Horrified, my front feet were headed right for the middle of the sinister little creatures. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for dozens of poisonous pricks from the snakes' fangs.
Nothing happened.
“Come on!” Winny practically begged.
I looked down, the feel of cool water sliding over my skin. The venomous snakes I could have sworn I saw had been a trick of the eye. It was only water, sprinkled with light and shadow.
I'm an idiot, I chastised myself, frustrated and embarrassed. Splashing through the stream, I bolted up the other bank to the continuation of the winding trail.
“Thank you,” Winny lauded me sarcastically. “Now let's move!”
It was only another thirty feet before we rounded a cluster of trees and spotted Mike lounging in his chair.
He sat up straight, seeing us come into view. He smiled broadly, probably at seeing we were still in one piece. Mike looked so good in his ball cap and farmer’s tan. I was tempted to go crash into his lap and nuzzle him with the tips of my scratchy lips.
I rolled my eyes at my own girlish fantasy. You're a horse, remember?
Still, it couldn't hurt to impress him a little. Smartly, I measured the distance to the fence that appeared to be an extra wide but low set table. The scarecrow leaning on the far end with a picnic basket in his lap made me look twice but with Mike earnestly hoping we wouldn't crash and burn, it wasn't hard to drum up some pride. We cleared the table, sending Mike into a fanatical cheering fit. Winny thanked me again for the extraordinary amount of bravery I was displaying and reminded me we were over halfway done.
We had no problems at the other obstacles hidden in the forest. After what we'd already seen, the corner jump and a straight-forward, hedge-adorned vertical out into the spacious field were a piece of cake. A low-hanging branch scratched Winny on the face as we darted again through the stream rimming the exit from the woods but we continued.
“Ow,” she hissed through clenched teeth. At full speed, she put the leather reins in one hand and reached up to her cheekbone. A trickle of blood smeared across her face.
“Sorry, Nadia, but this one might leave a mark.” She pulled the royal blue polo I'd picked to go with my blue and gold helmet cover out from underneath the body protector. Dabbing it tenderly on her cheek, she used it to sop up the dripping blood.
Taking the opportunity to check her watch, she gasped. “Nadia, we've got to pick up the pace. We're thirty seconds behind.”
Off in the distance, I caught sight of Chuck watching for Gretchen and me. I raised my head to get a better view but lowered it quickly to keep my galloping stride from being choppy and uncomfortable for Winny. A swell of wrath overshadowed me. Not that I wasn't enjoying my time as one of God's most powerful and beautiful creations, but while I was stuck in my stall, an epic battle between Winny and Gretchen over Mike's attentions had been in full swing and all I could do was helplessly watch. All because of Chuck’s stupid story.
Give it a rest, I warned myself.
My easy sentiments as a horse continued to shock me. Everything caused some emotional reaction in me as a mare. I'd been so naïve thinking it was difficult to control myself as a teenage girl. I swore to myself that would never again be the case.
“There's Chuck,” Winny announced to me in a less-than-thrilled tone. She too dropped her head, dug her heels in and encouraged me to hurry it up.
In the short time we raced through the forest, the sun had burned off all of the clouds that blocked its rays. I raced my shadow from jump to jump, feeling an elated sense of satisfaction at each successful obstacle.
Winny, in a short amount of time, had become a strong and aggressive rider. From years as a horse, she could read my thoughts before I even knew how I was going to react. She steered me away from a row of flags that reached out to grab me as we passed by. Slowing me down for each fence, she helped me correctly gauge each step to avoid any more problems like we'd had at the coop.
At the twenty-fifth jump, the overeager Thoroughbred's rider stood at the edge of the water. He was soaked and dripping with mud, his hands balled up and resting on his hips. His horse was nowhere to be seen. From the looks of it, he'd been thrown in the water and his horse continued on without him.
I felt sorry for the guy. His face was solemn and disappointed. How could he not be after so much training and money poured into the sport? At least he was still physically intact. Moments before we were to take our turn, he jogged out of the way, standing next to the judge who radioed there was a loose horse.
