Skylar, who now leaned casually against my stall shrugged. “Just because you’re with someone, doesn’t mean you’re committed.”
“I love her, Skylar. I didn’t settle because you went away and there was no one else to choose from.”
Skylar shifted her weight, folded her arms over her stomach and smugly said, “I just wanted to remind you that you have options.”
Mike shook his head with a sigh while I tried in vain to reach her perky ponytail with my teeth to give it a little yank. “You don’t get it, do you? I’d choose Nadia over you a thousand times. I am going to ask her to marry me.”
My heart palpitated. He’d finally said it—it was definitely going to be official. But when?
Instead of being offended that Mike hadn’t chosen her, she dismissed him with a wave of her hand, like his confession for matrimony was completely uninteresting. “Suit yourself,” Skylar said and turned to leave. “You know where to find me if you change your mind.”
Once out of earshot, Mike released the breath he’d been holding and pushed open my door, stepping into the soft bedding. His faint scent mingled with the sharp pine of the shavings was heavenly. I released a long, stress-relieving breath too. “What was that all about, huh, girl?” Mike reached up to stroke the star between my eyes. “I never claimed to understand women, but Skylar is a special kind of confusing.”
I had to agree. While my heart melted because of Mike’s loyalty, it simultaneously burned with the desire for revenge. How dare she be so brazen?
Kally returned shortly with a bag of feed thrown limply over her shoulder, her back stooping under the weight. She made it into the barn before shrugging it off in the aisle. Mike left me, and despite Kally’s weary attempts to discourage him from helping, ripped off the top string and emptied the contents of the sack into our portable grain wagon.
I was up to my nose in feed when Winny returned. She’d found Danika and Ms. Diederich and sat in the rear of their golf cart, her leg propped on the bench seat and torso turned so she could face forward.
“Carlos said he’d be here as soon as he was able,” Danika assured Winny. “I still don’t understand what’s the matter. Can’t you tell us now?”
Winny shook her head. “It’s important Carlos is here. Mike? Did you call Gretchen?”
Mike leapt from his seat on a bale of hay and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. “Shoot. I forgot. I was, uh…I got distracted.”
He dialed Gretchen and no sooner than he raised the phone to his ear, I could hear the familiar trill of her phone. “We’re here. Madeline said something was up.”
Madeline cast a quick glance at Mike and flushed slightly though Mike was oblivious. “So? What is it?” Gretchen pressed. “The cross country’s still going on and I’d like to be out there watching.”
“Here comes Carlos,” Danika peeked out from the aisle. A few moments later, he strolled into the barn, looking almost like he should be on a yacht, eating caviar and sipping champagne in his navy sport coat and pressed khakis.
“I apologize, but I do not have long. You understand, I’m needed on the grounds,” he removed his straw Panama hat and smoothed back his ebony hair. “What can I help you with?”
“Mike, could I have the stirrup leather?” Winny asked, holding out her hand. “If you’ll see, this is Gretchen’s stirrup leather. It is well-broken in but it is still in impeccable condition. The leather is quality, as well as the craftsmanship.”
“If I wanted to be sold stirrup leathers, I’d go over to the market,” Carlos said with a slightly mocking tone in his voice, his jaw muscles tensed. He was anything but entertained.
There were a few chuckles but Winny ignored them. “If you’ll look at the front of her stirrup leather where it snapped, you can see how the leather has been stretched, exactly how it’d be expected to look after heavy, long-term use which would eventually cause a break. But,” Winny rolled the stirrup leather in her hands and pointed to the clean line sliced in the back, “if you see here, the leather isn’t stretched. It’s a straight line without any stress.”
Carlos shifted his weight and tapped his hat on his thigh. “And?”
“Someone tampered with Gretchen’s stirrup. It seems pretty obvious,” Winny asserted.
Gretchen snatched the stirrup leather and closely inspected it, turning it over and over to compare. I looked to Carlos, whose eyes had hardened and shuddered at the malice they held for Winny.
“And who would you accuse of such a diabolical plot, Ms. Wells?” Carlos growled.
Winny was silent. I knew the frustration she was feeling. She too had seen someone skulking around the barn, she knew something hadn’t been right but, like me, she didn’t have any positive proof of who was the perpetrator.
“I can’t say yet. It could be any number of people,” she answered.
“Ms. Wells,” Carlos said firmly, “I believe we have already addressed this issue, but because you are new at this level of competition and are, therefore, perhaps unaware of the implications you are making, I will remind you once more of the seriousness of your accusations. I believe Ms. Fitzgerald had an unfortunate turn of events on her ride but we are thankful she made it through safely. In fact, because of her magnificent skill, she seems to be the talk of the show.” The corners of Gretchen’s mouth twitched into a smile as Carlos played to her ego. “As far as I can tell, your overactive imagination has brought you perilously close to the edge.” His black eyes glittered coldly as he regarded Winny.
Ms. Diederich spoke up. “All the same, I am confident you will look into the incident regardless of your personal views. Review security cameras and such. All accusations, as ridiculous as you may think they are, must be taken seriously.”
Carlos nodded curtly. “Of course. We do take everything seriously. However, I am beginning to feel that Ms. Wells finds some sort of satisfaction making more work for me and my staff. Complaints like this have the potential for harming a show’s reputation as well. I trust Ms. Wells will keep that in mind.”
Winny glared viciously at Carlos but said nothing more. Mike grabbed her arm to break her concentration but she continued to stare, the wheels in her mind obviously turning.
Carlos politely bid everyone farewell and before he stepped from the barn, he turned and said, “Remember, at this level of showing, horses get stressed, they get sick, they get injured. And there is always the potential for accidents.”
“You believe me, don’t you, Danika?” Winny asked, a hint of pleading in her voice.
“Of course,” Danika said loyally. “But you do have to understand where Carlos is coming from. It would be a blow to anyone’s pride to be accused of running a show full of cheats who were operating right under their noses.”
Ms. Diederich chimed in. “There is a strong, often unspoken allegiance between horse people. Because you are new, they are less likely to take your word than someone who has established themselves. It is difficult to root out a cheater because they prey on others’ trust.”
Winny nodded thoughtfully and said nothing more on the subject. Gretchen had already left, carefully locking her ruined stirrup leather in her tack trunk and dragging Pete back to the cross country course. Madeline tailed them silently, still harboring her secret.
Winny and Mike quickly helped Kally with a few final chores, then left a bone-weary Kally to snooze in the trailer while they went to scout out the competition. I dozed myself, woken on occasion by a horse or groom coming or going. Cross country was almost done for the day but the crowd was still invested. Their cheers and gasps drifted over the sloping hills to the barns.
“Get this—we’ve moved up from fifteenth to second place and are in a three-way tie with Gloria and Katie,” Winny snorted at the end of the day. “What are the odds?”
“Pretty incredible,” Mike said, not realizing she was delivering the news to me.
“That course was a beast. I heard a lot of horses had refusals on top of time f
aults, which stinks for them but certainly benefited us. Only stadium jumping left,” Winny scraped her nails down the bridge of my nose and yawned. “We’ll show all of them,” she promised. Making sure I was comfortable, she patted my cheek once more before leaving for the night. Mike slid the door shut with a clank and lazily draped his arm over Winny’s shoulders as they strolled away.
My stablemates had been recharged since having rested and eaten after their turn at cross country and spent the twilight hours chatting amiably while we finished up the last wisps of hay. As predicted, everyone had successfully finished the course though Bullet had a handful of time penalties that dropped his score enough to be tied with Chaos and me. Still, because the other competitors in front of her hadn’t fared so well, her standing had actually improved. “Harvey and I had the best time,” Stoney bragged. “Seven whole seconds under optimum time.”
“You sure you didn’t cut any corners?” Bullet quipped.
“I would never,” Stoney said defensively.
“Cheat?” Isis spoke up.
“No,” Stoney said firmly.
“Then what is that that Harvey’s been slipping to you?” Isis pushed. “It’s obvious he’s giving you something.”
