by Toni Mari
My father’s shuttered expression and patronizing pat on my shoulder halted my thoughts. There would be no convincing him to change his mind. I needed to get the money another way. I had no doubt I could continue to train and go to Kentucky without my parents knowing. I would just pretend I was still at school. Maybe I should get a job? I didn’t think I could find one that would make enough money quickly. The nomination fee was due immediately and the entry fees pretty soon thereafter.
Flicking on my blinker, I shot a quick look over my shoulder to check for oncoming cars before easing into the right lane. As I turned forward, my eye fell on a crumpled paper on the passenger seat. The letter from EMA Rescue. After I had pulled it out of my pocket for the last time a couple of weeks ago, I had tossed it there and forgotten about it. EMA Rescue. A job. I grinned and pulled into the next parking lot.
Scrolling through my phone, I found Michelle’s number and pressed it. “Hi, Michelle. It’s Jane. Is that offer for me still open?”
Chapter 12
Carly wasn’t in our room when I keyed open the door. I tossed my bag next to the bed and flopped down, eyes snagging on Erica’s picture. Grinning, I told her about my win. I sat up and looked in her eyes. “I’m not you yet, but I’m trying. I’ll do my best to make EMA look good. I won’t let you or the organization down.”
I rolled over onto my stomach and called Cory. “You won’t believe what I just did. I called Michelle and told her I would take the spokesperson position if she would pay my way to Finals!”
“Wait a minute. Your father let you do that?”
“Oh, no, I don’t plan on telling him until it’s all over. It’s only three weeks away.” My legs bounced off the bed as I lifted them up and down. I squirmed deeper into the comforter. I was so clever.
“You plan on more lying to your parents.”
My legs dropped with a thump. “It’s not lying. I just won’t tell them.”
Cory’s voice was quiet but still forceful. “It’s lying.”
I was glad I was eighty miles away and didn’t have to look into those piercing blue eyes. “Look, I have to do this. It’s Windsong’s last shot and I need to do well.”
“What if it’s too much for Windsong?”
“He was awesome at Regionals. I’ll monitor his heart rate and he’ll be fine.”
“What about your college classes?”
Geez. Was my father rubbing off on him? “I’ll alert my professors and make up the work. Again, I can handle it.” Where was my support? He usually was the one to lift my mood, not crush it.
“I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to. It’s my life, my decision.” The lock in the door clicked open, and I sat up. “Carly just came in, I gotta go.” I hit end without waiting for him to reply.
I spoke to Michelle again after classes that day. She promised to send in my nomination with a check from EMA if I faxed the signed form to her. I skipped the blank line that said Parent/Guardian If Rider Is Under the Age of Eighteen and firmly wrote my name on the line for the rider’s signature. My life, my decision. I scanned it into my computer and faxed it to Michelle online. Easy, peasy. Who can’t handle a riding career and getting a degree? I flipped open my textbook and got down to studying.
Kate nearly damaged my eardrums when I called to tell her that we were going to Kentucky. When she finished shrieking, I told her EMA gave me a budget and would pay for me to continue my lessons. And that’s what we did.
My car smelled like leather and barn from my boots and coat that had been sitting on the back seat for three weeks. I wasn’t complaining; I loved that smell. Next to them was a stack of books and binders. I had assignments due and exams when I returned to school. I planned to study during down times at the show.
I was turning into the barn drive when my mother’s ringtone sounded. “Hi, Mom,” I answered cheerfully.
“Hi, Jane. I hoped to catch you before your Wednesday evening class. Is this a good time? Are you studying?”
“Yep, studying.” I pressed the brake and steered with one hand.
“Do you want to come home for dinner Sunday? Uncle Rob and Aunt Deb will be here.”
I rolled slowly over the ruts, bouncing off the seat, racking my brain for a viable excuse to refuse. My championship class was on Saturday, and we were planning on arriving at the show grounds Thursday afternoon. I would ride a warm-up class on Friday and do some activities for EMA promotion. And then we would drive the ten hours back home on Sunday. We probably wouldn’t make it in time for dinner. What could I say? “Carly invited me to her house. Her dad’s a doctor,” I blurted out.
