by Toni Mari
I grinned and answered in my best southern belle accent, “Riding in the championship, of course, darling. But Alison and Melinda are on the team; we’ll be teammates.”
“But it still comes down to you and Windsong. Save your worrying for him, ignore the witches.” He took another huge bite of sandwich.
I nipped off a mouthful too, letting my mind drift toward the clinic. I couldn’t even explain why I was so excited to ride with Erica. Robert Peterson was an Olympic medal winner many times over and quite well known—but Erica was a celebrity beyond the horse world. She appeared in commercials on television, she did interviews on the network morning shows, and her charity, EMA Rescue, was nationally known. And yet she had my number in her cell phone.
“I have some news.” Cory interrupted my musings as he crumpled up his sandwich wrapper.
“What’s up?” I mumbled around the turkey in my mouth.
“I spoke with Barry Green. He wants me to start the trainer position this weekend, there’s some shows he wants to get ready for.”
I gagged, spitting sandwich into my hand. I slowly wiped it with a napkin, avoiding looking at him. “This weekend?” I croaked. I thought these things took more time.
Cory put his sandwich down and scooted over to me. He knelt down with his hands on my legs. “I was hoping you would come down with me and stay the weekend, you know, get me settled in.”
“I can’t.” His shoulders slumped at my immediate response.
“You could at least take a minute to consider it.” He stood up, picking up his trash.
“It’s only a week until the clinic, I have to ride, I can’t skip. I don’t want to be unprepared or let anyone down because I took this weekend off.”
“Wouldn’t want to let those great teammates of yours down.” He smashed the sandwich wrapper into a tiny ball.
I wiped my mouth, trying to explain. “I have the clinic, and then graduation. The showcase is after that. There’s so much, and I have to keep training hard, a couple lessons a week with Kate. How far away will you be?”
“Six hours if there’s no traffic,” he replied dully.
That was a long drive. Hitting the movies or grabbing dinner together would not be an option, only overnight planned visits. “Does that mean you’re not coming back for any of my events? What about my graduation?” I struggled to keep my voice from rising.
Still kneading the paper between his hands, Cory started toward the ladder. “This is my job, Jane. Remember what you said, good for my future and all that. I just wanted you to come with me for the first weekend. But I wouldn’t want to interfere with your show schedule.”
“What about graduation?” I gathered the rest of my lunch up, ignoring his sarcastic tone.
“What’s that, in a month?” He stared at me, stark reality settling in his eyes. He threw his wrapper across the hay loft. “I guess we’ll see.”
#
Chapter Fourteen
When Cory had left for France a year ago, a feeling of doom had descended over me even though we were on good terms and planned to be together as soon as he came back. As I hugged Cory one last time before he got into his packed-to-the-gills truck, I was overwhelmed with that gloomy feeling once again. I needed him to be with me for my events, but he wouldn’t be. What if this separation destroyed us for good?
“I’ll call you later,” Cory said, one foot on the running board. He took off his hat and tossed it on top of the pile in the passenger seat. As he ran his hand through his dark, flattened curls, he turned to look back at me.
I gave him a wobbly smile.
He took two swift steps and pulled me against him, squeezing until my breath came out in a whoosh. “I will call you. And we will plan a visit, one way or another.” With one last kiss, he released me, climbed in his truck, slammed the door, and drove off. Halfway down the driveway, his arm came out the window in a final wave goodbye. I waved forlornly at the receding tail lights.
“This isn’t going to screw you up like it did the last time, is it?” Even though the words were harsh, Kate’s voice was soft and sympathetic as she came up behind me. After his return from the World Games when Cory had abruptly left for Vegas and then stayed there for a job, cutting off all contact with me, I had ridden so badly that I had scored in the fifties and didn’t even place at the Regional finals. It had taken me a while to pull myself together, and by the time I did, I had started the qualifying shows for the North American Junior Rider Team Championships. It was a rocky road, but Windsong and I had worked hard to make it.
“No way!” I turned to her. “I intend on being so consistent and great, not one person, not even the moon princess, will be able to think of something bad to say about me.” I rubbed my eyes until the stinging stopped. Brave words, considering my secret weapon just drove away.
“That’s my girl.” Kate gave me a one-armed hug and pushed me down the aisle. “Go get Elton. I just decided you need a lesson.”
I held my right arm straight and stiff out to the side as I lead Windsong into the barn, keeping him away from me. I was too immersed in feeling sorry for myself to pay attention to him. Only he wasn’t letting me keep him at arm’s length. He turned his head and bumped me. I showed him my empty hand, no treat, so he stretched his neck over and nuzzled my shoulder with his wiggly velvet lips. Then he tossed his head up and down, peering at me with pointed ears and big brown eyes.
“I’ll get you a treat when we get to the barn, silly.” I rubbed his neck as we walked.
He stood like a statue to be groomed and tacked up. It was obvious he enjoyed my attention. I wouldn’t call him a nervous horse anymore. Energetic, oh yeah! When in his company, I had better focus solely on him because if I didn’t, he wasn’t beyond using all of his old tricks to turn my head.
I smiled and tickled Windsong’s lips as we started to the indoor when a light bulb popped in my head. That Kate. She knew. She knew that I would have gone straight home to mope in my room for the rest of the day. By making me ride, she knew Windsong would be the one to drag me back from brooding. I put my arms around his neck and rubbed my face in his soft fur. Thank goodness for this crazy horse. He bopped me with his nose, impatient with my emotional display.
“Let’s go to work,” I agreed. I climbed aboard, but before I could settle my other foot into the stirrup, Windsong jigged forward. “You know what? You’re right, go!” I stood a little in the stirrups and kicked and clucked him into a brisk canter.
The breeze stroked my face and the rhythm of the ride soothed away the blues. Windsong’s pleasure in running transferred to me, and we enjoyed ourselves for a few minutes until Kate entered the arena and gave a cowboy whoop. “Yahoo! Go, baby!”
Windsong slowed and headed right for her, bouncing to a stop in front of her. She reached up and rubbed his cheeks and kissed his nose. “Who wants to do dressage today? Let’s work.”
I grinned, shortened my reins, and bowed to my dance partner. Well, not really bowed.
Bouncing around on the passenger seat of Kate’s truck a few days later, I reminded myself that this was just a clinic. When Erica called me the night before to “touch base” and find out when I planned to arrive at Rainbow Ridge, I was shocked and speechless. For her to take the time to speak with me personally, as if she was interested in me; as if she cared; blew my mind. My heart fluttered like a songbird’s, and fear ripped through my limbs, leaving me weak and numb. What if I disappointed her? What if I couldn’t do it, ride Windsong well? With a deep shuddering breath, I closed my eyes. I tried to recapture that feeling, that enjoyment of the moment aboard Windsong when my connection to him was strong and carefree. I told myself, This is just a clinic, just a lesson. I was not saving lives here. I kept repeating it like it was the secret to the universe. For me, on that weekend, it just might have been. I jiggled my leg and thumped my thigh with my hand. Just a clinic.
Kate glanced over at me. “No coffee for you the whole weekend,” she ordered. “What’s got yo
u so wired?”
I banged my head against the seat. “I know I’m going to blow it with Erica. I can’t calm down. Maybe we should just turn around and go home,” I moaned.
“Well, you better calm down. And you better ride like I taught you to ride.” Kate shook her head.
“But it’s Erica Flame!” I wailed.
“So what? She’s a trainer. She’s going to tell you all the same stuff I tell you.”
“You don’t understand. She could make my dreams come true.”
Kate’s eyes narrowed. “We’ve been working to make your dreams come true. This is one lesson, Jane.”
My cell phone sang “Candle in the Wind.” “Cory!” I scrabbled through my purse. “Hello!” I practically screamed at him.
“Hey, darling. I am excited to hear your voice too,” Cory chuckled.
“No, it’s just that your timing is perfect. We’re on our way to the clinic and I’m a wreck!”
“I figured you’d be driving. Windsong riding okay?”
“No, you don’t understand. I can’t do this. I am freaking out! Can you meet me at the clinic? I need you to calm me down.” Cory was a Zen master. His powerful energy enveloped me at shows.
“Ah, babe. I am so sorry. I have to work this weekend, and you’re talking an eight-hour drive all the way up north to Rainbow Ridge. It’s impossible. I’m sorry.”
“Oh.” I deflated like a balloon, trying to remind myself that he was doing something exciting and new too. “How is everything so far?”
“The place is great, the owners are real nice, and the horses are the best.”
Kate was slowing down to exit the highway, and I grabbed the armrest to steady myself. “Have you ridden any of the horses?” I asked, not really listening to his answer as we rolled closer to my impending doom.
“Sure. They are all real nice, well trained.”
The massive stone pillars that marked the entrance of Rainbow Ridge rose up on the right side of the road. A wave of nausea squeezed my stomach. “That’s good,” I mumbled distractedly.
“Most likely I will be showing two of them next weekend, that’s how good they are.”
“You’ll be showing them, that’s great.” I paused. “Wait a minute, what did you just say?”
“I said, I will be riding two in a show next weekend,” he repeated, impatience in his voice.
“Cory, you’re riding! I’m so happy to hear that. That’s wonderful.” I grinned at Kate when our eyes met.
Cory chuckled. “It does feel good to be back in the saddle.”
“Oh, no! We just turned into the farm and I think I am going to faint.”
“Hey, easy there. It’s just a lesson. You know your horse will rock,” Cory said in a most soothing voice.
“No, I don’t know that! And you’re not here to help me! This is going to be a disaster.”
“Jane,” Cory said sternly. I concentrated on his voice, staring down at my barn boots. “You and Windsong are a great team, good days and bad. Just ride the horse, no one else matters. You are there for Windsong, not the witches, the poacher, or the celebrity. Windsong. Do you hear me?”
“I hear you, Cory. But I would be better if you were here. I gotta go.”
After the quiet click of the call ending, I stared at Cory’s picture on the screen of my phone until it turned itself off. His voice always reached right inside me and soothed my electrified nerves. I was going to be great. Windsong was great. We were just having a few lessons.
Then I looked up. Mr. McBride was waving Kate into a parking spot and Erica was standing in the doorway of the barn. A lightning bolt ripped through my body and right out my toes. I smacked my head with the heel of my hand. Maybe I should keep Cory on speaker phone this whole weekend.
#
Chapter Fifteen
As soon as I climbed out of the truck, Erica gave me a giant hug. Surprised and speechless, I stood there awkwardly as she greeted Kate and they started to the back of the trailer. Kate looked over her shoulder, saw me still just standing there, and pointed to Windsong’s window. I nodded and jerked into action.
I squeezed the catch and let the window down. Windsong’s chiseled head poked out the window and his lips pulled back showing his teeth as he screamed his arrival. He reached over and gave me a sharp nudge with his nose. I wobbled off the running board, my ears still ringing. I staggered a few steps and covertly looked around, hoping no one saw my clumsiness. Sure enough, Kate and Erica were laughing at me.
“He’s glad to be here,” I mumbled as I went to let down the trailer ramp.
In the trailer I unhooked Windsong. A small, swarthy man in a baseball cap held out a hand for the lead rope, but I gave a small shake of my head.
Erica spoke to the guy, “She’ll be fine bringing in the horse. Why don’t you and the others grab her tack and equipment? Thank you.”
Windsong paused, as usual, before descending the ramp, and, as usual, he reared when his feet hit the ground. A glance at Erica’s pressed lips made me wonder if she doubted the words she just uttered. As he lunged and pranced forward, I gave a few ineffective tugs on the lead. He stopped, head held high, forcing me to keep my arm above my head. His whole body shuddered as he split the air with an ear-piercing whinny. Nostrils flaring and ears pricked forward, he searched the barn windows, listening intently for any familiar response. With my ears ringing, I glanced at Erica again. She stood by Kate but was watching closely. I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on the lead rope. He couldn’t break loose, not here. Ignoring the stares of the grooms, I grimly marched toward the barn.
