“I have nothing to wear,” I cried.
“You only just figured that out now?” she said.
“It’s not funny. Cat went to the mall and she has all these slutty bikinis and I don’t want to wear anything like that but all I have is one old granny bathing suit.”
“I should have known,” Mickey said.
“But what am I going to do?”
“Well lucky for you, we’re about the same size and I have lots of cute things so I’ll just pack some extra for you.”
“Really?” I said. “Thank you.”
“Don’t sweat it,” she said.
“Oh,” I added. “Don’t pack anything too pink or glittery or girly though.”
But Mickey just laughed.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
That night I lay in bed watching The Black Stallion. How cool would it be to gallop through the surf bareback with no bridle or anything? Sitting in complete balance as my pony ran his heart out. It was the stuff of dreams. Stuff that I knew I shouldn’t even be thinking about because if Esther found out I did anything like that, she’d kill me.
Downstairs Derek was giving Cat the low down on his business proposal. He’d even printed out investment packets. I could hear him explaining how she was supposed to tell them all about his expansion idea and how his taxi service would cater to upmarket clients. I thought it was ridiculous. Really rich people had their own drivers and limos and they certainly wouldn’t ever be caught dead in a car that had the smiling face of my stepfather plastered to the side of it. Besides, I knew that there wouldn’t really be anyone there who would be interested and if there was, there was no way Cat was going to talk to them anyway. The first place those proposal packets were going was into the trash. I just couldn’t help hoping that if Cat came back with no investors then maybe she would be grounded again.
Esther said that she would trailer me over after lunch because the party didn’t start until four but I wanted to make sure Bluebird was going to settle in okay. I got to the barn early so that I could make sure he was looking extra handsome, which was just as well because I found him standing under his favorite tree, covered in sand.
“What happened to you?” I grabbed his halter with a sigh.
He rubbed his dirty face on my shirt and left a black smear.
“You can do that all you like,” I told him. “But only to this shirt. Mickey is bringing me nice clothes to wear and if you mess them up, she’ll kill me so you’d better be careful. Okay?”
I gave him a bath and washed all the sand off. Then I made him stand in an empty stall to dry so that he didn’t roll and mess himself up again. I was standing in the tack room, wondering what to put in the trailer when Esther stuck her head in.
“You need any help?” she asked.
“I don’t think so,” I said, wondering why she was suddenly being so nice. “I’m just trying to decide if I even want to take my saddle or not. I don’t want it to get ruined in the ocean.”
I ran my fingers over the butter soft leather. The saddle was the most expensive thing I owned and I was only lucky enough to have it thanks to the raffle at Taylor’s Tack Emporium and a helping hand from Mickey. I wasn’t exactly too keen on getting it water logged and going to the next show with salt water stains all over it.
“Why don’t you take one of the synthetics?” She pointed to the black saddles that she used in the lesson program. “That way it doesn’t really matter if it gets wet.”
“They don’t really fit him,” I said.
“Well it’s not like you’re going to be jumping or anything.” She took one off the rack. “Besides, you can use some extra pads. I’m sure it will be fine.”
“Okay.”
I took one longing look at my gleaming saddle and then took the synthetic from her. I wasn’t going to impress too many people with a synthetic saddle but I’d rather do that with my riding anyway. Besides, I was kind of hoping that we’d just gallop around bareback.
Esther helped me load up my stuff, including hay and grain for Bluebird’s overnight stay. She used her bandana to wipe the sweat off her forehead after she threw in a bale of hay.
“Are you sure you really want to do this?” she said, trying to dissuade me again.
“Why can’t you just trust me?” I said.
I knew she was worried about us but it was like I wasn’t allowed to do anything and it wasn’t fair. I was the responsible one. The one who got up at the crack of dawn to help out at the barn so that my pony’s board was taken care of. The one who did extra chores so that my pony could get a ride in the trailer to the shows. And I was the one who was trying to make it on a shoe string budget and counted money down to the dollars and cents while people like Cat were blowing all their allowance on clothes at the mall. I was sick of being responsible. I wanted to have some fun and I wasn’t going to let Esther, Cat or anyone else stand in my way.
But Esther just looked at me sadly. Maybe she knew more than I did about peer pressure and bullying and the sort of things that could go wrong when a bunch of kids got together and tried to outdo one another. Or maybe she was just an old stick in the mud who’d forgotten what it was like to have a good time.
“Do you want me to ride Saffron before we go?” I asked, feeling a little guilty.
“No,” she said. “I think I’m going to ride her later.”
“Really?” I said, feeling a little jealous.
Saffron was my project. She’d forced her on me and now that I was starting to get somewhere with the mare, she was going to take her away from me too?
“Get the rest of your stuff,” she said. “We’ll leave in an hour.”
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Mickey arrived with armfuls of bags just as I was putting Bluebird’s shipping boots on. We weren’t going far but the last thing I needed was for him to step on himself in the trailer.