Stoney tossed his head and pawed, flustered. “I don’t know. It’s a supplement that improves my focus, gives me a little extra stamina during shows. I’m sure if it wasn’t legal, he wouldn’t do it.”
“Then why does he only come when no one else is around?” Chaos chimed in. All the noise of the barn halted and all eyes looked to the shy mare. “I mean, he’s only ever come early in the morning, before sunup. Why would he do that?”
Stoney shifted uneasily on his feet. How could he know what Harvey was doing to him? He trusted his master implicitly and never fussed about being medicated, especially since it enhanced his performance.
Out in the black night, the soft padding of feet approached, disrupting the conversation. We all turned to listen and a few cautious calls came from the horses.
“Harvey? Is that you?” Stoney nickered.
Bullet hopefully called, “Katie?”
My body quivered and it felt like my hair was standing on end. So far, our track record with late night visitors wasn’t good. No one had dropped by to hand out carrots—they’d come to conceal their dishonesty and inhumanity. I wasn’t surprised when the mysterious figure in black slunk into the barn.
“Who is it?” Chaos asked nervously. Instinctually, she backed away, cornering herself and ready to attempt an escape if needed.
I continued to tremble as we watched the masked figure sidle up to my stall, always remaining among the shadows. I reared and leapt sideways when my door squeaked open and they stepped in. Trying my best to evade them, it was only a moment before they had a lead rope lassoed around my neck. In a stall, there was nowhere to run. I thrust my weight into the sliding door, hoping to bump it open but to no avail.
“Leave her alone!” Isis shrieked helplessly.
I struggled to keep from their grasp but they managed to loop the rope around my nose. In a desperate attempt, I flattened my ears to my skull and nipped at the ski mask and pulled it off their face.
“Gloria!” I whinnied angrily. “I knew it!”
She balled her free fist and bludgeoned me across the face. Disoriented by her powerful blow, she managed to grab my nostrils and dug in her nails. I was defenseless as she twitched and twisted my lip.
“Just what I’d expect from you.” With the same hateful look Carlos had given Winny, Gloria looked into my eye and for the first time, I grasped the depth of her cruelty. I tried to pull away but her sharp nails dug deeper and I felt a trickle of blood run from my nostril.
“It’s really too bad. You could’ve been a great horse but you were too stubborn to learn manners with me. So, I’ll have to teach you a different lesson.” Reaching into her pocket, she produced a wad of cut up sponges. She thrust a chunk into each side of my nose, pushing them up as far as she could reach. A swell of panic overcame me.
I was suffocating.
Chapter Twenty-One
“I can’t breathe!” I choked, stumbling away from Gloria and ramming hard into the sturdy walls encaging me.
“Winny!” Isis shrieked. “Someone help her!” The other horses neighed, trying to figure out just what was happening.
A wicked smirk of satisfaction formed across Gloria’s thin lips. She wriggled her fingers back into her gloves. “You always were a pain. I should have sent you to the dog food factory when you broke my arm, you insolent beast.” She grabbed her forearm and massaged it gently. “It still aches sometimes. I think of you every time it does, and I hate it. This is no more than you deserve.”
Gloria pulled the mask back over her head turned to leave. Out of the darkness, another figure rushed in and grabbed her shoulder, clapping one hand over her mouth to muffle her scream.
“Help!” I pleaded in vain. Nothing I could say would convey my agony to anyone who could help. Still, I had to try.
Panicking and unable to breathe, I felt a small twinge of relief when I realized it was Carlos who had surprised Gloria. He’d caught her in the act. She was going to be punished—banned—from competing and surely he’d immediately notify Winny and Danika that she’d been found meddling in my stall. They’d figure out what she’d done soon enough.
“What are you doing here?” Carlos hissed.
Gloria wriggled free and ripped the mask from her face, her normally smooth hair wild and unruly. “Taking matters into my own hands.”
Ice slid through my veins. Carlos and Gloria knew each other. Whatever Gloria’s end goal, Carlos was in on it too.
