“This is going to be so much fun.” Mickey squeezed my hand as her mom pulled up outside the community center where the ball was being held.
“Yeah,” I said. “The best fun ever.”
And in her excitement at the fairy lights and balloons that they’d hung outside, Mickey completely missed my sarcasm, which was probably for the best anyway.
“Have fun girls,” Mickey’s mom said. “I’ll pick you up at ten.”
“Eleven, Mom,” Mickey said. “We’re fourteen now not four.”
“Ten thirty,” Mickey’s mom replied.
“Ten forty five,” Mickey countered.
They bantered back and forth for a few minutes with Mickey saying that her mom was ruining her life and that she wasn’t a baby anymore and that if we couldn’t stay to the end then what was the point of coming at all? In the end Mickey won. Her mom was coming to pick us up at eleven. Unless it was the night before a show, I was usually asleep by then. I’d probably be slumped in some corner drooling into a plate of sandwiches by the time her mom came back.
“This is going to be the best night ever,” Mickey said, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the building.
“Don’t count on it,” I mumbled under my breath.
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
The ball sounded like it would be all majestic. Like something out of Cinderella where there would be an orchestra and fancy crystal glasses to drink out of and people doing the foxtrot and the tango. Instead there was a wonky disco ball swinging precariously from the ceiling, a band of drunk college kids who seemed to think that if they played loud enough no one would notice they were out of tune and a wild group of teenagers jumping around in a makeshift mosh pit. I wondered why I’d bothered to dress up at all. Even Mickey looked a bit horrified but she was soon pulled into the fray while I ducked sideways in search of food.
You could always count on the single kids and the nerds to congregate around the food table. There were kids I recognized from the school I used to go to and some I didn’t. I tried to avoid eye contact and picked up a paper plate but it seemed that the food had been the first thing on everyone’s mind. There were stray sandwiches and potato chips strewn about the plastic tablecloth like the buffet had been trampled like a herd of elephants. So much for stuffing my face and I was starving too. My stomach grumbled as I picked up a baby carrot and a stick of celery.
“Are you on a diet or something?”
It was Jordan, standing there on the other side of the table with that sly grin on his face. He was wearing a black jacket and a tie that hung loose around his neck but when the tablecloth shifted, I saw he was wearing jeans.
“No fair,” I said. “You cheated. I wanted to wear jeans.”
“Why didn’t you then?” he said.
“Peer pressure.” I shrugged. “So what happened to all the food? I’m literally starving to death.”
“You’re really seriously hungry?” he said.
“Would I joke about something like that?” I said.
“Well it’s just I thought you girls were all about counting calories and exercising until you fainted.”
“Do I look like one of those sorts of girls?” I said, crossing my arms.
“No.” He shook his head. “You don’t. So come with me.”
He came around the table and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the exit.
“Wait,” I said. “I can’t leave. I came here with Mickey. We have a pact. We’re supposed to stick together.”
“Doe she look like she needs to stick together?”
He pointed to the group of dancing, writhing kids where I could just make out Mickey jumping up and down next to a gyrating Ethan. There was Fern, dancing with another boy I didn’t know and Faith being swung back and forth by an over eager Fernando, both of them wearing tuxedos and looking adorably hip. Everyone had paired up already. Everyone except me.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” I said, still feeling guilty.
“What do you think? Besides there are chaperones here you know.”
He motioned to three adults who were teachers at the local school and looked bored out of their minds. They were all looking at their phones, probably texting or playing games. Counting down the minutes until they were released from purgatory.
“I wonder what they did wrong to get this babysitting gig?” I said.
“Who cares? Now come on.”
He pulled me out into the cold night and we ran down the street. My feet hurt in the stupid, too small shoes but I didn’t care. I wanted to go with Jordan and I didn’t care about the pain. The night sky was velvet and full of stars. Our laughter rung out through the cold air and echoed around us. The moon was full, bathing the street in eerie light.
“Where are we going?” I said but he didn’t answer.
We ended up outside the burger joint but the lights were off. The place empty.
“It’s closed,” I said.
“It’s okay, I work here.” He grinned.
He opened the door with his key and pulled me through the kitchen, firing up the grill with a smile on his face.
“What can I make you?” he said, sounding cocky. I wasn’t sure he was capable of making anything.
“Are you sure this is okay?” I said, looking around the clean kitchen where everything had been put away for the night. “You won’t get in trouble, will you?”
“You sure worry a lot,” he said. “Can’t you just have some fun for once?”
“I guess,” I said.
So he made me a burger, which was actually really good and didn’t laugh when I slathered mayonnaise on it because he put mayonnaise on his too. He cooked a basket of fries and tipped the crispy golden pile onto a plate, sprinkling salt over them and encouraging me to eat more than half. We talked about tack and horses and I told him about Arion, who wasn’t quite right and the dressage show where we’d made great big giant fools of ourselves. He told me about his mom’s tiny farm and her horse that he had started jumping.
“I should get back,” I said when all the food had gone and I’d sort of run out of things to say. “Mickey will be wondering where I am.”
“If you must,” he said.
I helped him clear everything away so that no one would ever be able to tell that we had been there. We stood by the door in the dark as he locked everything back up and as he slipped the key into his pocket I stood next to him, our bodies almost touching. I thought for one moment that he was going to kiss me. It was like time froze and we were there, our faces so close and yet as far as a wide gaping cavern. And then a car passed and so did the moment.
“I’d like to see more of you,” he said as we walked back to the ball.
“Maybe I’ll see you at the next show?” I said.
