Mom smiled. “I’m overwhelmed with the kindness of our friends and neighbors, and I’d love to cook and serve.”
One more thought hit Kate. “Do you know if Melissa is coming?” She hoped not. It would be so much nicer to hang out with Tori and not have to deal with Melissa.
Dad nodded. “Tori’s dad said most of the boarders had agreed to come, and I think she was one of them. Let me call Tori’s dad back, then you can talk to Tori.”
Kate left the room, her feet moving a bit slower than before. How silly to be bothered that Melissa had offered to work. She should be thankful for anyone who cared to come, but for some reason, she dreaded it. Kate perked up, though, when she thought of Colt. She’d need to call Colt and invite him. She’d have a ball with Colt and Tori, feeding people and doing anything they could to get ready for the show. What could possibly go wrong at a work party? After all, Melissa was one girl among a crowd of people, and Kate would simply keep her distance.
Kate raced to the front door the next morning, thankful Tori and her family had arrived before anyone else. Her mouth gaped at Tori’s dad carrying two sacks of what appeared to be groceries. “Hey, you guys aren’t supposed to bring food. It’s enough that you’re helping us.” She ushered them into the house, then led the way to the kitchen, wishing her mother were here instead of upstairs getting Pete dressed.
Mr. Velasquez grinned and set the bags on the countertop. “Si, Maria insisted on the makings for tacos and fajitas, since several of our friends are coming. That way we’ll have different types of dishes to choose from.”
Tori bumped shoulders with Kate. “Yeah. Not just boring, old American food.” She snickered and pulled a couple of filled quart jars out of a bag. “Mom’s homemade spicy salsa. Yummy stuff. It’ll burn the inside of your mouth if you’re not careful.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “So you’re saying you don’t want me able to talk, huh?”
Tori giggled. “Now that would be a change!”
“Hey!” Kate bumped her back, and they both burst out laughing. It felt good to laugh again, after the stress of the past couple of days. It was still hard to believe the arena and jumps would be rebuilt by nightfall. She sobered. “Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Velasquez. Mom’s going to be thrilled.”
“With what, Kate?” Her mother’s cheerful voice entered the room a second before she did. “Maria, I’m so glad you came!” She gave Mrs. Velasquez a hug.
Mr. Velasquez waved and headed for the door.
Kate drew her friend away as Tori’s mom explained why she’d brought the groceries. Kate’s mouth watered as she thought of the couple of times she’d eaten delicious Mexican food at Tori’s house. She hoped there were leftovers.
“I called Colt,” she explained to Tori. “He said he’d be here, and his dad might come too.”
Tori’s face lit up. “Cool!” She looked out the kitchen window toward the arena. “Cars are pulling in now. It’s a good thing you have a big pasture area for parking. It’ll come in handy for the show.”
“I hope we can pull this off.”
“What? Rebuilding everything?”
Kate shook her head. “Naw. I’m not worried about that. I mean the show. We’ve never done anything like this before. It feels … huge.”
Tori crinkled her brows. “Like what? I don’t follow.”
“Hey, Mom,” Kate called. “Do you need us, or can Tori and I go see what they’re going to work on first?”
Her mother turned from examining the items in the grocery bags, then waved a distracted hand. “Scoot. Come back in an hour. We’ll do the cooking, and you girls can serve. We’re only serving coffee and snacks first. Later we’ll have lunch.”
“Thanks, Mom!” Kate grabbed Tori’s hand and dashed out the door before her mother changed her mind. All it took to sidetrack her mom was a new recipe or another woman around who loved to cook, and she’d go off into her own world. It was a good thing Pete was watching a DVD in the living room, and Rufus was keeping him company.
Kate and Tori slowed halfway across the pasture. “So, to answer your question about the show…” Kate stopped and turned in a slow circle, pointing at the barn, the arena, and the parking area. “We’ll have to get all of this cleaned up before people arrive, then set up the jumps for the outdoor arena, make room for the people who bring in concessions, separate pasture areas for horses, run power for the PA system, rope off areas for spectators to sit or stand, since we don’t have bleachers. We’ll even have people directing traffic for parking. And, of course, a company has to bring in porta-potties too. But the committee has already contacted someone for that.”
