“So I hear there is going to be a race later,” she said. “You know I’m going to win, right?”
And just like that I was back to dreaming that Bluebird would beat all those fancy horses because even though it shouldn’t have really mattered, it did.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Jess left after a while, probably finally convinced that I wasn't going to do anything bad to her horse. She should have known me better than that. I'd never hold a grudge against Hashtag, after all it wasn’t his fault that he now belonged to Jess.
"Don't worry," I told him after she left. "You probably won't be with her for long. She goes through horses faster than she goes through shoes."
He didn't seem too bothered. I looked him over, hoping to see something that would make me not like him as much but he was perfect. Jess was so lucky. Then I looked back at my own pony and felt bad for even thinking it because I was lucky too.
I went back and sat in Bluebird's stall. I was so tired. There was a fan up in the corner and the breeze was blowing on me as I sat in my secret spot. After a while my eyes started to close and eventually I must have drifted off to sleep. When I woke up there were people in the barn, talking in a low whisper. I was about to stand up and look but there was something about the way they were speaking that told me they wouldn't appreciate having someone eavesdrop on their conversation so I stayed in my little corner and listened.
"She'll never win," the girl said.
"Who cares?" the boy answered.
"I care. I can't have someone beat me at my own game."
"But it's not even a real competition or anything. Why don't you just let it go?"
"I never let things go. You should know better than that."
"Fine. Have it your way but you'd better hope that no one gets seriously hurt or you'll really be in trouble this time."
"There is no trouble that I can't get out of."
I heard them go into the tack room and I couldn't hear what they said after that. I peered over the wall, hoping to get a glimpse of who had been speaking but I had to wait ages for them to come back out. I didn't know what they were doing in there but it was taking forever. Finally they came back towards the door and I saw that it was Sasha and one of Will's friends.
"Are you happy now?" he said.
"I'll be happy when I win. Just like I always do," Sasha said.
After they left I went into the tack room, hoping to see what they had been up to but everything was the same, except for the bad feeling I now had.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
"Where have you been?" Mickey said.
I'd finally gone back to the house and found her lounging by the pool with another one of those stupid drinks.
"At the barn," I said.
"You come to a fancy party and spend the whole time with your pony?" She rolled her eyes. "Typical."
"I just wanted to make sure he was okay," I said. “He's in a strange place and there is all this noise and stuff."
"You just don't know how to have a good time, do you?"
"I know how to have a good time," I grumbled. "It's just my idea of a good time doesn't involve things like that." I pointed as one of the guys did a belly flop into the pool amid cries and cheers.
"You don't know what you're missing," Mickey said.
"Well, let me tell you what you missed," I leant in and whispered.
I told her all about Sasha and the boy and how they'd been talking about making sure that no one else would win. How they'd gone into the tack room and then come out later. I stood in there for ages and even checked my own tack, worried that maybe they'd messed with it in some way but I couldn't see anything. Still, they'd definitely done something.
"Maybe they have the same sort of idea as us," Mickey said. "About how we want to make sure that Cat doesn't like horses anymore."
"That's different," I said.
“I don’t see how,” Mickey said. “Sasha wants to make sure she wins and you want to put Cat off horses for life.”
“It just is different,” I said. “That’s not about winning at all. It’s about something else.”
But the lines between right and wrong were starting to blur. I knew it was wrong to mess with Cat and I felt sick about it but I felt sicker when I thought about all the horrible things she had done to me and how awful it would be if she actually did start to ride. What if she was better than I was? It wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. I had to stop her now, before things got any worse.
I sat in the shade with a drink and a plate of food watching people. It was something I did best. When people didn't think you were watching them they acted differently. It was like you could see their true self shining through. For example, I could see the fake smile that Cat had on her face and the way she’d roll her eyes behind everyone’s back like she thought they were stupid. Jess did the same thing but Amber didn’t. She stood off to the side looking about as unsure as I felt. Her horse, Belle, hadn’t been in the barn. I guessed Sasha wasn’t the only one who wanted to make sure that she didn’t have any competition.
“Having fun?” Will appeared with a smile.
“What do you think?” I said.
“That you’d rather be riding your pony than stuck here with these idiots.”
“That about sums it up.” I gave him a fake smile.
“Well you’ll be glad to know that everyone is about to start getting their horses ready and the real fun is about to begin.”
“Great,” I said, relieved that at least I had getting Bluebird ready to focus on. “By the way, what’s the deal with your sister anyway? Why does she want to win this stupid thing so badly?”
He looked around, his eyes falling on Sasha, who was telling a joke to the posse of girls who never seemed to leave her side. I thought for a moment that he wasn’t going to tell me.
“She has to win because she always does,” he finally said. “Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do and sometimes those things make you a different person, you know? She wasn’t always like that. She used to be nice.”
