Believe in Me: A Rosewood Novel (23 page)

“It’d be easier for someone in my position to see Mrs. Radcliffe differently, now wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, I guess it would.” Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to avail herself of Ellie’s more objective view of Nicole by
asking who might be the “TM” Nicole had written about in her diary with such excessive praise. Discussing Nicole’s private journal was too awkward, and felt too much like a betrayal. “How about a cup of coffee, Ellie?” she asked instead.

“That’d be lovely. Then I’ll start on the laundry.”

“Oh, by the way, that ratcatcher I asked Jade to bring down? She was telling me it has a stain on it. Would you mind soaking the shirt in a mild bleach solution?”

“If it’s Jade’s, the stain’s most likely chocolate or ketchup.”

Jordan smiled as she set a cup of coffee in front of their housekeeper and passed her the milk and sugar. “That’d be my guess, too.”

Ellie added milk and two teaspoons of sugar to her coffee and stirred. “I’ll give it a soaking but I can’t promise that anything will get out a stain that’s already set.” She took a sip of her coffee. “So are you off to the barn now?”

“Yes. After the van leaves I’m going to help Ned and Andy muck out and give a few horses a workout.”

Ellie nodded comfortably. “I’ll just put in this load of wash, then go up and dust the third floor so I can hear the little one when she wakes up.”

Jordan checked her watch. “You’ve got some time yet. Olivia is usually up by six-thirty, Kate and Max a little later. If you want, I can nip back up to the house once we’ve turned the horses out.”

“No need for that. Patrick’s going to be working in the garden. Once they’ve eaten and gotten dressed, they can help him pick flowers for the house and do some watering. They love that. By then Miriam should be here.”

Fully aware of how much more she could get done helping Ned and Andy if she didn’t have to run back up to the house, she said, “Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“It’s no cakewalk raising three small children on your own. On top of that you’re starting a new business
and
pitching in with the horses. I’d say you deserve all the help you can get.”

Feeling self-conscious, Jordan lifted her shoulder in a light shrug. “I’m only able to do these things because I have all of you. It’s the women who tackle the demands of single parenthood and work all on their own who deserve our admiration.”

“True, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re also doing a really hard thing. Just because you’re a remarkably capable woman shouldn’t mean you
have
to do it all on your own.”

Jordan swallowed the painful lump in her throat as she recalled one of Richard’s complaints. He’d accused her of being so self-sufficient that he felt unneeded, and that in turn had justified his affair with Cynthia—Cynthia had
needed
him. She wondered why Richard hadn’t cared enough to perceive what Ellie seemed to understand so easily. The pounding of feet on the stairs saved her from replying.

Jade dropped from the last step with a thud, her boot and gear bag slung over her shoulder, the stained white ratcatcher balled in her hand.

Jordan straightened. “You set?”

“Yes, indeedy. Here you go, Ellie.” She put the shirt on the counter.

Ellie flattened it and frowned at the large brown splotch. “I have a piece of advice for you at the show today, Jade.”

“Count my strides on the hunt course with Gypsy Queen? Keep Aspen rounded at the canter and away from Annie Prout’s mare, Tattoo, who’s got a mean streak a mile wide and Annie’s not strong enough to handle her?”

“Seeing how you already know all of the above, that would hardly constitute advice, now would it? This, however, might be useful. Stay away from condiments.”

As Ellie had reported, the horse van was already parked at the open end of the gravel courtyard that lay in the center
of the three horse barns, its loading ramp lowered in readiness.

Outside the main barn, Tito and Felix were setting down the four bulging hay nets that would go in the van once the horses had been loaded into its stalls.

Spotting them, Jade hollered, “Top of the morning to you, guys,” as she veered off toward the side door of the van, where the tack and tack boxes were stored, to stow her own gear.

Jordan approached with a “Good morning” and “Looks like it’ll be good weather for you today” to Tito and Felix as she passed through the barn’s double doors.

The barn was filled with the sounds of oats being munched, rubber feed tubs banging against the wooden stalls, and the rustling of hay as the horses finished their breakfasts. Down the center aisle Gypsy Queen, Saxon, and Sweet William stood in a line, their fleece-covered leather halters attached to the cross ties. As she walked toward the black mare, Travis looked up from where he was kneeling beside her hind leg, his hands circling the white quilted cotton wraps with a dark blue bandage, passing the roll back and forth between his hands. Gypsy Queen’s other legs were already wrapped to protect her from injury during the drive to the show grounds.