Kate sighed. “It’s going to be a madhouse with all those horse trailers and cars coming in the first hour or so, and some people have asked to come the night before and camp out. They asked the show coordinator if we have any paddocks or pens where they can keep their horses. Mom told them we have three large paddocks, so it won’t be a problem. We’ll use the outdoor arena for the classes.”
“Wow! I had no idea. I guess I was envisioning a few classes with people handing out ribbons.” Tori sucked in a breath. “So who comes up with the ribbons and the set of silver spurs?”
Kate grabbed Tori’s arm and tugged her aside so a pickup loaded with miscellaneous pieces of lumber could pass, along with another car on its tail. People spilled out of both vehicles and headed toward the arena, some holding rakes, hammers, and other tools.
“The show committee provides all that—in fact, they have their own judges and even people who help with parking. The concession wagons all had to get permits and be approved in advance. I guess they pretty much go from show to show, so we don’t have to mess with those either.”
“Whew.” Tori kicked a fir cone out of her path, then stooped and grabbed a broken branch. She swished it against her leg. “Sounds like most of it is under control.”
“Except for all the prep work—getting pastures divided into pens, probably with temporary hot-wire tape. Then there’s the cleanup. Dad wants to pressure-wash and paint the front doors of the barn, and Mom said the tack room and office need a good scrubbing. The time it’s taking to do all the repairs to the fence and jumps is eating into the time we need to do all that other stuff now.” Kate smiled. “Not that I’m complaining. It’s a miracle your parents were able to round up so much help.” She waved her hand toward the arena. “Let’s go see what they plan to do first.”
“I hope Colt gets here soon. Not that we can all hang out if we’re working, but maybe we can hold boards while they nail them or paint the jumps when they’re finished.”
“Good plan. Let’s ask Dad. I’m sure glad he was able to use a vacation day and get today off.”
A few minutes later, Colt arrived with an older man Kate assumed was his father. Colt hurried to where the girls stood in the arena, as activity surged on all sides. Two men were manning a chop saw and cutting fence boards to length while two other men hammered them in place as soon as the boards were handed to them. Another group worked on the damaged jumps, while yet another, headed by a local contractor who attended Kate’s church, started building new jumps to replace those damaged beyond repair.
Colt gazed from one spot to the next while his dad joined Kate’s father. “So what can I do?”
Kate shrugged. “You could help cart out the big coffee urn the church loaned us and get it set up on a table.”
“Sure. Where’s the table?”
“Still in the house.”
“What have you guys been doing?”
Kate shot Tori a sheepish glance. “Uh, not a whole lot, I’m afraid. Nothing is ready for paint yet, they don’t trust us with a power saw or nail gun, and we’re not very good with hammers.”
Tori laughed. “So we’ve been going from one spot to the next telling everyone what a great job they’re doing and trying not to get in the way.”
/>
Another car drove into the temporary parking area off to the side, and Melissa stepped out of the passenger side. She spotted Kate, Tori, and Colt, and lifted a hand, then moved their direction.
Pete ran up from the direction of the house and stopped by Tori. “You bring M&M’s?”
Tori knelt beside Kate’s little brother. “I’m sorry, buddy. I didn’t think about it today.”
Melissa covered the last several yards toward them, her face lit in a smile. “Hey, Pete, look what I brought.” She held up a small bag of M&M’s, then glanced at Kate. “It’s okay to give him some, isn’t it? He told me they’re his favorite, so I made Dad stop at the store on the way.”
Kate gaped at her, astounded not only at the caring reflected in Melissa’s voice but at the thoughtful action on Pete’s behalf. “As long as you don’t give them all to him. We’ll have lunch in an hour or so, and Mom won’t want him to have too much sugar before then.”
“Sure. No problem.” She held out her hand to Pete. “Want to hang out with me for a while, Pete? We can eat M&M’s and pick up a few loose branches and put them in the burn pile. Would that be fun?”
