Join the Dance (Dancing With Horses Book 2)

by Toni Mari

  Robert rose when we entered and, his face grim, introduced the woman beside him as one of the technical delegates for this show. There was no arguing with her decision; it would be final.

  “Sit down.” Robert indicated the empty seats. “We have decided that we are going to take each person into a separate room and listen to their story. After each of you has spoken with us, Mrs. Carty will make a decision.”

  Mr. McBride stood up. “Wait just a minute! This troubled kid makes crazy accusations, and my daughter and I have to tolerate this indignity? That girl,” he pointed at me, “is a drug user and hostile. She should be removed from the team, right now. Then we can get to what we came here for.”

  I slapped my folder down and pushed back from the table. “That is not true!”

  “Enough!” Mrs. Carty commanded. “I represent the Fédération Equestre Internationale, who is the governing body of this competition. I have the authority to make a final decision once I determine whether there were any violations. I suggest you sit down, calm down, and allow me to do my job.”

  Mr. McBride sunk down slowly, his throat working. Alison had no reaction to the whole exchange other than to inspect her manicure.

  “Jane. I would like to start with you. Follow us, please.”

  On shaky legs, I went with Robert and Mrs. Carty into a smaller room, once again clutching the folder to my chest like a shield.

  It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. I was nervous at first, but they asked me questions, drawing information out of me. I tried to remain unemotional, you know, professional, but when I slid the folder across the table to them, my throat closed. Alison’s antics aside, Windsong’s health might have been the factor that ended it for me.

  “I brought Windsong’s records from the heart specialist with me in case he had an emergency and I needed them. But the veterinarian cleared him to compete; otherwise, I would never have continued with him. I wouldn’t risk his health for a ribbon.” As I said this out loud in front of these two people, I realized it was the truth. I was paranoid about looking for symptoms because when he began to suffer any I would do whatever was necessary, including giving up riding him, to keep him safe. When this thought struck me, I sat up taller. And when they stood to shake my hand on my way out, I smiled with genuine peace. “Whatever decision you make, thank you for listening to me. I know it will all be for the best.”

  I kept my eyes averted as Alison and Mr. McBride passed me on their way in. And I slid silently onto the chair next to Shawn as we all heard him shouting that he had every right to sit in with his daughter. In the end, he came back and paced until her interview was over.

  When Shawn rose to head in, I gave him a thumbs-up. “Just tell the truth.” He nodded with his cocky grin and swaggered past a fuming Mr. McBride.

  I slumped over the table when Robert said to stay put while they deliberated. Mrs. Carty was going to call Windsong’s heart specialist to make sure she understood his condition. She made a decision in less than an hour. I took hold of Shawn’s and Melinda’s hands tightly, biting my lip and willing my heart to slow down so I could hear what Mrs. Carty said over the pounding in my ears.

  “I did not come to this decision lightly, and I have consulted with other delegates, the horse Windsong’s cardiac vet, and the show manager,” Mrs. Carty began. “It is clear that Alison McBride has violated the code of conduct and has acted in an unsportsmanlike fashion, besides endangering an animal. As a representative of the F.E.I., I rule that she is eliminated immediately from this competition and is suspended from participating in any competition until a formal hearing is scheduled.”

  Mr. McBride exploded out of his seat. “You cannot do that! I will have your jobs!”

  Alison was frozen in shock. Her gaze swiveled slowly over Melinda, Shawn, and me, blank and unbelieving. She might have been looking into a mirror, because my mind was blank. I couldn’t believe it. I won. Alison was off the team! She didn’t get away with it. A brilliant, dazzling warmth spread over me, and my lips spread in an uncontrollable grin.

  “Come on, Alison. I have a few phone calls to make. Don’t worry, I’ll straighten this out.” Mr. McBride strode out the door.

  Alison stood, her icy blue eyes coming to rest on me. “Don’t think that this is over, Jane.” She stomped out after her father.

  I actually giggled. Such was my elation that her menacing tone seemed comical. I hugged Melinda and Shawn, kissing their cheeks.

  Mrs. Carty cleared her throat and looked at me. “As for you and Windsong.”

  Her tone raised goose bumps on my skin as cool fingers of fear crept over my arms. Shawn squeezed my hand. “Yes?”

  “I spoke with Dr. Clark. He explained Windsong’s condition and believes he is in no danger from competing. You are cleared to continue on the team.” She held out her hand to shake mine.

  I leaped up and hugged her. “Thank you. It means so much to me.” I released her and hugged Robert too.

  He laughed. “You can go now. And please, don’t let anything else happen. See you tomorrow for our team classes.”

  I picked up my folder and skipped out the door. “We did it. We did it. We did it!”

  Melinda and Shawn were grinning. Shawn picked me up, folder and all, and swung me around. “Yay! You can still ride.”

  Melinda clapped. “We are down one team member, but we can still do it. Win, I mean. Each of our scores will count, that’s all. No one can have a lousy test since the lowest score won’t be dropped.”

  “Bah, so what,” Shawn said as he set me down. “I can’t wait to tell Erica. She missed all the action.”

  “Something tells me that if Erica were here, none of this would ever have happened.”

  #

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The three of us stopped off at the snack stand, loading up on sandwiches and snacks. Chattering about the team tests, we promised to be supportive of each other. There were eleven regions in the United States that were invited to enter teams. Canada and Mexico also were participants. We looked at the roster and saw nine teams were registered. Only two others had only three members. That meant six of the teams would be able to drop their lowest score. All three of our scores would count.

  I groaned, “What if Windsong has a spastic attack during my class? My score is going to drag us down.”

  Melinda joked, “You’re right. We should have helped Alison and got you kicked off the team.”

  I fake-punched her shoulder. “I can ride better than Alison. Her horse hates her.”

  “I know. I was just trying to get you to stop whining.” She laughed.

  Shawn shifted the bag of food into his other hand. “I told you before, we are going to dominate this competition. We have the riders we need. No worries here.”

  Talk about overconfident teammates. My stomach turned over at the thought of disappointing them.

  We found Michelle at the barn keeping an eye on things. We whooped and cheered as we cavorted down the aisle.

  “We did it! We did it!” I raised my fist, pumping up and down.

  Shawn set the bag down on the chair. “Alison is off the team!”

  “Eliminated for unsportsmanlike behavior,” Melinda chimed in with a grin.

  Michelle didn’t grin or respond in any way. Her lips were pressed together and her eyes were shining.

  I got quiet. “What? What’s wrong?” I dashed over to Windsong’s stall, but he looked fine and was eating his hay. I turned back to Michelle.

  She rubbed her eyes and pressed her palms to her cheeks. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she spoke in a shaky voice, “Erica was in a car accident and she’s in the hospital.”

  I swallowed. “She’s okay, right?”

  Tears trickled past Michelle’s fingers. “Critical,” she whispered. “They’re taking her in for a second surgery tonight.”

  A strange gurgling noise made me turn toward Shawn. I had never seen his eyes so big. His lips were pulled down in a frown.
“Surgery on what? A leg?”

  Michelle shook her head slowly. “No, her head.”

  I put a hand on Shawn’s arm. “What do we do? I mean, I know she can’t come to coach us, but do we go to the hospital? Where? How far away is it, I mean.” I couldn’t organize my thoughts. They were stuck on the image of Erica’s beautiful hair caked with blood.

  “Mark said she told us to stay and compete. Call in a coach to help.”

  “I could maybe call Kate.” My mind was whirling. “She was going to coach me before I went to Erica’s, but then we haven’t really spoke since then.”

  Melinda wrung her hands. “Regardless of who you call, they won’t make it here in time for tomorrow’s classes. We have Robert. I’ll go tell him and see what he says.” She strode purposefully down the aisle.

  Shawn was rubbing his forehead. “I can’t think.” He sunk slowly onto the chair.