“Maybe I’ll beat you at the next show.” He grinned.
“Fat chance,” I replied.
But for a fleeting moment there in that dark street, I thought maybe I would let him beat me just once but it was just a moment. Of course I wouldn’t. No boy, no matter how nice, was worth losing over.
THE END
COMING SOON
SHOW JUMPING DREAMS #16: YOUNG RIDERS
The Young Riders clinic is just days away and Emily and her father are still at odds over who she should take to ride. She wants to take Bluebird. He thinks she should ride Encore. He says the horse is a shoe in. That he will make Emily look good but Emily already knows she is good. She doesn’t need a push button, emotionless horse to prove it and she still hasn’t got to the bottom of the mystery about where Encore came from and the curiosity is eating her alive.
Meanwhile the Equestrian Federation is holding an official inquiry into the drugging allegations. Emily’s father will have to go and testify. To defend himself. But as Emily digs deeper into Encore’s past, she’s not so sure that her father is innocent after all.
So the clinic is really the last thing on her mind but she needs to impress if she wants her riding career to continue
on the fast track. On the last day of the clinic there will be a competition and she has to win in order to be eligible for the Talent Scout Show. But there will be riders there who want to see her fail. Who don’t think she belongs. Can she put the past behind her and secure another win if she has to compete without her trusty jumping pony? And will her father really be suspended once and for all?
YOUNG RIDERS: CHAPTER ONE
“Tell me again about this boy who likes you,” Missy said.
“It’s nothing, can’t you just forget about it?” I said.
I was in Arion’s stall with my head pressed against his big gray belly, listening for gut sounds. There were plenty of them, rumbling and grumbling around which should have been reassuring only it wasn’t because as far as I was concerned he still wasn’t right. The only trouble was that no one else believed me.
“No I can't forget it,” she said. “If a boy likes you, that is a big thing.”
“Why?” I said, standing up and patting Arion. “Because I’m so repulsive that I should just take the first guy who comes along and says I’m cute?”
“Emily,” Missy said, her voice warning me. “You know that’s not what I mean. There is no need to act out with me.”
“I know.” I sighed. “I’m just so worried about Ari. What do you think?”
“I think he looks fine,” she said. “Still a bit on the thin side but better than when he first came. I think you’re worrying about nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” I said.
“Fine. Then I think you are worrying about this because then you don’t have to think about the real problem here, which is who you are going to take to the clinic.”
“I’ve already decided,” I said. “I’m taking Bluebird.”
“That’s not what your father says.”
“I know.”
I slipped out of Arion’s stall and closed the door. Dad and I had been fighting for days. He finally sent in the paper for the clinic with both Bluebird and Encore listed and a note that said we hadn't made our final decision yet on which horse would be going. As far as I was concerned, there was no decision to make. Bluebird had been my choice from the start. He was talented and fast and would jump anything I pointed him at but Dad had other ideas. He said that Encore was the professional choice. He looked like a real jumper. He’d competed at the top. He would make me look good. I told him that I didn’t need an experienced horse to make me look good. I wanted the one I’d trained myself. The one who understood me. But my father didn’t understand things like that.
“You have to cut him some slack,” Missy said. “Your father has a lot on his mind right now.”
“I know,” I said. “And I’m trying to be understanding, really I am. It’s just that this clinic is really important to me and since I’m the one who is riding in it then I should get to decide, don’t you think? Can’t you talk to him about it? Please? He’ll listen to you.”
“I’ll try,” she said, shaking her head. “But I’m afraid he’s not listening to much of anything at the moment.”
The suspension hearing was going to be held while I was away at the clinic. Every night Dad shut himself away in his office and talked to people on the phone in French and German. The clients he had trained and owners he had ridden for while he was living in Europe. I still didn’t know what had happened over there but I knew it had to be a mistake. I’d been doing my own research and it turned out that banned substances could be lurking in anything inconspicuous. That treat you just gave your horse or a new supplement. Even a simple anti-inflammatory like bute was not allowed before a competition so drugging didn’t necessarily mean your horse was high on something. It just meant that somewhere along the line someone messed up.
I was standing there feeling glum and watching Arion when Henry, the Fox Run head groom, came running up.
“What is it?” I said. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Bluebird,” he replied, looking pale. “You’d better come quickly.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claire Svendsen fell in love with horses at age two when she got her first pony. The only trouble was that it wasn’t a real horse, it was a rocking horse. From that day on she begged, pleaded and bribed for lessons, riding clothes and a horse of her own. She had to wait and work really hard to finally get her first real horse but when she did, it was a dream come true. Over the years she has trained horses, given lessons and even run her own stable.
No longer able to ride due to injury, Claire lives vicariously through the characters in her books. When she’s not busy writing, you’ll find her hanging out at the barn with her retired Thoroughbred Merlin who loves carrots, apples and bowing on command.
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COLLECT THEM ALL
Other books in the Show Jumping Series by Claire Svendsen
#1 Secret Rider
#2 Pony Jumpers
#3 Winter Blues
#4 Star Pupil
#5 Sale Horse
#6 Last Chance
#7 Hunter Pace
#8 Turf Wars
#9 Beach Ride
#10 White Horses
#11 Trick Pony
#12 Off Course
#13 Winter Wonderland
#14 Gift Horse
#15 Half Halt
(COMING SOON) #16 Young Riders
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
COMING SOON
YOUNG RIDERS: CHAPTER ONE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STAY CONNECTED & WIN A FREE BOOK
COLLECT THEM ALL
Half Halt (Show Jumping Dreams ~ Book 15) Page 11