“This is a drop into the water, Nadia,” Winny coached me. “Don't dump me. Otherwise, you're getting half rations of grain tonight.”
I tilted my head to look at her. She wore a mocking smile on her mouth but didn't return my gaze. She wasn't very good at teasing.
The drop looked as deep as falling into the Grand Canyon. It took all of my nerve to trust in Winny and follow her instructions. For the first time, I noted my weary body was covered in a frothy white foam. Apparently this body could get tired. Having already run miles at a full gallop, not to mention the distance I'd covered on the roads and steeplechase, I was ready for it to be over.
There were no railings in front of the water, just a straight drop. I half halted, nearly breaking into a trot at the edge. Feeling with my hooves for the end of the earth, I peered down into the murky water.
“Here goes nothing,” I held my breath.
Headfirst I tumbled. Winny held on with one hand and threw her other arm behind her. The famous ‘hailing a cab’ move worked nicely, letting me reach forward and stretch my back out behind me while Winny nearly knocked into my haunches with her helmet. We plunged into the pool, sending a tsunami wave over us. As gross as it was, the filthy water was a welcome relief.
The ground beneath was a firm clay and gravel, giving excellent traction and cushion. I charged to the pyramid of logs that was the third to last jump. Flying over the wood, we splashed onto the other side and steered towards the exit ramp.
We made a tight hairpin turn towards the last two jump combination when, out of nowhere, a horse pulled up beside us. His dappled coat was darkened with sweat but he didn't seem to care. Out of the corner of his gray muzzle, his tongue slipped in and out of his mouth like a dog hanging his head out a car's window. By his expression, he was sizing me up.
“Wanna race?” he excitedly challenged me. I recognized him as the impatient Thoroughbred begging to go right before Winny and I departed, the same gelding who'd dumped his rider at the water hazard.
“Go away!” Winny tried shooing him with the tip of her crop. He dropped behind me and pulled up on the other side, surely thinking Winny's reach wouldn't be able to strike him. He easily showed me up on speed and stamina, barely panting while I was breathless.
I eyeballed him and shouted, “No, I don’t!”
“Come on, just over to the trees. I bet I can win!” he showed off with a playful buck.
Not wanting to hurt his feelings, I kindly pointed out that I was in a hurry. “I'm trying to finish the course here, buddy.”
“Oh, alright. Maybe later then,” he suggested as we raced neck and neck.
“Yeah, maybe,” I snorted. “Say, didn't you forget your rider back there? He's probably looking for you.”
“Dave? Oh, shoot! I forgot!”
I raised a brow. “Shouldn't you go get him?”
He thought for a moment, obviously not the brightest gelding on the grounds. “Yeah, you're probably right.”
Without another word, he pulled ahead and ran circles around me just to show off. Bidding me farewell, he turned on a dime and raced back to his master who was shouting his name through cupped hands.
“Keystone!” the man yelled. “Come here, you asinine horse!” Dave smiled from ear to ear, seeing his scatterbrained companion galloping in his direction. Happily reunited, Dave caught the gelding’s reins and commended him on faithfully returning.
Winny's watch beeped wildly
. “One minute!” she screamed at me. Another shock of excitement coursed through me, starting at my excitedly pounding heart to the tip of my tail and ears. It was unfathomable that we were seconds away from crossing the finish line when only two days ago, I could hardly trot in a straight line and Winny was as effective a rider as a rag doll.
A pretty set of lattices comprised the last two fences, a mere fifteen strides from the finish line. Unlike the other obstacles that had been aged by weather, they looked brand new.
The epinephrine began to wane in my blood and the heavy, tired feeling came creeping back, overpowering me. I was hot and at the same time shivering from the dip in the water.
“Thirty seconds!”
At the finish, Danika, Ms. Diederich, Sidney and Kristi were beckoning for me to meet them. Gretchen held her helmet in the crook of her hip, her blond hair plastered by sweat. Chuck was busy with Isis and had stripped off her tack, washing the frothy foam off her coat.
