JUMP GIRL (The Go Girls Chronicles Book 2)

by Leigh Hutton

  She took the gravel road, past Marcus’s, to get to Black Diamond, and breathed in the wide-open prairie with delight. Dallas lived in her kind of country.

  She found the driveway with the red, flaking mailbox marked with ‘CASH’, took the turn, slowed over the cattle grid. At the end of the long, gravel driveway — snaking the edge of a deep ravine — Ebony pulled her Mustang up at the brown panelled farmhouse and killed the engine. A big John Deere was parked in front of an open machinery shed, with a black Ford F-250 parked alongside. The truck had Colorado ‘A Higher State’ license plates, which made sense, as Dallas had told her on the phone that’s where he was born and raised.

  She checked her reflection in her rear view mirror, wiping her sweating palms on her grubby jeans — seriously, you’re gonna need to settle down! Her makeup was still mostly intact, thankfully, even after riding all day at the barn. She smoothed out her ponytail, and wiped a few smudges of black from under her eyes. She wished she had some kind of lipstick, and kicked herself for not stopping at the service station to at least grab some lip gloss, it had been that long since she’d been on a date. She could’ve certainly used some perfume, also, as her Lady Speedstick wasn’t quite doing the trick; she could still smell horse and sweat. She’d have to dig out the Gucci stuff Cecile had given her from her boxes when she got home. She couldn’t do anything about her smell, but licked her lips, to at least give them some shine, and took a few deep breaths, to steady her thumping heart.

  Dallas appeared on the front porch, the screen door slamming behind him. He was every bit as handsome as she remembered, so broad and masculine. He wore a dark hoodie and nice jeans, his hair as black as night and cut short, his face freshly shaven. His eyes were icy green but lit with fire when they met her own. This guy was so clean cut and perfect, Ebony had no clue what he saw in her. Nerves buzzed in her stomach and her hands were suddenly shaking — she shoved them into the pockets of her jeans. She hadn’t had the foresight to bring a change of clothes, but suspected that her barn clothes or her usual jeans and grey hoodie would do the trick. She’d left her black Ariats on, to be appropriate for the ride.

  Dallas leaned against the rail, and wolf whistled. ‘Now, that’s a car!’ he said, scanning her Mustang. Ebony’s cheeks burned. Blushing, again?! All this girly stuff was getting old. ‘Bit dirty, you know …’ Her throat was tight and her voice broke, she kicked at the gravel. ‘Country roads.’

  ‘This warm change is nice; thank you, Chinook!’ He nodded at his black Ford, also sporting patches of dried mud around the wheel wells and splatters on the paint. ‘I was about to wash mine, actually. I didn’t realise you were in to horse power of that kind?’

  Ebony’s mouth twitched up into a smile. ‘Girls like me are into all kinds, I suspect.’

  ‘You’ll have to take me for a spin in that baby, for our next date.’

  Ebony’s eyebrows shot to heaven, and she had to take a step back, to lean against her fast car for support. She rested her hands on the bonnet, still warm from her spirited drive from the barn. ‘There’s going be a second date, is there?’

  Dallas smiled. ‘C’mon—’ he jumped down the porch steps two at a time, and paused in front of her — ‘I’ll introduce you to the horses.’

  At least Ebony was able to focus on the animals once they were out in the paddock, rope halters and lead ropes in hand. The land was as flat as a lake and went on forever, the sky vast and deep blue from late afternoon. There was a smell to the prairie, crisp, clean and raw with the land, hay and animals. It fed her soul.

  Ebony’s face burned the closer Dallas got to her, she didn’t dare look him in the eye. She’d probably grin like a silly school girl in love.

  He handed her the bucket of oats he’d fetched from the feed room. ‘I bet you’ll have better luck than me.’ Ebony grabbed the bucket, much more snatch-ily than she’d intended, and stomped out into the paddock, cursing herself for being so nervous around this cool, cool guy.

  ‘C’ON!’ Dallas yelled, whistling, clapping for the horses to come in.

  Ebony was about to turn to him, to make a joke about his apparent inability to draw the females in, when a herd of three, shaggy quarter horses came tearing over the hill.