“Jade with you?” he asked.

“Yes, she’s putting her gear in the van.”

“Good. Aspen’s probably finished his grain by now. He needs to be wrapped.”

“I’ll go bring him out,” she volunteered. “The bandages are by his stall?”

“Yeah. His summer sheet’s hanging on his door. Had to take it off to shake the shavings out.”

“He lay down last night? Did he get any shavings in his braids?”

Finished wrapping the mare’s leg, Travis stood. “Yup. Rubbed them pretty bad.”

“Who rubbed what?” Jade asked, coming up to them. “Hey, Gypsy,” she said, patting the mare.

“Your favorite boy. And that would be his braids he rubbed.”

“Aspen rubbed them?” she said in a horrified tone. “Are they ruined?”

“Did his best. Don’t worry, I rebraided them for you.”

“Oh my God, have I told you that you’re the coolest brother-in-law ever?”

The corners of Travis’s mouth lifted in a grin. “Don’t forget it, kid. Now go get him wrapped and ready for the road. We need to start loading in fifteen.”

“Need a hand?” Jordan asked her.

“That’d be sweet.”

At the next cross ties, Margot was prepping Saxon. Like Gypsy Queen, the chestnut gelding was braided from forelock to tail. Under the fluorescent lights his groomed coat gleamed like buffed copper. Margot was wrapping his tail so that the French braid wouldn’t be destroyed in transit.

“Hey, Margot, that hubby of yours is one fine human being.”

“Really?” Margot smiled. “I had no idea.” Pressing the Velcro end of the bandage together, she patted the gelding’s haunch and then reached for the light sheet he’d wear in the van.

“Gospel truth. You should be super nice to him. You know, he might meet Gisele at some photo shoot and then where would you be?”

“I think Tom Brady’s got me covered there. I guess Travis will have to settle for adoring Gisele from afar.”

“Who the hell’s Gisele?” Travis asked.

“As in Bündchen? You don’t know who Gisele Bündchen is?” Jade asked.

“Nope, and unless she knows how to wrap your horse’s legs I’m not real interested in knowing her, either. Besides, there’s no way can she be more beautiful than Margot.”

Margot laughed. “You’re right, Jade. I
am
going to have to be super nice to my very fine husband.”

“That so?” Travis sounded distinctly interested.

“Definitely. As it happens I’d already planned a surprise for you this evening. It’s a little something I picked up at La Perla on my way to the shoot in New York.”

“What color’s this little something?”

“Telling would spoil the surprise. My lips are sealed.”

Travis smiled. “Looks like I’m going to have to test my powers of persuasion on the way down to Lexington.”

“You’re more than welcome to try,” Margot said with a smile that had made her millions of dollars.

“Okay, that settles it. I’m riding in the van with Tito and Felix so I don’t have to watch you guys smooch at every red light.”

“You still here?” Travis grinned.

Jade rolled her eyes. “No, I’m actually a hologram.”

“Ahh, so that means the corporeal you has already got Aspen out of his stall and one of his legs wrapped.”

“Correctomundo.”

“Glad to hear it, because the clock’s ticking.”

As Jordan and Jade turned to continue down the aisle, Margot said, “Oh, yeah, before I forget, Hologram Girl, you need to crack open your American history textbook on the ride down so you’ll be ready for the AP test that’s coming up. And I seem to remember you’ve got a Spanish test next week, too.”

“
Dur!
That’s the other reason I’m riding with
mis amigos
. I’m going to tell Tito and Felix about the New Deal and have them quiz me on my reflexive verbs.
Nos metimos en una mala situacion
,” she said with a grin.

“Kid, you’re going to find yourself in a whole new impossible situation if you don’t start hustling to get Aspen ready. Scat!”

“
Si, si, señor
,” Jade laughed, giving Travis a mock salute before trotting the rest of the way down the aisle.

Jordan knew her smile was as wide as Travis and Margot’s. “Tito and Felix will be lucky if they get a word in edgewise.”

“I know. To think there was a time when getting her to talk was like pulling teeth. Although I’d rather have Jade’s motor mouth any day of the week,” Margot added hastily.

“Me, too,” Jordan said. “I suppose a happy medium would be too dull for our sister.”

“You’ve got that right,” Travis said, laughter threading his voice.

Aspen, the least accustomed to riding in a trailer, was loaded last. Jade led the gelding up the rubber-covered ramp without incident, however, and then Travis helped her back him into the stall next to Sweet William. While Jade fed each horse a carrot, Travis and Felix made quick work of hanging the hay nets so that the horses could eat during the trip to Lexington.

Within minutes the van’s ramp was up and its doors shut with Felix, Tito, and Jade settled in the cab. Behind the van, Travis drove the Range Rover with Margot beside him.

Waving good-bye and shouting, “Good luck!” and “Ride clean and clear!” Jordan waited with Ned and Andy until the van had rumbled out of sight. Then the three of them set to work.

The morning flew by as they followed the farm’s daily routine. The horses that would be turned out for the first half of the day were walked down to the pastures. Then the mucking out began. Divvying up the stalls, they made their way down the barns’ aisles with their pitchforks, filling the wheelbarrows with soiled shavings and droppings and then laying down a fresh layer of wood shavings. After topping off the water buckets and sweeping the concrete aisles clean, they were ready to exercise the horses.

Key to their horses’ soundness and happiness was the carefully devised schedule of exercise and turnout times and
days off that Travis and Ned planned for each horse. On days like today, with three riders and two stable hands traveling, Jordan was especially happy to do her part to keep the farm running smoothly. And though she couldn’t say that she was
happy
to be divorced from Richard, she realized that were she still with him, the demands of her married life would have made it next to impossible to help her sisters with the horses they bred and trained.

That would have deprived her of something special. Helping Margot and Jade was much, much more than saving their family’s horse breeding farm and beautiful old home. Their coming together had strengthened the bond between them in so many ways. Jordan liked, admired,
knew
them in a way that few adult siblings with their disparate lives ever enjoyed in this day and age. For that gift, she was more than willing to put in a twelve-hour day tackling any job that needed doing.

First on her docket was to school Mistral and Indigo, two of their four-year-olds, since Andy, who normally rode them, would be exercising the stallions, Faraday and Nocturne, in the indoor ring, and Ned would be riding three of the broodmares. After that, she’d give Ned a hand with the foals while Andy worked with their two- and three-year-olds. Attentive to the last detail, Travis had even allotted time for her to longe Doc Holliday and turn him out in the upper pasture so he’d be relaxed when she gave the children a lesson.

Then there were the foals and their dams to bring in from the pastures. The foals needed daily handling as part of the gentling and training process. When the remaining horses were brought in from the fields, all would be watered and fed. With the horses tended to, Jordan would clean her and the children’s saddles, as well as the bridles she’d used. Only then would she go into the office and return phone calls or emails inquiring about the horses or booking fees for Faraday and Nocturne.

Andy had jumped both Mistral and Indigo the day before, so Jordan’s job was to give them a good workout on the flat. Jordan groomed Mistral, a bay Thoroughbred gelding who possessed both the conformation and easy, willing attitude to make a fine hunter prospect.

After tacking Mistral, she led him down to the outdoor ring. Walking into the center of the ring, she slipped the reins over his neck, checked her girth, lowered her stirrups, and then, sticking the toe of her field boot into the stirrup, swung herself up into the saddle.

She let Mistral stretch his muscles at a loose-reined walk for ten minutes and enjoyed the noises of the spring morning: the chirping of the birds and the chattering of the squirrels punctuated by the occasional whinnies of the horses in the south pasture calling to each other. By the time she gathered the braided reins, Ned had entered the ring with Tidbit.

She was glad of Ned’s company in the ring. Ned was of the old, classic school of riding, espoused by such greats as Bert de Nemethy and George Morris, and he’d taught Jordan and her sisters to ride—and Travis, too. His presence made her pay even greater attention to getting the horse beneath her moving in a collected, balanced stride. A happy, engaged horse carried himself in an unmistakable way—with a smooth forward flow of motion—and was equally supple rounding corners and circling. Achieving this fluid athleticism was the goal of every serious equitation rider.