty Farms this summer. That is, unless you bomb tomorrow.”

  “Thanks. You ride at Liberty Farms?”

  “I do. I ride jumpers. Used to ride with your friend Joel all the time,” he replies.

  “Joel is your friend, too, right?”

  “You know how friendships are. One day you’re the best of . . . The next day . . . well, things change. Don’t get me wrong. Joel is a great guy, but since he’s moved out west, we’ve fallen out of contact, really.”

  The timer goes off on the ice machine and I stand up. “That’s too bad.”

  “It is what it is.”

  “Right.” This guy is so unnerving, and I have no idea why he is even here talking to me.

  “Shouldn’t you be out watching the rest of your team go?” he asks.

  “I wanted to take care of my horse.”

  “Commendable. Very. Your teammate—Emily, I think her name is—should be finished soon, I think.”

  “I think you’re right. I hope she does well.”

  I frown slightly. Why does he even know Emily?

  “Okay,” he says. “Well, I might try and catch her. I have something for her. Again, great ride. Have a nice day.”

  “You, too.” I watch him walk away and get a bad feeling. My team members can be off, too, but not like that guy. He’s just plain-out weird. And that instinct I have about him gets even stronger as I glance down the barn aisle while carrying the portable ice machine and look into the tack room to see that Chris Haverly is walking with Joel’s future stepmonster, Tiffany. Paisley’s weird boyfriend, James, from the dinner the other night, is with them. I have to wonder why Chris Haverly really came in here to talk to me, and I have to wonder what he wants with Emily.

  CHAPTER fifty-three

  How happy are you right now?” Tristan asks as I lean into him.

  “Pretty happy.”

  “Pretty happy?”

  “Of course I am happy.” I laugh. “I’m sorry you guys had a stop out there today.”

  “Happens. We didn’t come in last and there is always next year. We always have a good stadium round, so who knows,” he says referring to the last event, which is show jumping. “Wish we could have done better for the team, though. But, I am really happy for you . . . and Joel. I’m surprised that Joel is right there with you, but after what you told me that his dad said, well, it’s a good thing. Promise me, though, that you will compete to win. Don’t throw this because of Joel.”

  We are at the coffee hut on the grounds at the horse park. Today is the third and final day of competition. Joel and I are nearly tied in the standings. I am barely in first place. One rail, one tiny mistake, could knock me out of position. Tristan and Sebastian had a stop out on cross-country yesterday, and the resulting time faults pushed them down to twentieth. Lydia actually had a great go and is now in tenth, and believe it or not, Emily, who is clearly avoiding everyone, is in sixth. Looks like she came to try and win, too. I hope it is for herself, though, and not for her mother.

  I am troubled this morning that if I win, Joel will lose his horse. All I have ever wanted is to win a competition at this level, so yes, I am torn about how to feel. Completely torn. I look away from Tristan, because I don’t know what I’ll do when it comes down to it.

  “Vivvie, promise me you will go out into that stadium arena to win this,” Tristan says, repeating himself.

  “I will.”

  “Good.” He takes our coffees off the counter and hands me mine. “We’d better get back to the barns. Christian wants us to meet him there to go over and walk the course.”

  “We’d better.” As we walk back to the barns, I blurt out, “I was also thinking that tonight we could sneak out after the party, and . . .”

  He stops again and looks deep into my eyes. “And?”

  I nod.

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe we, well, you, should think about this a little longer,” he replies.

  “I have thought about it, and it’s what I want,” I say. And, I really have been thinking about it, even though I keep swearing to myself that I am not going to. I know I’m supposed to be thinking about nothing but my goals, but I’m finding it impossible. I’m starting to think I am going a little nutty because I realize that I am becoming a big set of walking contradictions, but the facts are that I think about Tristan a lot of the time. And, he did tell me that he loves me, and he did promise to tell me what is going on in his life—so yes, I’ve thought about it. And I think I’m ready.

  “Let’s get through the day first, and take it one step at a time.”

  “You want to, don’t you?” I ask. “I mean, you do want to be with me, right?”

  “Of course I do. There’s nothing more that I want. I just want you to be sure, and I know what today means for you. I think we should get through it and go from there.” He kisses my lips and then says, “Trust me, there is nothing more that I want than you.”

  We make it to the barns and I spot Joel. He looks like he’s been in tears for some reason, and I tell Tristan that I am going to take a minute and talk to him.

  “You okay?” I ask.

  “Sure. Nerves, but I’m fine,” Joel replies.

  “Have you been crying?”

  “No, Vivienne. Stop being such a worrywart. It doesn’t do anyone any good. Go out there today to win it, too. I’ll know if you don’t.”

  I look past the barn row and see Chris Haverly turning the corner, walking away from the barns. I wonder if he’s just been down here talking to Joel. Every time that guy is around, Joel seems to be really upset. And, I think that Riley has some idea why Chris Haverly upsets Joel. But there I go again, thinking too much and too hard about other people’s problems and troubles when I should be clearing my head for the day’s events.

  I pat Joel on the shoulder but feel like there is nothing for me to say. Joel has kind of made it clear that he wants some space from me, so I am going to let him have it. I don’t say much else to anyone on the team as we meet Christian at the Rolex Stadium and walk the course with him.

  Like yesterday, the time goes by rather quickly, and before long I am putting on my jacket, helmet, and gloves. I haven’t see Kayla anywhere yet today and I wonder why. Christian comes by and gives me a leg up. “Rider up,” he says. “I am proud of you, Vivienne. Why don’t you head to the warm-up and let’s get this done.”

  I do as I’m told. As we leave the barn, I see Austen talking with Lydia and it looks tense and somewhat heated. Ignore! Ignore! Ignore! I forcefully remind myself that this is no time for others’ issues. Even if they feel like they involve me.

  Standing in first place, I am last in the order of go. All the pressure is on me as I get to the ring. There are now only eight in my division left to jump the stadium round. The rails have been coming down all over the place on this very tough Richard Jeffries–designed course. I watched a few go and it hasn’t helped to quell my nerves much. Christian told me, though, no
t to spend too much time watching the last-place riders. They weren’t on their game the day before and that is why they are sitting in the lowest places.

  When we walked the course, I was a bit intimidated. I felt so small down in that big ring looking up at the huge covered stadium. The footing is perfect, the same felt-and-fiber blend that had been put down for the World Equestrian Games. Here I was; I would be jumping on the same ground as my heroes Will Simpson, Beezie Madden, Mary King, and Gina Miles.

  Painted in rich, beautiful colors, the jumps are the same ones used for the Rolex event, and each one is designed after a famous Kentucky farm. The course is in signature Jeffries style—very technical with lots of related distances and bending lines.

  On a good day, with a fresh horse, we would have to be on our game to jump a clear round on a course this challenging—let alone on a tired horse that had just galloped three miles yesterday and over thirty-six obstacles!

  Thankfully, Harmony seems to be ready for the challenge. I’m glad I treated her with kid gloves after yesterday, because now she does feel comfortable as she stretches out in the trot. I change her bend back and forth and ride her deep and low. Her canter is loose and rhythmic. I can’t believe how great she feels after that grueling course yesterday. Two more riders leave the warm-up to jump their rounds, and Christian motions for me to jump the cross rail. As I canter my approach, I see it coming up a bit long, but maintain a steady, strong canter. Harmony punches the takeoff, flying into the air in an exuberant leap, and lands, shaking her head. Imagery flashes in my mind—pink, heart, and wings. I pat her on the neck. “You like that, huh? A little proud of yourself right about now?”

  Christian chuckles and motions for me to head to the vertical, giving me the hand signal to bring her in a little deeper this next time. Each jump is better than the next, and after a couple jumps over the oxer at maximum height, Christian signals for me to come over. “Let’s just try to get a rub over a vertical, and then you are ready to head in.”

  The stadium at the horse park is huge. It seats over ten thousand. The arena is large. I hear my name over the loudspeaker: “Vivienne Taylor coming in the ring, standing in first place riding Harmonious Movement.” My nerves set in, but luckily so does my focus. Joel, being in second, has just gone before me and had a clean round. It has been one of only three clear rounds so far today. The time is hard to make, too, and I don’t even have room for one time penalty without losing my placing. Joel just took a very risky inside turn to the triple combination and it paid off. He left all the rails off and shaved off several precious seconds. I weigh my options in my mind. The competition is mine to win or lose. If I take my time and go the long way to get around to the triple, I will surely have time faults. Joel will be guaranteed the win and get to keep his horse. It wouldn’t look like I was trying to throw it. No one could blame me for taking extra time in the turn to set up a clean ride and go through the triple.

  It could totally backfire on me, though. It’s always possible that even with the extra time I might still have a rail down somewhere on the course and then I would drop down several places and be out of the ribbons completely. My emotions are all over the place. It would be so hard to see Joel lose his horse. He loves that horse and would be totally crushed to see his new stepfamily take her away from him. But there is a fire burning deep within me. I have prepared my whole life to be here in this moment. I have dreamed of it and worked every day—and so has my mom. She has sacrificed so much for me to be here, too. My mind races through the last couple of years, and in an instant, my resolve is clear. I owe this to myself. And to Harmony. We are here and we earned it.

  I square my shoulders, take a deep breath, and canter into the ring. I canter right past the liverpool, so that Harmony can get a quick look at the spooky blue water underneath it, and halt in front of the judges’ stand. I can’t see the judges, they are so high up in the tower, but I salute anyway and hear the buzzer almost immediately. I glance over to see the giant times start to count down from forty-five and am a bit startled to see an image of myself and Harmony on the Jumbotron in the corner.

