Show Days (Show Jumping Dreams ~ Book 32)

by Claire Svendsen

  I thought of our horses back home, the ones without stalls and vowed that I would win more prize money so that we could finish our barn. I wasn’t going to let what happened to Rocket happen to any of my horses. The next show was a big one, the biggest yet. I’d talk to Rae, get her to enter me in bigger classes where I could hopefully win more money. I’d get our barn finished one way or another. I had to. But for now all I wanted to do was hug my pony and for once, it seemed to be okay that I did.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  The tractor came and they buried Rocket with his favorite blanket laid over him and some carrots and apples. I couldn’t watch. Instead I stayed in Bluebird’s stall, playing with his mane and pretending to be busy when really I was just wishing for none of this to have happened. When it was over we all went to the mound of dirt and said our goodbyes.

  Rae was there to give the horse a send off and even Julio came, though he didn’t say anything. Jessica said her goodbyes through strangled sobs, saying what a great horse he was and how much she would miss him. She pushed treats into the dirt as though Rocket could still eat them and then we left her to say her final goodbyes in private.

  “Do you think she’ll leave?” I whispered to Shelby as we walked back to the barn.

  “Wouldn’t you?” she replied. “I heard her parents are already on their way.”

  “It’s just horrible,” I said. “What a horrible thing. I can’t believe it.”

  “At least it was quick,” she said. “And not some long, drawn out illness or injury.”

  “It’s still not fair,” I said.

  But we all knew that life wasn’t fair. Jessica’s parents showed up a couple of hours later. She was still out there in the dusky light. They took her away and that was that. I wondered how I would feel if my pony was buried on some stranger’s farm. If I’d never be able to visit his grave or tell him how much I missed him but I knew deep down that it was just his body that was buried on the rented farm. His spirit was now free.

  That night I couldn’t sleep. I slipped out of bed and tiptoed through the barn, checking on the horses. Bluebird was laying down, his belly rising and falling as he breathed in and out. The other horses were standing with their heads down or stuffed in the corner of their stalls. Storm came to the bars and licked my fingers gently and I stroked his nose, finding it ironic that a horse called Storm was still here and Rocket was not. Only Rags was alert, always on guard with his head up and eyes wide. I stuck my hand through the bars to try and feed him a treat but he ignored me, staring past my hand and out to the paddocks.

  Outside the moon was bright and full. It cast an eerie glow over the farm and I could just make out the mound of dirt where Rocket had been buried. I knew it was the middle of the night but I had to check. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep unless I knew. So I dialed Jordan’s number and waited for him to answer.

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

  “Hello?” Jordan said.

  His voice was muffled like he’d been asleep but of course he had because it was the middle of the night.

  “Emily? Are you okay?” he said, now sounding worried.

  I’d told myself that I wouldn’t fall apart. That I would just ask him how things were back home. Try to sound casual. But there was nothing casual about calling someone in the middle of the night and he had to know that something had happened. I started to cry, even though I’d promised myself I wouldn’t and it was a while before I could even speak. Jordan was calm on the other end, telling me that everything was okay. That whatever it was, it would be alright.

  “Is it Bluebird?” he said. “Did something happen?”

  That was what finally snapped me out of it. I was crying uncontrollably and Rocket hadn’t even been my horse. My pony was safe in his stall.

  “He’s fine,” I finally said. “It was another horse. He got hit by lightning.”

  “That sucks,” Jordan said in true guy fashion. “I’m so sorry,” he added.

  “Thanks,” I said, wiping my nose on my arm. “I just had to hear a familiar voice. Are the horses okay? How is everything at the farm? I miss you all so much.”

  I made sure to say that I missed everyone, not just him because the last time we’d been together we kissed and even though I’d thought that I would have time to process that on the road, I hadn’t had time at all.

  “Everyone is fine,” Jordan said. “You don’t need to worry about us.”

  “And the horses are all okay? Even Bandit and Phoenix? How is Faith and Falcon?” The questions all spilled out of me like a river. I’d tried not to think about how homesick I was but now it was all I could think about. And I wanted to go home but I knew we had another show to go to and I needed that prize money.

  “They are all fine,” Jordan said. “They are enjoying their time off.”

  “But you’ll bring them into the barn if there is a bad storm, won’t you?” I begged him. “Even if you have to stand there and hold them. Promise me.”

  “I promise,” he said.

  I hadn’t realized how hysterical I’d sounded until he started to talk me off the ledge of my own insanity. Of course the horses were fine. My Dad knew what he was doing and I trusted Jordan. I just needed to hear the words for myself.

  “Do you miss me?” I asked him, not able to help myself.

  “Of course I do,” he said, then added, “Your dad is driving me crazy.”

  “I’m sure he is.” I laughed.

  There was silence for a moment.

  “Sometimes bad things happen,” he finally said. “It’s the things that happen in-between them that you have to focus on.”

  “Did you read that on a greeting card?” I teased him.

  “Something like that,” he said.

  “Well, I’d better go,” I said.

  “Me too,” he replied. “Your dad has me up at the crack of dawn.”

