She let him out for the hand gallop and found a more open spot than Zoe had.
Kendall’s dad went crazy from the in-gate, hooting and hollering. The crowd stood up and cheered.
The announcer exuberantly issued the scores. “Looks like it’s a three-peat for Veracity and Kendall Adams!”
Kendall came out of the ring laying on Veracity’s neck, hugging and patting him. Her dad rushed up to clap her on the thigh.
Zoe tried to offer her congratulations too but her voice was lost in all the other people’s.
“I hope you’re not completely disappointed,” Zoe told Grant. “I’m sorry I didn’t ride the best all day.”
Grant shrugged. “That’s horse showing, babe.” He didn’t say it with any hostility—maybe the second place had dulled the disappointment of the other performances.
The award presentation was chaotic. The horse that was fifth became unsettled and started hopping up and down, nearly rearing.
John had finished tenth, which was a great ribbon. If the trot jump hadn’t snagged him up, he would have been right up there at the top.
She didn’t get to talk to him during the presentation. When she came out of the ring, she looked for him. At first she thought he had left, but then she saw him walking toward her.
She slid off and let a groom take Trey from her.
“Your hand-gallop was amazing!” she said. “I feel like I want to say I’m proud of you but I hate when people say they’re proud of people. Isn’t that something only your parents are supposed to say?”
“Totally,” John said. “I wish I hadn’t messed up the trot jump. That wouldn’t have happened if you were on her.”
“You can’t be sure about that.”
There was so much more Zoe wanted to talk to him about but the PR person for the show interrupted, explaining they needed Zoe at the press conference.
“Go—” John told her. “You’re needed.”
“We’ll catch up later?” Zoe said.
“Definitely.”
When all the photos and interviews were over, Zoe went back to the hotel and lay on her bed, still in her boots and breeches. Congratulatory texts rolled in, plenty from numbers she didn’t even recognize.
Great ride!
Well done!
You go, girl!
All followed by lots of emojis.
She texted back “thanks” to most of the people and wrote more to people like Hannah and Linda.
By ten o’clock the texts had died down and she still hadn’t received any from the one person who really mattered to her.
She decided to write to him, choosing two simple words.Hey, sweetie.
She stared at her phone, waiting for the three dots to appear that would mean he was typing. Where could he be right now that he wouldn’t have his phone? Had he gone out to celebrate with Hugo and his crew? Was he asleep?
Finally, she saw the dots. She clutched her phone inches from her face, waiting.
Yes, darling?
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Zoe and John started texting every day. At first it was mostly about the horses, Linda, Molly, and Dakota. Then it got more personal. Sometimes it bordered on flirty.
Lindsay started riding without stirrups, gaining back her strength. Zoe knew her time at Lyman Creek would be over soon. She had gotten two calls about possible jobs, one for a big sales operation and one for a trainer that specialized in amateur riders. She wasn’t super fired up about either position but they were jobs with decent salaries and nice horses. She could take either position and go to Wellington, and probably find something better over the winter.
When Grant asked to talk to her one day, Zoe was sure it was going to be the thank-you-you’ve-been-great-we-don’t-need-you-anymore speech.
Instead he asked her if she’d be interested in staying on with them through Florida and probably beyond. He said he didn’t want Lindsay riding all the babies anymore. He wanted her to concentrate on the more established horses and Zoe would do all the pre-green horses and some of the first years too.
While Zoe would be second to Lindsay and wouldn’t be riding in the biggest classes, Grant’s horses were top of the line. It was probably better to ride super nice greenies than mediocre experienced ones.
Zoe said she needed a few days to think about it.
But what was there to think about really?
Linda had her sister helping her now and John hadn’t even hinted that he might want her to ride for him again.
She told Grant yes the next day.
The following weeks passed with the weather turning so unbearably hot that they had to ride early. Lindsay took her stirrups back and popped over small jumps. They were skipping Harrisburg and Washington, and hoping Lindsay could show by the National.
Kathleen came for a short visit, bringing her son and nanny. She rode a few times as the nanny chased the towheaded boy all over the farm, from the tractor shed to the pond.
When Zoe saw the little boy standing at the edge of the pond throwing sticks in and watching them float, she felt her chest tighten. But the nanny was always right next to him.
Lindsay became more friendly to Zoe, perhaps because she wasn’t a threat anymore. She had a bit of a tough exterior but Zoe began to see small moments where Lindsay opened up and let down her guard.
She and Lindsay were at the nail salon on a Monday when Zoe got a text from Linda. It was a photo of her hand . . . with a diamond ring.
She and Eamon were planning a small ceremony at Morada Bay in between the Regionals and the Talent Search Finals. Zoe knew so many horse show marriages ended in divorce. Yet, there was the romantic in her, the one who still hoped for a happily-ever-after movie ending for Linda.
Maybe she and Eamon would be the exception.
She asked Grant for a few days off and found a relatively cheap flight into Newark. One of the best parts of the wedding was Hannah was coming, driving down from Tufts.
And she would she see John.
Even though the seats were cramped and the only thing the airline offered for free was a tiny glass of soda, flying felt nearly luxurious since Zoe never really flew anywhere. Usually it was hours in the car.
She tried to remember the last time she’d flown. It was her first year out of ponies when one of Jamie’s clients paid for her to fly to Pony Finals to ride a large pony for her.
By the time Zoe arrived at the hotel, Hannah had already checked in. The elevator ride to the fifth floor felt like it took forever. Zoe practically ran down the hallway and was sliding her key card into the slot when Hannah pulled open the door.
Hannah squealed and the two hugged. They didn’t let go right away. Finally, when they did, Zoe looked at Hannah to see if anything was different about her. She was still pretty. She still had that somewhat innocent look about her, even though the girl that stood before Zoe now was very different than the girl Zoe had known at Jamie’s.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m here,” Hannah said.
“I can’t believe it either.”
Zoe hung up the dress she’d brought for the wedding in the closet next to Hannah’s. One good thing about working for Grant was that she could actually afford a few things for herself and she was also slowly paying off her credit card debt. Hannah and Zoe laughed because both their dresses were light blue, although Hannah’s had a tiered top and Zoe’s had a one-shoulder top. Both were just above knee-length.
“We’ll be twins!” Hannah said.
“I guess blue’s in,” Zoe said.
They sat across from each other on the beds and talked and talked. Zoe asked Hannah about school and Hannah asked Zoe about working for Grant.
Hannah said, “I’m going home for a week or two and then coming back for the fall semester. I got put in a suite for housing which is basically four rooms that share a common room and a bathroom. I kind of know one of the girls from my chem class and she knows the other two girls, so I think it’ll be good.”
; Zoe told her, “So I guess I’m going to WEF with Grant and Lindsay. It’s pretty good. They have really nice horses and I get to ride a lot. I miss having kids around the barn, though, or other customers. It’s just me and Grant and Lindsay.”
The subject of John came up when they talked about Linda and the wedding.
“I can’t believe I’m finally going to meet him.”
“We’ve been texting a lot since Derby Finals.”
Hannah widened her eyes. “Really?”
“He always texts to say good-night.”
“Seriously?”
Zoe nodded. “Do you think that means anything?”
“It means you’re the last person he’s thinking of before he falls asleep. That’s huge.”
“I don’t know. What about you? You can’t possibly tell me there weren’t tons of cute boys walking around campus?”
Hannah pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I guess there were. There was one boy in my psych class. I don’t know. I still don’t feel ready to date yet.”
“I doubt Chris is sitting around being celibate.”
“Thanks for that,” Hannah said, looking away.
“I’m sorry,” Zoe replied quickly. “I’m sorry I said that. I don’t actually think he got over you fast or anything but I just really feel like you need to live your life and put him behind you. I hate the idea of you not hooking up with guys because of him, or because of one mistake you made and feeling guilty about that.”
“It was a pretty bad mistake,” Hannah said.
“Still,” Zoe said. “Take it from the queen of mistakes . . . life goes on.”
Hannah shrugged. “Maybe I’ll meet someone in the fall.”
“I hope so,” Zoe said.
“I’m considering riding on the school team.”
“That sounds great.”
“I figure it would be a way to meet more people and I miss the horses.”
“You won’t find any guys there, though,” Zoe pointed out.
“You haven’t heard anything about Chris?” Hannah asked. “I mean anything through the grapevine?”
Zoe shook her head. Maybe shaking her head instead of speaking would make it less of a lie because she had heard something. Recently, she’d heard that he’d been seen with a European rider. But rumors always ran rampant about rider hook-ups with Europeans when overseas. It was debatable how much of it was true.
Was it better than his getting back together with Mary Beth? Zoe wasn’t sure.
“He’s been doing really well,” Hannah said. “I’m so happy for him. He was right about being able to ride Athelstane.”
“Yeah,” Zoe said, glad that they had gotten away from Chris’s love life and back to a safer topic—his riding. “Everyone knows he has what it takes to be one of the best. It’s all about the horseflesh, though. I heard Delaney isn’t too happy with Tommy.”
“Really?”
“That’s what the rumor is.”
“That would have to make Chris feel better about how it ended with Delaney,” Hannah said.
That night they went out to dinner with Linda and a few of her closest friends for an unofficial bachelorette party. Dakota came too. She and Hannah hugged and went into the restaurant arm-in-arm, saying how much they had to catch up on. They sat next to each other and Zoe sat across from them, feeling left out. She sensed that Dakota was perhaps acting even more chummy with Hannah just to make Zoe feel bad.
The restaurant had a fun and festive vibe, though, and Zoe couldn’t stay glum for long, even if Hannah and Dakota talked on and on across from her. Linda looked so happy that her happiness was contagious.
Everyone had margaritas, except Linda and Dakota, of course.
“Some bachelorette party,” Linda’s sister, Heather, joked.
“Yeah, the bride can’t drink and is as big as a house,” Linda said.
“You look great,” Linda’s best friend, Dawn, a trainer from Michigan, said. “You’re still totally hot.”
Linda laughed. “Oh my God, please.”
After the appetizers, Dakota slipped away to go the bathroom and Zoe followed. She found her outside the bathroom, texting.
“Do you have to go?” Zoe said.
“What are you, the bathroom police?”
“No, I just, I wanted to talk to you . . . in private and I wasn’t sure when I’d get another chance.”
“So you followed me to the bathroom?”
“Yes,” Zoe said.
Dakota jutted out her chin. “Well, what is it?”
Man, that girl could be obnoxious when she tried.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry about breaking our pact.”
“Who cares?” Dakota said. “That was like ten years ago.”
“Well, I care. We promised each other something and I didn’t live up to it. I let you down.”
Dakota softened a little, her voice quieter and less hostile. “I just wish you’d told me. Like after? I wish you’d come to me and told me you’d had a moment of weakness. I would have totally gotten that. It was that you didn’t tell me and I heard it from someone else. I thought we were friends.”
“We were. We are! Or I hope we can be again. Next time I sleep with someone horrible you will totally be the first person I call. I just felt so gross about it and I didn’t want you to think badly of me.”
Zoe swallowed and then decided to come completely clean and confess about hooking up with Morgan the last time in Kentucky.
“See, I’m not mad because you told me this time,” Dakota said.
“I realized like right in the middle of it that I was truly done with letting guys treat me like shit. You helped me get to that point, and Linda, and John too.”
“He’s still hoping you’ll come back,” Dakota said.
“What?”
“Yeah, totally.”
“How do you know?” In all their texts, John had never even hinted about hoping she’d come back.
“Why else do you think he turned down 250K for Gidget?”
“Who offered him that?”
“Those people from Illinois. The ones with all the money. Margolis, I think their name is?”
“I never heard that. He never said anything about it.”
“Exactly,” Dakota said. “He’s hoping if he keeps Gidget you might come back and ride her.”
“He turned down 250K?” Zoe said, as much to herself as to Dakota.
“I wish you’d come back and work for Linda again. I mean Heather’s nice but she’s not you.”
“Me too, but I want horses to show. More than just Gidget.”
“What if I got my parents to buy one for you?”
“That’s so sweet,” Zoe said. “But you’re not asking them to do that. Congrats on getting through Regionals by the way. That was cool.”
“Thanks,” Dakota said.
When Zoe and Dakota had both returned to the table their main courses were there. A second round of Margaritas was ordered for those who could drink.
After dessert, Linda turned serious. “I can’t thank you guys enough for helping me get to this point in my life. For listening to me cry when I dated assholes.” Linda looked meaningfully at Heather and Dawn.
“For being there when I found out I was pregnant.” Here, she looked at Zoe.
Then she teared up. “I’m just so happy. I’m in love with a great guy and I’m having a baby and I’m getting married!” She wiped at her eyes. “It must be the hormones!”
But everyone was tearing up a little.
If Linda could find love and happiness then maybe someday they all could.
Back at the hotel, Zoe washed up first and was in bed looking at her phone when Hannah came back from the bathroom wearing a cute set of PJs with cows on them. Zoe told her about the offer on Gidget.
“Holy crap,” Hannah said. “Wow.”
“He needs the money too,” Zoe added.
“Did he already text you good-night?”
“Yeah.
Hannah grabbed Zoe’s phone and started typing out a message.
“What are you writing? Stop!”
Hannah gave her back the phone. There were five words. I think I’m falling in . . .
Zoe shook her head and deleted the text. “Now he probably saw the dots and knows I was writing something and wonders why I erased it.”
She typed, see you tomorrow, and hit send.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Linda wore a knee-length white dress with an empire waist. She had an understated tiara with a small white veil that Zoe joked she had to wear because it was either that or her sunglasses.
Eamon wore khakis and a blazer. There were no bridesmaids or groomsmen, and only twenty or so people in the folding chairs set up in front of the barn. Eamon’s family had decided to postpone a trip until the baby was born. He had a few friends there, mostly other Irish guys from the barn he worked at and Tiernan, the Irish grand prix rider he worked for.
Zoe was acutely aware of John sitting next to her and how nice he’d looked when he’d arrived. She’d subtly elbowed Hannah and it didn’t take any more than that for Hannah to realize the man who had just walked in was John.
He had given Zoe a big hug and then said, “You must be Hannah.”
“You must be John.”
“That’s me.”
“You’re tall. Zoe said you were tall but you’re really tall.”
“Thanks?” John said, looking from Hannah to Zoe. “That’s what sticks out about me most?”
“I guess so,” Zoe said. “Maybe it’s your best attribute?”
“Ouch.” John pretended to act hurt.
“Just kidding. I also said you can ride really well and you pick good horses and you’re able to endure watching cheesy movies.”
“That sounds like one of those two-truths-and-a-lie things,” John said.
Zoe smiled. “But they’re all true.”
When it was time to be seated, the three of them sat together in the third row.
Hannah leaned over and whispered to Zoe, “You two are so cute together.”
Hunter Derby: (Show Circuit Series -- Book 3) Page 22