“Really. I wouldn’t have guessed that when we met him. That’s nice of them. We’ll miss you though.” I frowned because she sounded sad, but then her voice perked up. “Maybe next weekend? I know you must be missing home-cooked food. You haven’t been back for a month.”
I cringed again, because I had been coming home every weekend and had stayed at Cory’s. “Definitely next weekend.”
I got off the phone quickly as if my mother could somehow know I was pulling up to the barn. Kate had the trailer hitched up and parked in front so I could easily load my tack. The ramp was down and I peeked in at bare floor mats. I guess I needed to add “spread shavings in trailer” to my to-do list.
Cory strode up the aisle, cowboy hat silhouetted against the setting sun that glowed through the opposite barn door. Grinning, he opened his arms and enveloped me in a bear hug. “Missed you.”
I pressed into his warmth. “It’s only been two days. I just left on Monday morn—” His lips covered mine and I stopped talking.
When he released me, I wondered how I had the strength to drive away from him each week.
“We have a lot of work to do, so we best get started. Kate wants to leave early tomorrow morning to beat the rush-hour traffic.” After taking a step back, he corrected the tilt of his hat.
“Right. Let’s go.” I headed to the tack room. “My mom called right before I pulled in the driveway. She asked us over for dinner Sunday, and I had to think quick. I told her I was going to Carly’s for the weekend.”
Cory’s lip curled, and I bit my tongue, regretting my easy habit of telling him everything. But I was no liar, and the only reason I could tell my mother something untrue like that was because she couldn’t actually see my cheeks turn red and my palms get all sweaty. It was impossible to keep things from Cory when he was standing right in front of me.
Cory shook his head. “I hate that your parents don’t know about this. You’re disrespecting your father.”
“Was he respecting me when he told me I couldn’t do this even though it was important to me?” I snapped in a belligerent tone. I wiped my palms on my pants.
Cory sighed. “He is just trying to look out for you. You don’t realize how lucky you are.”
I swung around and stopped him with my hand on his chest. “It doesn’t feel lucky when he orders me to quit the most important thing in my life.”
“Don’t be a drama queen. College is important too.”
“Is it? A diploma is just a piece of paper,” I spit out. Cory’s ability to cut to the heart of the matter was helpful when he was bolstering my confidence, but this time his directness was condescending.
“A championship ribbon is just a piece of material.” He echoed my words.
My eyes narrowed to slits, and I turned around. I pushed through the door into the tack room and proceeded to check the locks on my trunk. I had cleaned and packed everything over the weekend. I waited for Cory to get a grip on the opposite handle. “I thought you understood. I thought you were a horseman above everything else.”
He lifted his side of the trunk and started moving backward out the door. “I am because I have to be. I would go to college if someone gave me the chance. If I had a father who cared enough to help me.”
He set the end of the trunk in the trailer tack room, walked around to my side, and shoved it in. Climbing in
after it, he dragged it into the corner.
“Then you go. They have all kinds of scholarship programs and online schools. Get your own degree. You don’t need anyone else to do it.”
He paused on the edge of the running board and stared at me. I lifted my eyebrows. He jumped off, causing me to take a step back. “Maybe I will. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re lying to your parents.”
I slammed the door back. Why didn’t he see that I needed this show? He was reminding me of my dad when he talked about how important college was. I knew that I should get a degree, but this opportunity was happening now. I had to grab it. Like I had said to him, there were other ways to get a degree. And anyone could do it at any time.
Clenching my fists, I spit out, “I’m not lying. I am an adult; I am making choices for myself. Because you don’t have a father, you think anything my dad says is golden. Believe me, if you had a dad, you wouldn’t agree with everything he told you to do.”