  I snatched the bag of sandwiches out of the way before he crushed them.

  “I agree with Melinda. We have Robert for tomorrow. We can go back to the trailer, get my cell phone, and call Kate. I think she would come.” I put out my hand to help him up. He took it, rose, and engulfed me in a hug. No games, no smart comments, no flirting; just one friend comforting another.

  #

  Chapter Forty-Six

  We were tacking up for our warm-up with Robert, and I still hadn’t received a response to the message I left on Kate’s cell phone. As I placed the saddle on Windsong, he moved back and forth in the stall, head tilting left, then right, watching me. I patted his smooth, soft coat.

  “Michelle, his braids look beautiful. I can never make them look that nice.”

  “Thanks. He’s not easy to work on. Never stays still.”

  Our team tests were scheduled consecutively in the same ring. Robert was going to coach us for our warm-ups, and then we were going to the ring together to watch and support each other. I was worried about Erica but had to trust that she was in the best of hands and there was nothing I could do for her anyway. Nothing except win the team gold. That would be the best get well present for her.

  I took a deep breath and smiled as I put the bridle on Windsong. After buckling the straps, I slid the door open and led him out into the aisle. Michelle had Donner in the aisle, and Belvedere was there too.

  “Everyone is looking spiffy today,” I called before I noticed Shawn slumped in the chair. Tugging Windsong with me, I bent down in front of him. “It’s time, let’s get going.”

  He raised his head. His hands were clasped together with one thumb moving back and forth over the other. “I can’t believe Erica isn’t here. It’s not the same without her here.”

  I smoothed a hand over his leg. “I know. But you are a pro, and she wants the gold medal. We need you to get it. Come on.” I straightened up and offered him a hand up.

  He stared at me a beat, and then with a slow smile, he jerked me down onto his lap. He held my chin and kissed me, sweetly and thoroughly. “You sure do. I’m ready to rock this show.”

  I needed his help to stand, and stood smoothing my clothes. I put a hand to my hair net, but I couldn’t tell if he had loosened my bun. Not that I was complaining, just a little disoriented.

  With his hands on my shoulders, he turned me. “I messed it up. I’ll fix it.” As he tucked stray hairs in, I bit my lip. His fingers lightly grazing my scalp were just as intimate and caring as that kiss. Without a word, I followed Donner out of the barn.

  We mounted and marched down to the warm-up ring. Once I passed through the gate, I had to be alert, like a cab driver in New York traffic, dodging the other horses who were doing their own unstructured warm-ups. Since Windsong didn’t mind horses coming close to him, I had little trouble getting our stretching done. Each time I overtook Shawn, I called out an instruction, quoting Erica from our joint lessons. He caught on quickly and started commenting back. As I searched my memory for the phrases that I wanted to say, flashes of Erica in her arena teaching us and echoes of her voice filled my head. It was like she was here with us. Before I knew it, Robert was waving us to the gate.

  My parents, who had arrived earlier in the morning, assumed ring prep duty. Mom handed me my tailcoat and I shrugged into it, keeping my reins in one hand. Dad polished my boots with a dry rag one last time. Mom handed me a water bottle.

  My stomach swirled with a herd of butterflies, and it felt like they had hooves as they pounded around in there. I held the bottle against my hot, sweaty cheek, careful not to make my mascara run.

  Shawn, Melinda, and I rode side by side down to the show arena. Robert, my parents, and Melinda’s mother followed behind.

  “Good luck everyone,” I said as I tugged my leather gloves into place.

  Shawn was the first one through the gate into the beautifully groomed arena. The watered, dark gray sand contrasted with the sparkling white, shin-high perimeter fence as beautifully as Shawn’s white gloves against his black shadbelly coat. The letter boxes that marked the arena had abundant blooming yellow and purple flowers planted in them. The judges sat in white plantation-style gazebos, one at the end of the arena and one along the side. There was an official announcer introducing each team member and the team’s name.