  She shied back, as the horses galloped up to them. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out in an open field, with wild-looking horses she didn’t know. She held out the bucket, and one horse, a stout chestnut with a black hollow where his right eye should have been, barged ahead of the rest. He bashed the bucket out of her hands.

  ‘Whoa!’ she said, smiling up at Dallas as he picked it up off the frozen ground. ‘You sure breed them wild in the prairie!’ She rested a hand on the horse’s head, and smoothed down his matted, dirt-encrusted forelock as his nose dove into the oats. ‘And do you not own a curry comb?’

  Dallas laughed. ‘You horsey princesses,’ he locked eyes with hers and smiled, ‘always pickin’ on us hicks from the country.’

  ‘I’m from the country,’ Ebony said defensively, and focused again on the horse’s forelock, freeing a stick and smoothing out a tangle.

  ‘Whereabouts? I thought you said you lived at Royal Lakes?’

  ‘I do now, but I grew up out of town. Near Millarville, actually. In the foothills.’

  ‘Huh! No way.’ Dallas laughed, and Ebony felt she’d missed a joke. ‘A kick-ass country girl, I really am a sucker.’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘Long story… hey, can you ride in a Western saddle?’

  ‘’Course.’

  ‘You can have Captain Hook, seems he’s taken a liking to you.’

  Ebony patted the horse on his white star, and let her fingers trace the outside of the hole where his eye should have been. ‘He seems sweet natured, once you get past the rough stuff. And he’s intelligent, can tell by his … well, good eye. He reminds me a lot of my horse, Monster.’

  Dallas looked at her, held her gaze and smiled. He seemed intrigued by her, the way she was with a temperamental horse when she first came into contact with him or her. Trying to work them out.

  He really was gorgeous, those eyes, like they could see her thoughts and read her feelings. Ebony’s lungs begged for air, and she pursed her lips, to keep from grinning like an idiot.

  The sun was casting its last rays of yellow, late afternoon sun across the prairie by the time the pair had groomed and saddled Hook and the little grey, Tinker Bell, for their ride up to the edge of the ravine, where Dallas said a creek ran in the summer months.

  Riding was so different in the huge, stiff Western saddle. Like she was in a big armchair, with her knees already aching from the long, straight pull of the stirrups. Her feet felt like they were skimming the ground, the little quarter horse was so short and solid. He was sure-footed and sturdy, like he could carry her to the moon and back.

  She marvelled at the stunning land as Dallas led them up a cow track, around behind the house, and up a gentle rise. She could see forever in all directions, like they were on top of the world. A black crow landed on a fence post ahead, and a light breeze tickled her cheeks and blew a strand of her hair free of her ponytail and across her cheek.

  ‘Used to be my uncle’s farm,’ Dallas said.

  Ebony was glad he was the one to break the silence. ‘Where’s he now?’

  ‘He passed away a few years back, from prostate cancer… Left the farm to me.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, to hear about your uncle.’

  ‘Dad took it pretty hard. Another reason he came up here with me, I figure. Never took the time to visit, before my uncle got sick, and he felt really guilty. He’s better now we’re here, like working my uncle’s land will help make up for the fact he never came to see him when he was alive. My uncle had a tough time, suffered from depression his whole life and then he got cancer. We’ve still got my granddad. Dad said he didn’t want to miss any more time with his family and that’s why we moved.’

  ‘That’s pretty special, for your dad
and you and your granddad to be living here together. And amazing of your uncle to leave all this to you.’

  Dallas nodded. ‘He was a super cool guy, we always got on well when I saw him. He never had any kids … chased a girl up here, but she left him just after they bought the farm. Life out here was too tough for her, city girl. Granddad moved up to help out, fell in love with the Prairie, and bought the farm next door. I guess it was just a matter of time before Dad moved up, too kinda strange, when Canadians are usually the ones who want to move to the States.’

  ‘It’s kind of like, in some cases, home finds us.’

  Dallas nodded. ‘I was ready to get away from Silvertown, and a spot on a top Junior A team here in Calgary came up. I’d just graduated. It was a nice change of scenery. I’m loving it here, actually, I wasn’t sure I’d like being surrounded by Canadians,’ he smirked, ‘but they just got a whole lot better.’