  I shake myself out of it and focus on the task at hand. It is up to me now. I have studied the course, gone over the lines and distances in my mind over and over until I could practically ride the course in my sleep. I have visualized what every stride needs to feel like, and now all I have to do is execute. I use up almost all of my forty-five seconds, weaving among a couple of the scarier obstacles. One of the great things about Harmony is that she is very careful in the stadium, but sometimes her spook causes me to flatten her stride too much and take down a rail behind. The first line is two oxers set on a bending seven strides. Just enough time to panic, but I keep my impulsion up with my leg and keep an even count in my head to force myself to wait it out. She clears the second with so much room to spare that I have a soaring feeling.

  A hard right turn to a four stride of airy verticals on a tight distance. Long gallop now to the big oxer over the liverpool. Harmony peeks down and gives a stutter step, my stomach lurches, but then we are up and over and I can hear the crowd gasp. She lands clear and I immediately start counting the ten strides to get me to the double combination. Oxer in, land, rebalance, one-two, close my leg, up and over the vertical. Land, add leg, keep a steady five to the oxer. We land clear from that, and the crowd applauds in appreciation. Rollback turn and now we have the bending line. It rides in either an outside six or direct five. The short turn might make us lose impulsion and then the six would be the right choice, but Harmony is responding to me with such enthusiasm that I keep coming in the turn and see a forward stride to the first oxer. She jumps it boldly, so I instantly react and decide to go for the five.

  Now I have to decide, Am I going inside or outside to the triple? After the forward line I just rode, going outside would make sense, but before my mind can decide, my body reacts. I am collecting Harmony, increasing my impulsion as I shorten her stride to turn. She whips around inside the cleverly placed arena decoration, and I am delighted to see a perfect distance to the triple. We can’t miss now!

  Keep it together, Viv, I tell myself. Harmony’s rhythmic stride feels like a part of me. We are completely in sync as we cover the final three strides to the triple. Up and over the first, I can feel her flip her back end up easily clearing the vertical, one stride, and she coils and springs over the huge oxer in the middle. I hold my breath while we’re airborne and give a gasp at the landing. One, two, I count it out and we are up and over the vertical on the way out, Harmony straining to push her way out of the deep distance.

  I’m sure it is loud, but the crowd noise seems distant. I am all focus now. One jump left. A bending eight strides to the final vertical. It’s an airy plank sitting on very flat cups. I had seen many riders, excited to be at the last jump, flatten and leave a stride out here, knocking the plank to the ground and taking four faults with it.

  We sail over that last and final jump and my hand immediately goes to her neck, patting her in praise. “Good girl! Good girl!” I say out loud. The applause rings through the stadium. We trot out and I spot Joel. I turn back to look at the time again on the timer, and I see that we beat his time by two seconds. We’ve won!

  My stomach sinks. Kayla comes up beside us. “Great! That was great!”

  “Joel,” I say, looking down at her.

  She smiles up at me. “It’s okay, Vivienne. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to tell you earlier, but I was making a deal with Mr. Parker. I bought Melody for Joel.”

  I jump off Harmony and throw my arms around her. “Thank you! Thank you!” Tears are streaming down my face. “Does he know?”

  “I just told him,” she says.

  Joel walks over to me and hugs me. “I’m happy you came to win. Good going.”

  “You’re not mad at me?” I ask.

  “No. I know what you did. I know what you asked Kayla to do, and all I can
say is that I am truly happy. I don’t ever have to worry again about Melody being taken away from me. Maybe your snooping so much does have a benefit.” He laughs.

  “Maybe it does.”

  CHAPTER fifty-four

  I’ve taken more time getting ready than usual. It’s going to be a big night. This was a big day. It was a huge, wonderful week and I am feeling so, so good!

  The celebration takes place tonight again at the stallion shed. Just like the night when we first arrived, the space looks beautiful filled with flowers and candles, and the food is delicious. Tristan keeps touching my leg. He’s handed me a card and told me to wait to read it when he gets up. I’m anxious to do so.

  Austen is not sitting with Lydia tonight, and in an interesting turn I spot her seated across the way with, of all people, Chris Haverly. He looks animated as he’s talking with the group at his table. Candlelight catches the shining gold of his watch. Hmmm. Maybe Chris Haverly and Lydia would be a perfect couple. They both seem to like expensive things.

  I wish Riley was here, so I could be a catty girl for a minute and point out the obnoxiousness coming from Haverly’s table. He wasn’t feeling well earlier, so he wanted to rest up and try to feel better before flying back. I think he is pretty bummed out about Santos, and we’ve been a little distant since our argument. I feel bad about it and need to make amends with him. In another odd turn of events, I see Joel sitting with Emily and they seem to be talking. That is a good thing.

  As we finish dinner, Emily comes over to me and says, “Can I talk to you?”

  “Sure.” I excuse myself.

  We walk outside of the arena. The night air is crisp. A horse whinnies in the distance. The smell of dew on the grass is fresh and heady.