Cory’s mouth tightened and his eyes turned steely. “Maybe not, but I sure would appreciate him caring enough to give me good advice.” He stalked into the barn.
Biting my fingernail, I whispered at Cory’s stiff back, “What was good about it?” I was used to Cory being right about most things, but this once, I believed he was dead wrong.
Chapter 13
After two hours on the road the sun was high and the sky clear. The highway was full of tractor trailers that kept a polite distance from the horse trailer. Occasionally, one would pass us, rolling forward steadily in the lane on our left. I sat in the middle between Cory and Kate. Cory’s hat was tossed on the seat behind him, and I marveled at the difference in his appearance without it. If he changed his boots for sneakers, I could picture him on a college campus. The college girls would love him. I frowned; maybe he should just do online courses.
He glanced down at me, still acting cool after our argument while we were packing the trailer.
I had gone too far. Cory had always been sensitive about his family, or lack of one. I picked up his limp hand, holding it between mine like I was trying to warm it to get the ice to melt in his eyes. “You know, maybe we can look into online courses or something for you, after this.”
He rolled his eyes and snapped his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Right, because I’m college material.”
I nodded. Still speaking gently, “Why not? You’re smart, you’re driven, and you want it. I think you would be a great student.”
“I wasn’t in high school. I was busy doing rodeo and training Jet. My grades sucked, so I wouldn’t be accepted anywhere.” He turned to face me more fully. “That’s why you need to think about what you’re doing. I blew my chances at college for the horse. I regret that now.”
“I still think we should look into it if you really want it.” I kissed the back of his hand. He searched my face, but I meant it, and I lifted my chin holding his gaze.
After a moment, he kissed me lightly and lifted an arm, inviting me to snuggle in next to him.
“Next rest stop in fifteen miles. We’ll stop there,” Kate announced.
Kate went into the building first to hit the restrooms and buy some breakfast. I dropped the window in front of Windsong and hopped off the running board, covering my ears. His whinny was not so piercing; he sounded puzzled.
“The only horses here, big guy, are under metal hoods,” I told him. I unzipped the stethoscope bag and climbed into the trailer.
It was too dangerous to unload Windsong in a parking lot, so I took his vitals inside. I determined that his numbers were barely elevated. I offered him a drink by holding a bucket up to his head. He splashed around a bit, and then gave it a shove, almost dumping it all over me.
When Kate returned, Cory and I headed in to the visitor center. I held my coffee cup under my nose, savoring the wonderful, warm aroma as we walked back to the truck. Kate closed Windsong up and climbed in the passenger seat. Cory was going to take a turn driving until our next stop.
A couple hours and many miles later, we went through the same routine. Once again, I was pleased with Windsong’s heart rate. The smooth, monotonous ride seemed to be soothing his nerves.
The effects of the caffeine wore off and my eyelids started to droop. Fighting the drowsiness, I tried changing the radio station to stay awake.
Cory laughed when my chin dipped down and my head jerked. “Go to sleep. We don’t mind.”
Grinning, I laid my head on his shoulder and gave in.
The crunch of gravel woke me up. I opened my eyes to the late afternoon sun. The truck rolled past the sign for the Kentucky Horse Park and my heart started thumping. At this rate, I would need that stethoscope for myself.
This was it—national competition. Only the best in the country would be competing this weekend. I sat on my trembling fingers, determined to push that numbing thought way into the back of my mind.
We drove past a covered arena dotted with riders. Each horse was beautiful, moving gracefully through its exercises. The riders were in casual schooling attire: spotless, collared shirts and classy, well-fitted breeches. I unglued my eyes from their highly skilled work as Kate stopped the truck. A pair of placid, blond Belgian horses ambled in front of us drawing a carriage full of happy-faced visitors. I grinned and didn’t stop as we passed clean, gabled buildings and finally parked beside a long, narrow barn, one clustered in a group of four.
“Our stall is in barn nine,” Kate informed us.
My head snapped left and right, trying not to miss anything, as I climbed out behind Cory. “Is this what the World Games was like?” I whispered in awed respect.