“Come on, Winny!” Isis whinnied to me in a high octave. Chuck began pacing her back and forth, while Gretchen kept a watchful eye on us, the only competitor she cared about.
The jumps were straightforward and adorned with wildflowers. This time, I didn't care if I trampled the decoration. Two urn-like pots on either end were overflowing with blue flowers blooming at the end of the twiggy stems. Bachelor buttons. The same color as Mike's eyes, I sighed, threatening to lose myself to a daydream.
Mustering the last reserves of my strength, I bound over the first fence. Two strides later, I was in the air again, my front hooves nicking off a chunk of fresh paint. I didn’t care. My attention was trained on the white line signaling the finish. I reached with my hooves, pumping my body as hard as I could. Danika had lost all composure and was screaming outright, bouncing excitedly up and down in the air.
“Go, Nadia, go!” she shouted.
Even Ms. Diederich, who expertly hid her emotions under a blanket of gruffness and reserve, shook her fists excitedly, her eyes alight.
I could see the burly man who'd sent us off on our cross-country adventure carefully watching his clock as we approached. It was obviously going to be close—he didn't look like the type that would let a few nanoseconds slide. Faster I sprinted, heading full speed for the finish I'd worked so hard to accomplish.
We beat the judge's watch by a nose.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Winny threw her arms up in the air and leaned back like she'd done the night we first galloped together. Utterly exhausted, I decelerated to a brisk walk, breathing heavily through my flared nostrils.
“We did it!” proclaimed Winny. “I can't believe it!”
She flung herself on my neck and strangled me with a bear hug. I could feel her pounding heart and smell her sweat soaking the blood-stained polo. The gash on her cheek was swollen and raw, outlined with fresh red blood but she paid it no attention. She released her chokehold and tumbled to the ground in a weary, discombobulated dismount.
“Undo my girth, undo my girth,” I chanted with each rapid pant. Winny rose and began leading me back to where Danika was skipping towards us more exuberantly than a schoolgirl. I got Winny's attention by tugging on the reins and miming what I wanted. If I could have just reached the billets, I'd have undone it myself.
“Oh, sorry, Nadia,” Winny understood. The girth wasn't usually so restrictive but while trying to breathe as efficiently as possible, I might as well have been wearing a corset.
The loosened leather helped enormously, letting me fully expand my great lungs. The slightly panicked feeling of being unable to catch my breath subsided.
“Congratulations,” someone muttered behind us. Winny and I both spun around, unprepared to see Gretchen awkwardly clutching Isis' braided reins.
Winny had no hard feelings like the ones I had nursed. Still, the moment of solidarity was awkward.
Winny replied with an honest, “Thank you. It's a good feeling to be done.”
“Yeah. The first time you complete an upper level course is a day to remember.” Winny smiled but Gretchen avoided looking at her by staring at her glossy field boots.
“Ms. Wells? Number one-ten?”
Winny turned to the next inquirer with a smile, “Yes?”
“Close call, but you ran a clear round.”
“Whoo-hoo!” Winny celebrated again. Unable to contain herself, she threw her arms around the timer's enlarged gut and thanked him.
I tapped her on the small of her back to remind her I was there.
“Hey, quit getting all touchy-feely with everyone.” I didn't want Winny starting a precedent. The last thing I needed was for everyone to think I was the one who was weird. Life was complicated enough right now without everyone expecting a hug from me at every turn.
“Nadia! Your face!” Danika exclaimed.
“Oh, this? Just a scratch.”
Ms. Diederich grabbed Winny by the chin and brought her down to her level for examination. “She will not need stitches.”
Danika began splashing me with her bucket and sponge. My body felt like it was on the verge of exploding and only the cool water kept me contained.
With a sly smile, Ms. Diederich teased, “You enjoy a dramatic finish, no?”
They all broke down laughing. I would have joined but my mind was on catching my breath, eating lunch and passing out the rest of the afternoon.
“Guess that means you're tied with Gretchen. She had a five second penalty. That makes up the two point difference.”
“Seriously?” Winny looked entirely too thrilled.
“Hey! It was a hard course!” Isis retorted.