In the barn, it took a moment for our eyes to adjust to the lower lighting. A man in a baseball cap slipped past me, his arms full of my saddle and bridle. We followed him, and Windsong’s iron shoes rang loudly on the cement. The aisle was empty ahead of us, and the farther down we went, the wider Windsong’s nostrils got. He was blowing out short puffs of air and the whites of his eyes were showing. As we passed the polished walls, tooled iron door latches, engraved nameplates, and shiny stainless steel stall bars, Windsong became more excited. This was more than his normal show nerves. When the groom set my things down in front of the same stall where I first met Windsong, and Windsong froze, it dawned on me that he remembered this place—and they weren’t good memories.
He used to live here. He was “in training” with some guy named Pete when Kate and I first came to try him out. He wasn’t so happy back then—he was out of control, in fact, rearing and getting loose during the session. He had scared me and I was sure I didn’t want him because there was no way I would ride a crazy beast like him. When we left the barn that day, Windsong had stood unsociably in the back of this very same stall, unwilling to take a treat or even allow me to pet him.
His trembling transferred through the rope to me. My heart fluttered in apprehension and I felt the need to prepare for disaster. Windsong’s horsey eyebrows were so far up, and his ears so rigidly forward, I didn’t think he would pay attention to me. His nostrils flared so wide I could probably fit an apple into one. Bad memories often made horses revert in their behavior. I knew it; this did not bode well for the weekend. I tentatively stroked his neck. “Easy boy. I’m not leaving you here.”
He lowered his head and nuzzled my palm, and then threw it back up for a vigilant scan of the aisle. Despite all of his tension, he had responded to me. For a moment, I allowed myself to hope, and then Windsong slammed me against the door as he scrabbled into the stall, horseshoes slipping in his rush.
“Is Pete still here? The trainer?” I asked as I struggled to unclip his halter.
The short, solid, dark-skinned man filling the water bucket looked at me blankly. “Pete? Don’t know Pete.” He shook his head.
Guess he wasn’t around anymore, so landing in this very same stall must have been a twist of fate. I rubbed Windsong’s neck before I pulled the halter off, and he whirled in a circle, as if looking for an escape hatch.
I arranged my
tack and equipment neatly in front of the stall. With a handful of crunchy mint-flavored treats, Windsong’s favorites, I slid the door open a few inches and held out a few. He came right to me and snuffled them up. I rubbed his forehead, making circles around his white star. He grabbed a couple more before being compelled to make another anxious circle around the stall. I sighed, at least he wasn’t cowering against the back wall.
“I’ll be back in a little bit, Elton. Promise.” I slid the door closed and jogged down the aisle to the indoor.
Melinda, Shawn, and Alison were already there, with corresponding parents. So was Robert, who to my amazement, came right over with a smile and a hug. “Hi, Jane. Glad to see you.”
I glanced around the small group but was snagged by the contemptuous sneer on Alison’s face. It was so out of place among the pleasant greetings I received from everyone else that I paused, puzzled. Then Shawn grabbed my arm, pulling me in for a hug, and I forgot about her.
“I was waiting for you to finally get here. This is going to be great.” He was smiling like a little kid with a candy bar.
I couldn’t help smiling back and nodding. “I can’t wait—but I’m a nervous wreck.”
“No biggie. I’ll be right here to help.” He squeezed my hand. The haze of fear receded a fraction at his words. Then I felt guilty because Cory usually was the one to soothe my anxiety. But, dammit, Cory wasn’t here. I squeezed back.
Melinda put her hand on my shoulder. “Hey, I told them to give Windsong his old stall. I thought he would feel comfortable in it.”
“Really?” She looked at me with a cat-that-swallowed-a-canary smile. Did she truly believe she did a helpful thing or was she back on track with her persecution of me? I gave a mental head shake. I could seriously become paranoid in this crowd. “Umm, thanks.”
Robert started speaking, and we all turned to face him. This was it, this was my team and my focus for the next ten weeks. My heart thumped and my ears rang so that I had trouble keeping track of all the details. I hoped Kate was catching everything because I’d need to rely on her to keep me organized this weekend. I had other things to worry about: Would Windsong perform without embarrassing me? Would I be able to ride in front of Erica without throwing up? Would Melinda keep her comments to herself? Would Alison beat me over the head with her whip? And what was with that smoldering stare from Shawn?