I thought about how I’d changed since Cat came to live with us. I didn’t like the person I was when I was around her and I didn’t like the fact that I was doing things that I’d have never even dreamt of before. Pressing someone’s buttons so that they’d ride and get hurt? I never would have imagined doing that in a million years before Cat came along and I knew I couldn’t do it now. I wasn’t that person. I couldn’t just stand by and let her get hurt. I had to make sure she didn’t ride.
“I have to find Mickey,” I said to Will. “Have you seen her?”
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
Down at the barn there was a flurry of activity as people got their mounts ready. An air of unease hung over the stalls, like the horses knew that something out of the ordinary was going to happen. The air was thick and muggy but I could already hear thunder over the crash of the waves. I hoped the storm held off until we were done.
The boys had gone down to the beach to set up markers for the race. They stretched out at intervals with orange ribbon fluttering from them in the sea breeze. I looked everywhere for Mickey and Cat but I couldn’t find them anywhere. How was I supposed to stop Cat from riding if I couldn’t find her before the race? I was in Bluebird’s stall, half-heartedly getting him ready when Sasha and her gang walked by.
"Isn't he just the cutest thing?" she said. "I used to have one just like that when I was five."
The girls all started to giggle. I felt sick that they were laughing at us and tears welled up in the back of my eyes but I blinked them away. We’d show them how good we were. This would be the year that Sasha didn’t win her race. I put the saddle on and tightened the girth with a renewed sense of purpose.
I took Bluebird down to the beach ahead of everyone else. He snorted a couple of times and spooked at a sand dune but then he settled down. I let him stretch his neck and walk around on a loose rein. I shouldn’t have galloped him earlier. What if he was ti
red already? But I knew he was much fitter than a lot of the other horses in the barn. I’d still been galloping him in the fields since the hunter pace and his muscles were taut and firm. He looked like a miniature racehorse, all coiled up like a spring.
The spectators were piling onto the beach with their plastic cups and towels to sit on. Mickey came over with a grin.
“It worked,” she said. “Cat talked one of the girls out of her horse. I don’t know how she did it but she’s going to ride.”
I looked up to see a girl leading a pretty gray and Cat walking alongside her.
“This was a mistake.” I shook my head. “What if she falls off and gets hurt?”
“Who cares?” Mickey said. “I thought you wanted her humiliated in front of everyone?”
“I did,” I said. “But I was wrong.”
“Where are you going?” Mickey called out after me as I got off Bluebird and walked over to the girl and the horse.
“Don’t let Cat ride,” I said. “I know her. She doesn’t know how. She’ll hurt your horse.”
The girl with the gray was one of the girls who’d laughed at me and Bluebird earlier. She didn’t look like she believed me.
“Ignore her,” Cat snapped. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“Please,” I told the girl. “If your horse means anything to you, don’t let Cat ride it.”
“I’ll do whatever I want with my horse,” she said and then turned her back on me.
“Cat,” I begged. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Neither do you,” she said.
I tried to grab her arm, force her to listen to reason but she just shook me off and walked away. I watched them go with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, even though I knew it wasn’t really my fault. Cat would have wanted to ride no matter what we said. She was out to prove that she belonged just like Bluebird and I were but if anything bad happened to her, I knew that I would be the one who got the blame.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
The horses fought and churned against their reins. The wind whipped sand up all around us and it blew into my eyes. Bluebird shook his head and I knew that he didn’t like it either. The horse next to us bashed into my leg, our stirrups chinking together. A bay horse down the line reared up, its steel hooves flashing against the gray storm clouds.
Will was sitting bareback on Blue. He wasn’t competing, instead he was the referee. There was a whistle around his neck. I knew that when he blew it, the horses would take off and Cat would be toast. She was sitting on the gray with the reins looped awkwardly in her hands and a determined look on her face. The horse seemed pretty quiet but I knew that she wouldn’t stand a chance. The only consolation was that the wet sand would provide a relatively soft landing.
Mickey stood on the sidelines. When I caught her eye, she grinned but I didn’t smile back. Instead I thought about quitting. Going back to the barn and giving up but Will picked up the whistle and held it to his mouth. Then he blew it and without a second thought I closed my legs around Bluebird’s sides and he surged forward.
The horses burst away from the starting line, their hooves pounding against the sand. There were girls to my left and right, their faces set and determined as we all galloped on. I tried to find a spot where I could pull Bluebird to the side but we were wedged in the middle. It wasn’t a good place to be. One of the horses had galloped ahead and sand flew up into our faces. It looked like Jess and Hashtag but I couldn’t be sure. Somewhere to the left was a gray horse but I didn’t know if Cat was still in the saddle or not. With any luck, she’d fallen off at the starting line and saved herself the long, embarrassing walk back.