“I’ve brought you clothes and just in time by the look of it.” She took in my dirty shirt and shorts disapprovingly.
“I told you I didn’t have anything to wear,” I said.
Mickey gave me one of the bags and I took it into the office to change.
“They’d better not be anything pink in here,” I told her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She grinned. “Besides, it’s my clothes or those clothes.” She pointed at me.
“Point taken.” I sighed.
But one look inside the bag and I knew that I wasn’t going to look anything like myself.
“I can’t wear these,” I cried. “They’re not even shorts. They look like underwear.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “Give me that.”
She snatched away the tiny pair of shorts I was holding up with dismay.
“Don’t you want to look cute for Will?”
“No,” I said as she rummaged through the bag and handed me different outfits. “He’s already seen me, remember? And he didn’t seem to care how I looked then.”
“Trust me, he’ll care when all his friends are around.”
“But I don’t care.” I slumped down on the couch. “I only want to go so that I can ride Bluebird on the beach and keep Cat away from all the horse people and make sure that she gives up this stupid idea about riding.”
“Then that’s what you’ll do.” Mickey threw some slightly longer shorts at me. “But there is no reason why you can’t look cute doing it.”
“Fine.”
It wasn’t exactly like I had a choice anyway. I changed into the least revealing outfit that Mickey had brought but it still felt too small and tight. I was tugging at the bottom of the shorts, trying to make them longer when Esther yelled at us to hurry up.
“Coming,” I grumbled.
Esther didn’t say anything. Not even about the purple halter top with the large heart on it that I was now wearing. I was kind of grateful that she kept her comments about my outfit to herself.
“Come on boy,” I told Bluebird as I pulled him out
of his stall. “This isn’t a show. It’s just a fun outing on the beach. It will be great, just you wait and see.”
Bluebird seemed to think that he’d rather just stay in his stall and eat hay but I pulled him away from it anyway.
“You’re such a pig,” I told him as I led him outside and loaded him in the trailer.
Mickey and I sat in the back of the truck. She rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a tube of gel that she started slathering onto my hair. It smelt like apples.
“It won’t help,” I said. “It’s a bird’s nest no matter what I do. Plus all the horses are going to try and eat my head now.”
“You’re right.” She threw the gel back in her bag. “I give up.”
I watched the beach and tourists flash past the window and wondered why there were bees buzzing around in my stomach. Part of me was sure that it was because I was worried that Bluebird might freak out on the beach and run away. But the other part was that I was making a huge mistake by going at all and that Esther was right.
“If we need to leave early, would you come and get us?” I leant forward in my seat to ask Esther.
“Why would we need to leave early?” Mickey said.
“I’m just saying,” I said.
“I have an appointment this evening,” Esther said. “But yes, I suppose if you really need to leave, I could come and get you.”
“Thanks.” I sat back, feeling relieved.
“An appointment?” Mickey whispered. “Who has appointments in the evening?”
“I don’t know?” I shrugged.
She leant in closer, pretending to mess with my hair again so that Esther couldn’t hear her. “I bet it’s not an appointment. I bet it’s a date.”
“A date?” I said.
“Yes, a date. You know, what two people go on when they like each other.” Mickey rolled her eyes.
“I know what a date is,” I whispered back angrily.
“Not everyone is as obsessed with horses as you are. Some people actually have a life.”
“Hey.” I punched her in the arm.
“Maybe you’ll even have a life outside horses too, if Will thinks you look hot. Which, I don’t know why he wouldn’t because after all, you are wearing an awesome outfit.”
She sat back with a grin, looking perfectly confident that I was going to catch the eye of the rich, surfer boy and that he was going to whisk me away to the movies or out for ice-cream or whatever it was that people did on dates.
Only I didn’t want that. I didn’t need a life outside of horses. What I needed was for people like Mickey and Cat to stop messing with the one that I had. I was perfectly happy with my life, thank you very much and I didn’t need people trying to tell me what I should want or need or do. I was just about to ask Esther to turn around. To tell her that I had made a horrible mistake and that I wanted to go back to Sand Hill and forget all about the beach ride when we pulled up at the big black gates.
“We’re here,” Mickey cried happily.
And I knew it was too late to turn back now.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Bluebird stepped off the trailer, looked around and seemed relieved that he wasn’t at a show. He nibbled the grass around the barn but I pulled his head up after a few bites. It didn’t seem like the kind of grass horses were allowed to eat. It seemed more like the kind of grass that was fertilized and had sprinklers to make sure it grew nice and lush. Basically the kind that you were supposed to look at but not touch.
“Where is everyone?” Mickey said.
“I don’t know. Do you think I should just put Bluebird in a stall?” I said.
“I guess but what if you put him in the wrong one?”
“Then I’ll be in trouble, won’t I?” I said. “But I don’t really have a choice. I can’t exactly stand here holding him all afternoon.”
I put Bluebird into the stall next to Blue who was sleeping.”
“That’s so cute,” Mickey said. “Blue and Bluebird. See, you guys are made for each other.”