  Ebony bit her bottom lip, and looked down at the saddle horn.

  ‘Dad’s enjoying it here, too,’ Dallas continued. ‘He’s renting his farm out, down in the States, and got on with an oil company up here. We’ve scaled back the cattle, letting the land rejuvenate. And it’s nice for him to be in the big money. Helps him forget about Mom. We’re kinda like one big family now, ya know? It feels like home.’

  ‘Will you be swapping those plates for some Prairie Province ones, then?’

  ‘I’d love my truck to match your hot Mustang, so I just might,’ Dallas grinned, ‘so, what do you think of Hook? A show jumping prospect for you?’

  ‘Of course!’ She kicked him up into a trot, and had to keep kicking to get the paddock-fat horse past Dallas. ‘Look at the speed!’ She pulled him up and waited for the equally as unfit Tinker Bell to carry Dallas’s weight. ‘Speaking of athletes, what is it that you do?’

  Dallas laughed. ‘Hockey. I’m the vice-captain of the Calgary Knights. It isn’t the NCAA, but it’s still a great team.’

  ‘Nice.’ Ebony let the leather reins fall on Hook’s wobbly neck and grabbed the saddle horn with both hands. He rested a hind leg. ‘I’ve never been to a hockey game.’

  ‘You’ll have to come to mine.’

  ‘Actually, I’d love to.’

  Dallas lifted his hat from his head, running a hand through his hair. Ebony found herself gazing at his jawline, his strong hands, his face.

  ‘So what’s your story, Mustang g-url?’

  Ebony’s eyebrows laced together. ‘What d’you mean?’

  ‘You’re very mysterious.’

  She laughed, and held a hand to her mouth. Je-sus, this guy really has turned me into a freaking giggling princess! She forced her face into a ‘trainer poker expression’ and cleared her throat. ‘I’m glad you find me so strange. That’s what I was going for.’

  ‘Mysterious works for you.’ Dallas swung off Tinker Bell, his long legs landing straight on the ground. They’d nearly reached the fence line, and the sun was starting to set, casting a pink prism across the white and tan-coloured prairie. He walked around to her, resting his arms on Hook’s neck, and looked up into her eyes. ‘Really. I want to know.’

  Ebony glanced down at the worn, crackled leather of the front of the saddle. His arms were so close to her thighs, she could feel his heat, and those butterflies in her stomach went into overdrive. ‘I’ve been jumping since I was about eight,’ she said, tracing the cracks in the leather with her finger to focus her mind, which was fighting to be lost with him. ‘When I was taken in by the caretakers of a big barn near Okotoks …’ She hoped this would satisfy him; enough talking backstory. But he was still watching her intently, those chilling, exciting eyes glued to hers.

  ‘I lived in a lot of foster homes before then, but once I was there, they couldn’t get rid of me,’ she smiled, ‘luckily, they had more than enough horses that needed to be worked and once I got going on them, a lot of owners wanted me to show their ponies for them, too first place ribbons look good for anyone.’ She clutched a knotted strand of Hook’s mane, and kneaded it between her fingers. ‘I never got to ride the best ponies, of course — usually the ones that had a nasty bite or stop. But I liked the rejects.’

  ‘I bet you got them sorted.’

  ‘Maybe …’ Ebony looked up into Dallas’s eyes, and smiled. He didn’t look away, and as they studied each other, Ebony was suddenly at peace; no longer nervous, only excited to be speaking with him. He was so still, calm and self-assured: all things she feared she was lacking inside. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the front of the saddle, her face close to his, their hands nearly touching. She kicked her feet from the stirrups and let her legs hang low. Hook took his head and was soon searching the snowy ground for shoots of brown grass. ‘Before long I was jumping a meter ten on a great old horse that the head trainer, Jenny Pedrosa, didn’t have time to show herself,’ Ebony said. ‘That’s when I met Cecile Scott Harris.’

  ‘And she adopted you?’ He was listening to her, truly listening, not keeping up the conversation because he had nothing better to do and would ditch her as soon as there was someone more important around. It was just her and Dallas and these lovely, slow, happy horses in the middle of the wide open plain. Just the sunshine on their skin and the wilderness all around. Ebony trusted this man, she realised. She’d never known a man she trusted.

  ‘No,’ she said, turning her chin to his. ‘Her ex never let her. But I was her daughter, her only child, and her only family except for Annika.’

  ‘Who’s Annika?’

  ‘Her sister. Cecile is dead.’

  ‘So sorry to hear it.’

  ‘It was hard, but once you get through a lot of tough times in your life, you almost expect more, you know?’

  ‘I get you,’ he said.

  ‘Cecile was very wealthy and she loved show jumping. She could never ride herself, no matter how hard she tried; she didn’t have the balance or the coordination. It was the funniest thing, watching her bopping around on a horse,’ Ebony couldn’t help but laugh, ‘she set me up with some of the best horses and paid Jenny to be my trainer. We lived at her country house, even though she had a studio apartment in the city just around the corner from her consultancy firm; she didn’t mind the commute. I miss her a lot.’

  ‘And Annika isn’t like her?’

  ‘No,’ Ebony clenched her teeth, ‘Annika is nothing like her sister.’

  Dallas pulled a toothpick from his pocket, and placed it between his teeth. His eyes rose to the horizon, and he rolled the toothpick back and forth with his tongue. Then he pulled it from his mouth and looked up at Ebony. ‘I don’t get it.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Do you live in Cecile’s apartment?’

  ‘No, God, no. I assume her ex got that. I live with Annika.’

  ‘But you hate Annika, well, obviously you do.’

  ‘There’s not much to like,’ Ebony said.

  ‘I don’t want to pry, or anything, but who lives in the house at Millarville? Cecile didn’t have any other children?’

  ‘Only me.’

  ‘And her husband, they divorced?’

  ‘Were going through it when she died. It was messy … they had a pre-nup, and hardly spent any time together, but Samson couldn’t accept that she wanted to be free of him.’

  ‘So why did she leave him her house?’

  ‘Well, I’m not sure she did,’ Ebony said.

  ‘How long ago did she die?’

  ‘About nine months ago, on August the thirteenth.’

  ‘And is there anyone living there now? Has Annika told you anything?’ Dallas asked.

  Ebony shook her head. She’d never told anyone this story before, not even Winnie, who’d been employed by Annika and given her orders from there. She took a deep breath. She wanted to share this with Dallas. ‘I was called by a man when I was out at Thunderbird showing, Cecile had had to go home for an important business meeting a few days before. He said it was an emergency and I needed to get home straight away. I didn�
��t know him, but I think he worked for Cecile. When I got home the man in the suit met me at the front gate with a few cops who asked me questions. There were cop cars and that police crime scene bunting everywhere. It was a nightmare. They told me that Cecile had been found that morning by the gardener, Juan Pablo, hanging from a tree in the woods behind the house. The man came with me to pack my things and drove with me to Annika’s. All they said when we got there was that Cecile was dead and that I would live with Annika and ride her horses. I didn’t ask questions after that.’

  ‘Wow …’ Dallas leaned in close. ‘I’m so sorry. I hope you don’t think I’m prying?’

  ‘No. It’s nice to talk about it, actually.’

  ‘So, did Cecile have a Will?’

  Ebony shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Did anyone tell you that she’d left you anything?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Does that seem right to you?’

  Ebony took a deep breath, and looked from the prairie flats, down the ravine to the strong, commanding face of the mountains. A view she cherished, like she was home. ‘I haven’t thought about any of that.’

  ‘You and Cecile were really close?’

  ‘I was like her daughter. We spent every holiday together. Her parents were both dead. I was her only family, she didn’t speak to Annika.’

  ‘And you mean to tell me, that she left you nothing? Not even the horses that she set you up with?’

  ‘No one’s come to get my car … But, when you say it like that, I guess it does sound pretty strange.’

  ‘Why would she leave anything to Annika, especially her horses, if they didn’t even talk?’

  Ebony’s hands started to shake, and her pulse beat fast against her temples. Had she really never considered any of these questions before? Had she really just allowed herself to be shuffled along by the man in the suit and by Annika? When she thought about it, that was what she’d always done, what she was supposed to do. From one foster home to another.