“I can see that,” Carlos continued in a hushed whisper. “You’ve been too careless. I’ve had to erase security camera footage. People are starting to make accusations. You’re getting sloppy.”
Gloria snorted in disgust. “Let them. They’ll never pin it on me.”
“They will if you leave incriminating evidence all over the place,” Carlos refuted.
“I’m handling it. I’ve got a fall guy that’ll take any attention off me. I’ll be busy winning this show and securing my spot on the U.S. team while you’re dealing with this unfortunate incident.”
Carlos released a heavy sigh. “We need to get out of here. Are you done doing whatever you’re doing?” Gloria nodded. “Good. I sent the security guards to the lower barns first so we can make it to the office the back way. We’ll need to edit the footage tonight. Follow me.”
With a few grinding steps across the pavement, they faded into the darkness.
Isis stayed with me through the night, calming me with a soothing voice and encouraging words though I knew she felt as useless and panicked as I would have felt if our situation had been reversed. Chaos helped too. She apologized profusely, mortified that Gloria was the cause of all of this. Holding a grudge against her wouldn’t have accomplished anything, and I knew she was an innocent bystander in Gloria’s ploy.
“There’s nothing to forgive,” I whispered again to Chaos, who had apologized for the dozenth time.
As much as I tried, the sponges were lodged securely in place. No matter how hard I blew or rubbed my face against the unforgiving metal bars, they weren’t going anywhere. Every few breaths I had to gulp air through my mouth to fill my lungs. The room spun and I felt horribly lightheaded.
I’d never been so relieved in my life to see Kally rubbing her eyes and yawning as she shuffled into the barn in the periwinkle blue morning light. The dreary haze that had overshadowed yesterday was burned away by a bright dawn. Crisp, but not cold: ideal for show jumping.
“Kally,” I gave a throaty moan, “help me.”
At first, she mechanically began her chores, rationing out feed and stirring in the supplements without so much as glancing in my direction. My stall mates nickered amiably as their own grooms entered and began their own morning ritual. After a long night in ag
ony, my patience had deteriorated.
“Kally!” I squealed impatiently. I lifted my right foreleg and began scraping my hoof across the stall floor.
“Chill out, Winny,” Kally grunted. “Here’s your food, you ornery mare.” She tipped my bucket into my feed bin and I nuzzled the feed but didn’t eat. It wasn’t that my growling stomach hadn’t made it abundantly clear that it demanded sustenance, but if I tried to eat, I was afraid I might choke.
Kally moved on to Isis, ignoring my attempts to get her attention until she slid open the door to remove the bandages she’d wrapped last night.
“Why aren’t you eating? Usually you’re a little pig.”
I gulped another breath through my mouth and gave a melodramatic grunt to get my point across. It worked. The color drained from Kally’s face and she scrambled to get her phone out of her back pocket.
“Danika,” she said in a high-pitched voice of worry, “there’s something wrong with Winny. I don’t know. She’s not eating and she’s gasping through her mouth, like she can’t breathe.”
She stared wide-eyed at me, nodding without speaking as Danika barked orders through the phone.
“I’ll go get Nadia now,” she promised and scurried away toward the trailer.
Kally didn’t see Chuck walk in the other end of the barn, his cowboy boots crunching on the concrete. He whistled a sporadic tune and inhaled a deep breath of the fresh morning air.
“Hey there, darlin’,” he reached in and scratched Isis on her cheek. “You’ve been the talk of the show after yesterday’s wild ride. Thanks for taking care of Gretchen,” he spoke softly, slipping a few apple treats from his pocket.
He turned his attention to me and said with admiration, “Nadia’s sure got you cleaned up, doesn’t she? From what I hear, you’re now tied with Gloria and Miss Katie. Doubt Gloria likes that very much,” he chuckled.
I gave another woeful moan and wished someone had the gift of horsespeak here. There was no way I’d be able to gallop around an arena and jump if I couldn’t breathe.
Road to the Regalia (Nadia and Winny Book 2) Page 14