“Very funny,” I said.
I was pulling off Bluebird’s boots when Esther came to say goodbye.
“I don’t know where you want your stuff but I put it by the tack room.”
“Thanks,” I said.
She looked around and let out a low whistle. “Nice digs. A barn like this right next to the beach? I didn’t even know it was here.”
“Well I don’t think it’s used much,” I said. “Apparently the girl, Sasha, has a bunch of horses but they are all up north. She only has one here and then there is Blue, Will’s horse.”
“A senior citizen,” she said.
He came to the front of his stall and Esther stroked his face where the white hairs were coming in.
“And a Quarter horse,” I added. “Not some fancy European breed.”
“Alright.” She shook her head. “You girls behave. I don’t want any stories getting back to me about how my students were galloping down the beach Black Stallion style, completely out of control. Got it?”
We both nodded as she left us standing there.
“How does she expect me to gallop off into the sunset?” Mickey said. “I don’t even have a horse.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe she just thinks you’re a trouble maker.”
“Hey,” she said.
“Come on. Help me put this stuff in the tack room.”
We put my stuff in a corner of the room. It looked all shabby next to the gleaming bits and bridles.
“I knew I should have brought my own saddle.” I sighed, looking at the wall full of butter soft leather and Italian craftsmanship.
“Why didn’t you?” Mickey said, running her hands over a crystal browband.
“Because I didn’t want it getting wrecked in the ocean, that’s why.”
“Probably would have been worth it though,” Mickey said. “I’ve tried my best to make sure you look presentable and you don’t even bring a good saddle?”
“That saddle is for shows and doing real riding things, not for playing in the sand.”
“If you say so.” Mickey sighed and I knew she was disappointed in me. She would have brought the expensive saddle and not thought twice about it.
“I can’t wait to ride on the beach,” I said as we came out of the tack room and ran right into Will.
I shrieked and Mickey bumped into me, causing Will to step on my foot.
“Are you okay?” he cried. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m fine,” I said, feeling my face go red. “I’m such a klutz. It was totally my fault.”
“No, it was mine,” he said.
He had on khaki shorts and a shirt with some kind of video game character on it. He looked like maybe he was trying too hard to be cool, just like I was in my borrowed clothes.
“So this is your pony?” He walked over to the stall that I’d put Bluebird in.
“Yes, I didn’t know where to put him. I hope that’s okay?”
“It’s fine. I’m sure old Blue will be glad of the company. He gets kind of lonely sometimes.”
Mickey fluffed her hair out as she leant on the stall next to us. I knew she was trying to impress Will, even though she’d said that he liked me and as I stood there looking at my pony, I didn’t really care. The only thing I cared about was making sure Bluebird and I survived this beach party with our dignity and reputations intact.
“So where is everyone else?” Mickey asked.
“Oh, they’re coming later. I wanted to make sure you got here first.”
Mickey nudged me behind his back. I tried to ignore her. I wasn’t here to go on a date. I was here to ride my pony on the beach.
“So, you want to take them out?” he said.
“Now?” I looked at the stupid shorts that Mickey had dressed me in and the purple top with the heart on it. “But I’m not dressed to ride.”
“What’s wrong with what you have on?” he said. “We’re only going to be bareback anyway
. Come on, grab your bridle.”
I looked helplessly at Mickey. When I said I wanted to ride on the beach, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I’d rather thought we’d at least have saddles. What if Bluebird freaked out on me?
Mickey made faces behind Will’s back that said she thought I was an idiot as he grabbed a western bridle from the tack room.
I pulled my helmet out of my bag. I didn’t care if I looked stupid. There was no way I was getting my head bashed in for a boy.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
While I was concerned with the safety of my skull, Will didn’t seem to be worried about his. He slipped the bridle on Blue, pulled him out of the stall and leapt onto his back before they were even out of the barn. Esther would have had a heart attack if we ever mounted our horses in the barn. I looked at Mickey, feeling kind of horrified but she just had this look of adoration on her face like Will was some hot cowboy or something. I knew she would think I was being a baby if I said anything so I just put Bluebird’s bridle on and pulled him out into the sunshine, slapped my helmet on my head resolutely and hopped up onto his back.
We followed Blue and Will past their pool, where I wondered what would happen if one of the horses fell in, and then through the manicured garden where I worried about the hoof prints we were leaving in the flowerbeds.
I could already see the ocean when Bluebird pricked his ears and as we got to the top of the sandy incline he froze, taking in the wide expanse of bright blue water with wide eyes and a low snort.
“It’s okay boy.” I patted his neck. “It’s just like the pond in your field, only bigger and more salty.”
His ears swiveled back and forth as he listened to me. I tried to force myself to relax and not imagine him doing a one eighty and high tailing it back to the barn, dumping me off in the azaleas as he went but it was hard not to think of all the bad things that could happen.
Beach Ride (Show Jumping Dreams ~ Book 9) Page 7