  I was glad Shawn was going first. Watching him ride still inspired me. I shared an excited grin with Melinda when Donner’s first extension drew a smattering of applause from the spectators.

  “I’m glad you two got together. You’re good for Shawn.” Melinda rolled the first braid on Belvedere’s neck between her two fingers.

  “We’re not really together.”

  “Right. He never kissed me like that, no matter how much I flirted with him.”

  “With Erica not here, we’re just leaning on each other a little bit more than normal.” It was a lame excuse. That was a pretty nice kiss, but I wasn’t ready to admit that it meant anything. In fact, this whole conversation needed to change lanes. “I plan on beating both of your scores, so you can forget trying to psych me out. It’s not going to work.”

  With an answering grin, Melinda smacked her whip lightly on her boot. “You can try, Jumpy Jane.” Our friendship had come a long way since she used to use that tactic to rattle me. Now she was just teasing me. I held up a fist and she bumped it with her knuckles.

  “Join me in the dance for the gold, girlfriend.”

  #

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  We stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the score sheets. “I still can’t believe that I did an entire test without Windsong spooking once. He has turned a corner. I think he knows Alison has been sent home and he is safe.”

  Shawn used his index finger to show us the thick black line over Alison’s and Moon’s names. “Gone.”

  “Yep.” Melinda pointed to the scores next to our names. “She’s out, and look at our average. It is the highest so far. There are only two more teams to post.” Her nasally voice rose an octave at the end of that statement.

  “Seriously, that means a medal no matter what. If both of those teams score higher, then we still go home with the bronze.” I clapped my hands and bounced on the balls of my feet.

  “According to the times, the last team won’t be done riding for another forty-five minutes. We have time for some food. Let’s eat.”

  “Just like a guy, always thinking about his stomach.”

  After eating, we tacked up, dressing the horses in their snowy white leg wraps, spotless saddle pads, and buffed leather bridles and saddles. I straightened Shawn’s collar, and he gave me a quick hug. “I think we did it, and I can’t wait to tell Erica.”

  I nodded. “Me too. What did Mark say when you talked with him?”

  “Erica came through the surgery fine, and she may even wake up later. If I text him our results, he said it would be the first thing he tells her.”

  “Cool. Let’s go get our medal, teammates.” None of us had gone back to check the final scores. We knew we were getting something, but not which one.

>   When we arrived at the arena for the award ceremony, we paused among the throng of teams waiting to be organized by the volunteers carrying ribbons. Once I spotted the woman carrying the long blue neck rosettes, I followed her progress through the mass of horses. When she finally stood next to Windsong, she asked, “Shawn Delaney, Melinda Kratz, and Jane Mitchell?”

  I grinned. “That’s us. Woooooo!” Windsong shifted, and I patted him while I helped her drape the royal blue silk over his neck. She centered the rosette on his chest, and then placed the gold medallion hanging from a similar blue silk ribbon over my head. She did the same with Shawn and Melinda. Once they were in place, we high-fived each other, pumping our fists in the air.

  The lady instructed us to make our way to the front of the crowd. We would go through the gate first for the ceremony.

  Riders from the other teams watched us, calling out congratulations. We cheered all of them back. We halted in the center of the ring as they announced our names, lining up side by side with me in the middle. I took Melinda’s hand and Shawn’s, raising them above our heads and grinning from ear to ear. Shawn had Melinda and I lean in as close as we could and he snapped a selfie to send to Erica. With Shawn leading, we peeled off to the rail, cantering our victory lap, with the ribbons flapping prominently on our horses’ chests. After the other teams filed out of the ring, I poured on the speed and Windsong flew past Donner, nose stretched out, pounding down the rail of the arena. I heard Shawn laughing as I left him in the dust.

  After many photos—my parents took at least fifty—I finally said, “Enough. Windsong is tired and needs his rest.”

  I kissed my parents goodnight, reminding them when they had to return from their hotel in the morning for the next event.