The boy didn’t look at her, but he extended his hand and allowed her to take his. Kate could see his fingers were almost limp, but just the same, she was shocked that he’d allowed Melissa to touch him. “Rufus too?” He patted his leg with his other hand, and the big shepherd bounded over, tongue lolling. Sidling up to Melissa, the dog stuck his nose in her hand. She stuffed the bag of M&M’s in her pocket, then stroked his ears and patted his head. “You aren’t such a bad boy, are you?”
Melissa arched her brows at Kate, Tori, and Colt but didn’t smile. “Let me know if you need anything else done. Until then, I’ll keep Pete company.”
Kate nodded dumbly. “Sure. Okay. Thanks.” She watched them walk away, Melissa leaning over to place an M&M in Pete’s hand as they went. “I don’t get it.” Kate kept her voice low, but she wanted to scream. Her own dog and her brother! Even after Melissa had chased Rufus with a rope and smacked him. What a traitor. She didn’t mind Rufus coming to Pete, but he could have at least growled at Melissa.
Tori narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“How she can be so nice to Pete and so rude to us sometimes. It’s almost like there’s two different people trapped inside her body, and they’re both fighting to get out.”
Colt nodded. “I saw her be wicked to people at the other barn. Then she’d turn around and surprise me by doing something kind. I wonder if there’s anything going on in her life that she keeps hidden. Know what I mean?”
“I suppose it’s possible, but from what I can tell, she’s privileged, her family has money, and she doesn’t have a care in the world. The horse she rides must have cost thousands.” Kate exhaled. “I want to know how she gets through to Pete like that. He holds my mom’s hand sometimes, but not very often. It’s like Melissa’s cast some kind of spell over him.”
“You should be happy your little brother is responding to anyone, even if it’s Melissa,” Tori scoffed. “Besides, no one can be all bad and have kids and dogs take to them.”
“Yeah, but that’s the problem. She screamed at Rufus and chased him. He shouldn’t have let her pet him.”
Colt chuckled. “He came because Pete called him. Maybe he smelled the M&M’s on Melissa’s hand and hoped he’d get a taste.”
“Right.” Kate tried not to grumble, but she could barely muster a smile. If things kept going this way, everyone would be in love with Melissa.
Chapter Eleven
Three days after the workday, Kate and Tori stared as the doors on the rented horse trailer were opened. Kate squeezed Tori’s hand. “Can you believe he’s finally here? Our very own lesson horse!”
Stars shone in Tori’s eyes as she looked from Kate to the gray horse backing out of the trailer. “It’s so cool your parents were able to get him. I can’t believe someone traded him for full board. I can take a few lessons on him before the show. I’m not sure I’ll be ready for a beginner’s walk-trot class, but I’ve decided to try if Mrs. Jamison thinks I am.”
“Awesome! The people who owned Mr. Gray said he’s a sweet, kind horse. They would have kept him, but their daughter wants to show on the circuit, and he’s too old to compete at the level she’s hoping for. He’s trained at flat work as well as beginner jumping.”
Tori hugged herself and shivered. “I’m so excited! Is he a Thoroughbred?”
“No, he’s an Appendix. The owner said that means he’s part Quarter horse and part Thoroughbred, so he has a little spunk, but he’s not an airhead. He’s very steady.”
“Good. I don’t want to fall off again.”
Kate grabbed Tori’s hand. “Let’s go give him some carrots and make friends.”
The next day Kate stood by Colt on the sidelines of the arena as Tori stepped into Mr. Gray’s stirrup. Tori’s hands shook as she picked up the reins. Mrs. Jamison smiled and patted Tori’s leg. “Don’t worry. I rode Mr. Gray this morning, and he’s a doll. He listened to everything, whether you use your hands, voice, or legs, and he never once tried to take advantage.”
Tori grimaced. “But you aren’t a beginner. He knows he has to behave for you.”