Cory shrugged. “Pretty much.”
My knees were shaky as I dropped Windsong’s window. “Shhh,” I hissed, but that didn’t stop him from screaming. Surprisingly, faint answering whinnies floated out of the barns. Stroking his head, I reminded myself that it was just a horse show.
Cory, Kate, and I made quick work unloading. Cory held Windsong still while I went through my routine with the stethoscope. All of his numbers were in normal range, and we released him so he could do his stall pacing and ignore his hay.
Keeping the stall door open for a few minutes, I let him hang his head out and look up and down the aisle. He nickered to each passing horse but seemed sad that he didn’t recognize any of them. Finally, he backed into the stall, spread his legs, and peed. The poor guy probably had been holding it for hours.
When he finished and moved over to munch hay, I removed the wet shavings so he would have a nice dry bed to lie down in and take a nap.
My stomach grumbled in instant answer to Kate’s suggestion that we go find some food. I called Michelle as we were walking, and she suggested we meet her at one of the restaurants, dinner on EMA.
Michelle gave me a hug, and then laughed and hugged Kate and Cory, too. “Jane, I can’t thank you enough for what you will be doing for EMA. Already the feedback from supporters is pouring in, and they all are very excited about you.”
As we followed Michelle through the restaurant to our table, I recognized many faces from photos in dressage magazines and dressage videos. She stopped here and there when someone called out to her. Introducing us, she briefly explained that EMA Rescue was sponsoring me. Each time, the person responded with a polite smile, saying that was wonderful.
As we pulled out our chairs and sat, Michelle enthused, “See, everyone is excited about you!”
I crinkled my brow at Cory but kept my mouth shut.
I ate but barely noticed the taste. My head whirled left and right. The electric buzz of anticipation in the restaurant was palpable. High hopes were prominent in the loud, happy voices. The sound of people calling out and chairs scraping back as people jumped up to hug fellow riders they hadn’t seen in a long while punctuated the steady hum.
Every time the door opened, I looked to see who came in. I surprised myself and Cory by scraping my own chair back in excitement when Melinda and her parents arrived. I
waved until Melinda spotted me.
Her parents went to find a table while she made her way over to us.
“Really, Jane?” she said, pinching at a green smudge on my polo. “You could have changed your shirt for dinner, at least. What is that smear, horse slime?” In the past, her comment said in that nasally, upper-crust tone would have made me feel two inches tall. But now that I knew her better, and considered her a friend, I realized it was just her way of caring to inspect my appearance for flaws.
I put my arms around her, pretending to wipe the green gunk on her. She squealed and jumped back, equally pretending to be horrified. She hugged Cory with good-natured complaints about my lack of consideration.
Robert Peterson, Kate’s old trainer, entered through the double doors with a small group of people. Beside me, Kate rose, adding her scraping chair to the din and grinning widely. He saw her wave, but it took him a few minutes to reach our table because others were stopping him on the way.
I rubbed my sweaty hands on my jeans, watching his tall, slender frame hug Kate. His dark hair was combed back severely and gelled into place, but instead of making him look stern, it made him look like an old-time movie star. Intending to shake his hand, I wound up smacking him in the stomach as he leaned forward to hug me. I stepped back awkwardly and mumbled an apology. He gave Melinda a quick hug and leaned across me to shake Cory’s hand.
I jumped when he said my name. It always surprised me that he knew it. “Jane, I saw that you qualified in Intermediate I. Congratulations.” His perfect white teeth glowed as he smiled widely. “I qualified one of my client’s horses in that division, so we’ll be showing in the same class.”
I twisted my lips, trying to turn an instinctive grimace into a polite smile. I groaned, “Great. There go my chances.”
Robert squeezed my shoulders, teasing, “Ahh, no worries. This horse I’m riding is an imported Dutch Warmblood that is syndicated for a couple hundred thousand. He may be my next Olympic mount.”