“You heard what she said,” Gretchen hissed. She flung her hair behind her and marched off.
“Whoops,” Winny muttered.
We dumped the saddle at the tack room and traded the bridle for a much more comfortable halter. Grabbing the sweat scraper, we waited behind Gretchen at the water spigot where she was hosing off Isis.
“Oh, that's the spot,” groaned Isis. Gretchen had soaked her and was scratching her chest. Isis, her head straight in the air and her lips puckered, looked like she was in heaven.
“Is that what you were waiting for, girl?” Gretchen cooed at her. She'd obviously taken some time to primp herself too. Gretchen’s hair was combed back into a low pony tail and her face had been powdered, though still flush.
Winny laughed as we approached, “Hey there, Isis. Still your favorite scratching spot, eh?”
Gretchen jerked a little, startled at our undetected approach.
“I didn't see you coming,” Gretchen excused herself.
“Sorry. It just looks like she's enjoying it.”
“I'm finished with the hose if you need to use it.”
My stomach gurgled noisily, twisting in painful knots. Eating was definitely my top priority all the time. Spotting a patch of grass near the spigot, I attacked it. It tasted like it was marinated in shampoo but I was too famished to care.
“So,” Gretchen asked awkwardly, “how did you guys do out there?”
It was odd seeing Gretchen's tough, carefree, rich girl facade disintegrate. Without it, she was quite vulnerable and as uncouth as I.
“We had a few minor incidents but no faults,” Winny proudly answered. “And, well, you saw, made it just in time. How about you guys?”
“Same. Well, other than being tardy five seconds. It was a tough course.”
“Yeah, it was.”
There was another uncomfortable pause in their conversation. Only the sounds of children’s laughter in the distance and the hubbub at the concessions stand filled the void.
“Would you…” Gretchen hesitated. “Do you want to go watch Kristi with me? She's starting in about half an—”
Winny, sweetly naïve and innocent, answered, “Yeah!” before Gretchen could finish asking. “Let me just get Nad-” she paused, “Winny bathed and I'd love to go with you.”
“Did you almost call her Nadia again?” Gretchen narrowed her e
yes like a cat with a cornered mouse.
Winny chuckled nervously. “I think my mind is pretty well gone at this point, practically melted from the cross-country.”
Gretchen shrugged and pulled Isis back towards the stalls.
“Nice one,” I groaned at Winny.
“Oops. That was close.”
Leaning over, she grabbed the nozzle capping the snaking garden hose and flipped it to jet-stream. Grinning devilishly, she pointed it at me. “This ought to feel good.”
* * *
Washed, scraped dry and hungry enough to down an arena packed with hay, I shuffled along behind Winny.
“Oh, Mike, that's so sweet,” Gretchen giggled flirtatiously.
We rounded the corner just in time to see her fling herself into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. He rested his chin on her shoulder, closed his eyes and reciprocated the hug a little too long.
Mike’s eyes flashed open as I clomped into view. He threw his arms down and stepped back a safe distance. My fragile heart wavered, not strong enough to feel anger or hurt. I wedged my way into my stall and buried my face in the hay.
“Oh. Hi Nadia,” Gretchen giggled at Winny. “Mike was just congratulating me.”
Winny was white as a ghost. She may have been naïve but she wasn't oblivious. Gretchen had turned full predatory, trying to seduce Mike with her female charms.
“Well,” Gretchen continued since Winny couldn’t find her voice to answer, “let me go get changed and we'll all walk down to see Kristi. I'll be quick, I promise.”
She sashayed off, her hips swinging like a runway models. Winny was busy tying my halter and lead rope up, her back to Mike.
“So,” Mike started clumsily. He was rubbing his calloused hand over his elbow. “The rest of the course went well for you?”
I couldn't see Winny's face but knew that she was debating what to do. She claimed she had no particular emotions for Mike but knew that I did. Since she was in control of my body, she had the weighted responsibility of behaving like me. She heaved a sigh and turned to face him, the soles of her boots grinding over the loose gravel.
Headed for the Win (Nadia and Winny Book 1) Page 13