We passed the first marker and then the second. Bluebird settled into an easy gallop, keeping pace with the other leaders. There was no need to go to the front just yet. I knew we needed to save our strength for the end. We passed people who were sitting in the sand dunes watching us. Some of them cheered and waved. Bluebird spooked sideways, splashing into the surf as one of them flapped a colorful towel. The water sprayed up around my ankles but out of the pack, it was easier to see where we were going and who the competition was. Jess and Hashtag had fallen back a bit but were still going strong. I couldn’t see the gray anymore. But as we passed flag after flag and came to the turning point, two posts in the sand that we were supposed to circle around, a girl splashed past us. It was Sasha and she was charging into the lead.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Sasha’s horse was a big black with a roman nose. I’d seen him in the barn and though he hardly looked speedy, he was powerful. He was using that power now, digging in his haunches and spraying wet sand up in my face. I looked to the side at the girl who was next to me just in time to see her slide off her horse and fall into the water, her saddle slipping under the horse’s belly. He bucked as the girth pinched him in all the wrong places and then that fell away too. I looked under my arm to see her get up seemingly unscathed.
We rounded the turn, three of us neck and neck. Sasha, Jess and me. Bluebird may have had shorter legs but what he lacked in stride, he made up for in handiness. I got the inside turn and we rounded the flag like a barrel racer and were away while the others were still circling.
“Come on boy.”
I encouraged him with my voice and legs. He didn’t feel tired but I knew that if he showed signs of slowing, I wouldn’t make him run anymore. I wasn’t about to ruin him over a stupid beach race when there were so many other important things we wanted to do.
I heard a splash and a scream and looked behind to see Jess in the water and Hashtag rearing up, his reins broken.
Sasha was beside us, urging her horse on. Bluebird and the black were neck and neck. We passed the flags one by one and now people were coming into view. I could hear them cheering. People were waving and jumping up and down and the finish was up ahead, a line drawn in the sand. We were going to win. I could feel Bluebird straining to get ahead of the other horse. He was flat and low to the ground, his neck stretched out like a racehorse and I was tight on his back. The ocean and its crashing waves, the salty air and the people, they all faded away until there was nothing but my pony beneath me. Two hearts beating as one, we flew like the wind.
I closed my legs around him, willing him to find one last surge of strength, to show everyone that he was the best and as he dug into the sand and stretched his head out, my reins snapped.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
One minute I was holding my pony in my hands and the next minute, he’d gone. The reins had detached from the bit and I was left holding them as they flapped in the breeze. Bluebird backed off the pace, suddenly wondering where my contact had disappeared to. I looked across to see Sasha laughing and knew what she’d done. She’d gone into that tack room and messed with everyone’s equipment so that she would win the race. A stupid race with no prize money that no one even cared about and I wasn’t about to let her get away with it. I grabbed a handful of mane and kicked Bluebird on.
The look on Sasha’s face was priceless. For one moment we were neck and neck and then Bluebird flew past her and we crossed the finish line. People cheered and clapped as we galloped by but Bluebird didn’t stop and I had no way to tell him that the race was over. I sat up in the saddle, letting my legs off and hoping he would know what I wanted. He powered on for a few more strides but his pace started to slow.
“Whoa boy,” I called out to him. “Easy.”
His gallop slowed to a steady canter and then a ragged trot before he finally came to a walk. I jumped off, the broken reins still in my hands, and hugged him tight. Tears were streaming down my face but it wasn’t joy, it was relief that my stupid actions hadn’t hurt him. That riding in the beach race could have resulted in a career ending injury and for what? To prove to some stupid, snobby girls that we were better than they were? I already knew that and I didn’t have to prove it.
“I’ll never do that to you again,” I told him. “I’m so sorr
y boy.”
I tied the reins back to the bit, noticing that the stitching had been cut. Then I checked his legs for injuries. Thankfully, he seemed okay. If he wasn’t, I never would have forgiven myself. I walked him back to the group where Sasha was standing with a bunch of not very happy people around her. After all, I wasn’t the only one she had sabotaged. Trouble was, even though everyone else looked mad, no one was saying anything.
“How dare you?” I cried, dashing up to Sasha and pushing her so that she fell backwards onto the wet sand.
“What is wrong with you?” she yelled.
Everyone had taken a step back, forming a circle around us like there was going to be some kind of fight or something. Only I wasn’t interested in fighting, I just wanted Sasha to know how I really felt.
“You could have killed me,” I told her. “And hurt my pony, all over this stupid race that no one cares about. What is wrong with you?”
“How dare you push me?” She got to her feet, brushing the sand off her clothes. “Who do you think you are?”
“I’ll tell you who I am,” I said. “I’m the girl who will defend her pony to the ends of the earth and back from people who might want to see him hurt and that includes you.”
“Maybe you should have checked your tack before you rode,” she said. “Or ridden bareback like I did. It’s not my fault you guys need saddles like babies.”
“I saw you go into the tack room,” I said. “You were talking about how you had to win and then you went in there and did something to our tack.”
Beach Ride (Show Jumping Dreams ~ Book 9) Page 9