Mrs. Jamison walked to the center of the ring. “You’ve ridden enough that you’re not a brand-new beginner either. You’re better than you think, Tori. You simply need a boost of confidence. Now gather the reins until you have light contact with his mouth the way I showed you, and barely touch him with your heel.”
Tori did as she was instructed, her face screwed into a deep well of concentration. Mr. Gray moved out immediately, ambling down the rail.
“All right, good. Now a very light squeeze with your calves. He can walk faster than that.”
“But I don’t want to trot yet.” Tori gripped the reins tighter.
“We’re not asking him to trot. Do as I ask, and you’ll be fine.”
Kate couldn’t even see Tori’s legs move, but the gray horse lengthened his stride and moved into a fast walk. Kate beamed at Colt and leaned close to whisper. “She did it!”
Colt grinned in return. “Yeah. She needs to get over her nerves, and she’ll be fine.”
Kate’s smile faded as realization hit. “It’s my fault that she’s scared. She’s never gotten over the fall she took off Capri. That was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done.”
“Ah, you need to quit worrying about it. All you can do is learn from it and not do it again.” He waved toward the arena. “I’ll guarantee she gets past her fear today after riding this horse. Your parents found a good one.”
“I think so too.” She rested her arms on the rail overlooking the arena. “So are you entering the show? They’re offering a few Western classes, so you won’t have to dress up in breeches.” She snickered and ducked when he tried to swat her. “Ha. You missed!”
Colt pointed to the ring. “I heard Mrs. Jamison say something about trotting. Think Tori will go for it?”
“She trotted Lulu several times, but this horse is bigger, and she isn’t used to him. I’m not sure.”
Mrs. Jamison took three strides toward the walking gelding, keeping pace with him as he traveled along the rail. “Do you understand posting, Tori?”
“I think so, but I’m not very good at it.”
“Let the motion of the horse’s stride help push you up. Rise as his front inside leg goes forward and sit as his outside leg, the one closest to the rail, moves forward. Don’t push off your feet. Grip with your thighs and push up from there.”
“You mean I have to trot?”
“Yes. You have very quiet hands, Tori, and a good seat. There’s no reason you can’t trot that horse. Don’t post the first circle if you’re worried. When you’re ready, kiss to him and lightly squeeze him with your calves. Very lightly, though, so he doesn’t go into a
canter.”
Tori made a kissing sound, but nothing happened. Mr. Gray continued to walk.
“Did you use your legs?”
Tori bit her lip. “I was worried he’d canter.”
“You’d have to give him a harder bump for that. Kiss and try squeezing harder with your calves instead. He should respond.”
Tori repeated the process, and the gelding moved into a smooth trot. “Oh! He’s doing it!”
“How does he feel?”
“Much easier to sit than Lulu. She was choppy.”
“That’s the pony you took lessons on? They’re always choppy because they have short legs and a short stride. Mr. Gray’s legs are much longer, and he’s more fluid in the way he travels. Keep light contact with his mouth, and make a full circle. Then I want you to try posting. Don’t stress if it’s not perfect or even on the correct lead. Just rise and fall to his stride.” She waited several seconds, then nodded. “Good girl. You’re getting it. Later we’ll need to work on rising with his inside leg, but you’ve got the right idea.”
Kate heaved a huge sigh of relief. She’d actually seen Tori smile. It appeared her friend might have conquered her fear. If only she’d be willing to enter at least one class in the show, life would be perfect.
Capri nickered from her stall as though she’d been forgotten. Kate moved from the rail and walked a couple of yards to her mare’s stall. “Hey, girl, here’s a carrot.” She dug one out of her pocket and slipped it through the bars. “You’re going to be the champion at the show, I know it. Maybe I’ll even win the silver spurs. If any horse here can do it, it’s you.”
Colt moved up beside her. “Dreaming about the show?”
Kate felt heat rise into her cheeks, and she ducked her head. “Yeah, I guess. Kind of. I’ve wanted to compete for the longest time. I wish I could have had jumping lessons and entered some of the hunter classes. I guess this time around I’ll have to be happy with the flat classes.”
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