  “Well we have to get up before the crack so I think I have you beat,” I said.

  “Okay, you win.” He yawned.

  “Goodnight,” I said.

  “Goodnight,” he replied.

  Neither of us said that we loved each other. I guess it was too soon for that.

  CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

  I wasn’t sad to leave our little farm like I thought that I would be. There were too many bad memories here now and I hoped that I’d never go back there again. I was happy to pack up my stuff and my pony and put him in the trailer. I didn’t look back as we pulled away. Neither did Shelby.

  We travelled through the night, the lights of other cars coming and going like beacons in the dark. I managed to doze on and off but we stopped a few times to check on the horses and it turned out that Rags didn’t like travelling through the night. I don’t think he liked travelling much through the day either but he was becoming restless and was starting to upset the other horses. Now I had my own pony to worry about but I should have known that Julio would have a plan.

  “One of you ride back there,” he told us.

  Shelby and I looked at each other. I knew that it was dangerous to ride in the back of a trailer with the horses. I also knew that grooms all over the country were forced to do so when their expensive charges travelled. But I didn’t want to be the one to do it. I wanted to sit in the truck and sleep with my soft pillow and my warm blanket. I didn’t want to sit on a prickly bale of hay in the muggy trailer and try to keep a frantic horse calm. I mean what was I supposed to do anyway? Nothing I could do or say would keep him quiet.

  “He likes you better,” Shelby said.

  “Thanks a lot,” I replied but I knew that she was right.

  “Just keep him quiet,” Julio said. “And if he gets dangerous, text Shelby. We’ll have to stop and he’ll get a sedative and then he won’t be able to compete so you’d better try your best.”

  “Right,” I said.

  I wanted to add that having a teenage girl ride in the back of the trailer with an upset horse was probably asking for a lawsuit but there
was only Julio, Shelby and me and since he was the only one who could drive the truck and we were stuck out in the middle of nowhere and it was well past midnight, there wasn’t much else we could do. I knew that he could just give Rags the shot now and save us all the trouble but that would mean he wouldn’t show and Rae wouldn’t have a chance to sell him and that was what her business depended on, buying and selling horses to her clients. If I messed that up then I would probably get all the blame, never mind that Rags was clearly not all there in the head.

  “Fine,” I said. “I’ll do it.”

  Shelby gave me an apologetic look but was happy to get back in the truck. I got in the trailer and when Julio closed the door, it fell into darkness. There was just me, the horses and scent of their sweat and manure thick in the air. We’d made sure the hay bags were full and Bluebird was eating his but the other horses were tired and stood there half sleeping, all except Rags who shuffled around and tossed his head.

  “Knock it off,” I told him. “Do you want to get a shot?”

  The way he was going, I knew that he’d get one. It was only a matter of time. The truck rumbled to life and we pulled away, the swaying motion settling the horses who planted their feet and sighed. I felt a wave of motion sickness wash over me. Now I knew how the horses felt. Also panic. The fact that I was sitting in a tin can with nothing to save me if anything bad happened. At least the roads were quieter at night but my heart raced as I tried to keep calm. Eventually I pulled out my phone and called Jordan again. He was the only one I had to talk to and somehow his voice kept me calm. I didn’t know why. All I knew was that I needed him.

  “Not again,” he said when he answered the phone but he was laughing. “What tragedy strikes tonight?”

  “Oh nothing,” I said. “I’m just riding in the trailer with six horses, one of which is not too happy about being transported anywhere at all.”

  “Well that doesn’t sound very safe,” Jordan said. “You’d better not let your dad find out. He’d be furious.”

  “I know,” I said. “I’m not too keen on it myself but I don’t have a license yet, remember? So it’s not like I can drive the truck.”

  “Just give the horse a tranquilizer and be done with it,” Jordan said.

  “If he gets a shot then he can’t show,” I said. “And if he can’t show then Rae won’t be able to sell him and it will all be my fault.”

  “Not everything is your fault,” Jordan said gently. “You have to stop taking the blame. Let the other guy take the fall, what’s his name Humberto?”

  “Julio,” I said.

  “Right, Julio, why can’t he take the fall? He is supposed to be in charge and he’s the paid employee, don’t forget that.”

  “And I’m the replaceable one,” I said.

  “Well you did want to come home,” he said after a pause. “I’d be glad to see you.”

  “I’d be glad to see you too,” I said. “You always make me feel better.”

  “I’m here to help,” he said and I could almost hear him grinning on the other end of the phone, sitting up in his room in the attic.

  “I’d better go,” I said as we went over a pothole and the trailer bobbed up and down.

  Rags didn’t like that. He nearly sat down on his haunches and almost broke his halter. As it was he found his footing but not after bumping into the horse next to him.

  “Stay safe,” Jordan said. “Just tell the guy to shoot the horse up with something. It’s not worth risking your life over.”

  “I know,” I said. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you,” he replied.

  I think maybe thank you might have been a code for I love you but I wasn’t sure.

  CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

  I tried every trick I knew to keep Rags calm. Stroking his face and talking to him in a soothing voice. Feeing him treats, even though that just made the other horses jealous. I gave his neck a massage and sung to him but even though those things kept him a little more relaxed, when we hit the highway again and cars started whizzing past, their headlights flashing into the trailer and bathing us in liquid light before plunging us into darkness again, Rags lost it.

  He reared up and hit his head on the roof of the trailer and came down on his feet with blood streaming down his face. The other horses were getting upset. If Julio didn’t sedate him now, then we’d have to sedate them all. I texted Shelby and told her and I clutched the horse’s halter and tried to keep him still before he did something that could get him killed.

  The truck slowed down and pulled off at the next exit. It wasn’t like we could sedate Rags by the side of the highway while the cars he hated so much were still whizzing past.

  “I told Rae we should have moved him during the day,” Julio said as he came in the back.

  “He hit his head,” I said as Julio drew a syringe full of clear liquid from a glass bottle.

  “Maybe it will have knocked some sense into him,” Julio said. “Hold him steady.”

  Rags didn’t even flinch as the needle slipped into his vein. He thought that cars might kill him but needles wouldn’t? The horse really was nuts. It was only a few moments before the drug started to take effect. His eyes grew dull and his head hung low.

  “I can’t give him too much,” Julio said. “Can’t have him falling down in here but that should keep him quiet for the rest of the trip.”

  “Should I stay back here to make sure?” I offered.

  “No you’d better ride in the truck,” he said. “If Rae even found out I’d made you sit back here I’d be in big trouble.”

  “So you owe me then?” I said with a sly smile.

  “Yes,” he replied seriously. “I owe you.”

  I got into the back of the truck feeling smug. I wasn’t sure when I’d call that favor in but having Julio owe me was a big deal. He ran everything for Rae and I knew that at the next show, I’d be able to use that favor to my advantage.

  “Told you the horse was nuts,” Shelby said as I settled back in to sleep with my blanket and pillow.

  “It’s not his fault,” I said. “I think he was probably born that way.”

  “It’s still no excuse,” she said but I was already drifting off to sleep.

  Life on the road had given me the ability to sleep anywhere, anytime and you had to get it in whenever you could because you didn’t get very many chances.

  CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

  We arrived at our destination at six thirty in the morning just as the sun was starting to rise. I looked out the window to see another show grounds filled with horses and grooms, people cleaning stalls and riding their mounts over to the warm up ring. Being on the road was like attending one long show. You couldn’t even tell where one ended and the next began. But this time we were back on the show grounds which was great. Except we were in temporary stabling, which wasn’t so great. The stalls were basically inside these big tents.

  “It’s like our horses are going to be living inside tarps,” I said.

  “At least they’ll have stalls,” Shelby said,

  “No turnout though,” I said, not that I minded.

  The thought of Bluebird being outside at all filled me with fear. I knew that it was summer and we would have a good chance of thunderstorms everyday but I wasn’t ready to risk putting my pony out in case there was bad weather. Not yet anyway. Lightning could strike miles away from a thunderstorm. You might not even know one was near and get hit. It made me feel sick. I also felt kind of sick about the fact that Rags had to be drugged. He wouldn’t be competing at this show. I wondered how long it would take the drugs to get out of his system and whether Rae would be mad or not.

  “She might just send him home,” Shelby said. “And focus on one of the other horses instead like Storm. He seems sweet and has a solid head on his shoulders.”

  “She should,” I said. “Rags won’t like tent city, not one bit.”

  Julio went to check us in, all his paperwork fluttering on a clipboard. He was orga
nized, I’d give him that. We left the horses in the trailer as we dragged stuff over to our stalls where the other horses that had been brought in Rae’s trailer had already been settled in by Theresa.

  “I hear you had an incident,” she said looking at me like it was my fault.

  “Rags flipped out,” I said. “He hit his head.”

  “It was lucky that he didn’t set them all off,” she said, with more compassion than I had expected from her. Theresa was a hard nut to crack. “You okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” I said.

  “Good.” She nodded.

  She told us who was going to go where and we started unloading the horses. Bluebird was so happy to be out of the trailer and back in a stall that he peed for what seemed like five minutes. I think he’d been holding it in the whole way. I made sure his bucket was full of water and went to get Rags.

  The sedative had worn off and the horse was full of himself again. He came out of the trailer on tiptoes, the dried blood still on his face, making him look like a murder victim. He tried to rear and I yanked on the lead shank to stop him.

  “Knock it off,” I said.

  He didn’t listen and he didn’t want anything to do with the tent city of stalls, just like I’d predicted. There was a breeze and it rustled through the tents, the sound a flapping noise that sent the black horse skittering backwards. Theresa saw what was happening and came to rescue me. She took the horse and tried to settle him but it didn’t work. There was no way he was ever going to calm down and he wasn’t going to go in those stalls either. Not in a million years.

  “This horse needs to go home,” Theresa said as Rags stood there trembling.

  I felt bad for him. It wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t cut out for the show life. Not every horse was. I just felt sad that I’d probably never get to ride him again.

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX