Hunter Derby: (Show Circuit Series -- Book 3) (27 page)

Finally her mind settled. She felt like she was in one of those movies where people switch bodies, like the mom becomes the kid and the kid becomes the mom. She was at the part in the movie where the characters go back to their own bodies and can’t believe how good it feels.

She was slick and smooth around the rest of the course and she could feel Trey giving good efforts over each jump.

She landed to whoops from Grant and Lindsay. Whoops were their own language. A whoop could mean several different things depending on its tone and duration. It was like a Chinese word in that way—how you said it could alter the meaning completely. There were the money-bought obligatory whoops that trainers had to produce for wealthy clients who managed decent trips. There were the forceful, nearly threatening whoops when a trainer wanted to make sure a judge knew just how goddamn good their kid’s round was.

Grant’s whoops were surprised, gleeful whoops, like when something good happens to you out of nowhere. They were found money in a jacket pocket.

“Scores are in for Three Wishes. A 92 from panel one and a 94.5 from panel two with all four points for the high options.”

When she came out of the ring, Grant said, “Where’s that girl been hiding all day?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

A few people blew the trot jump and Jeremy, of all people, had a stop on a roll back turn that he angled too sharply.

Zoe was already on Trey when John went. From a distance, she saw him approaching the trot jump. She closed her own legs on Trey, as if she were on Gidget. She willed John to be patient, to out-think Gidget.

But John used too much leg, anticipating her stopping or sticking off the ground, and Gidget broke into a canter.

When it came time for the hand gallop Zoe figured John might not really go for it. He already had the one mistake at the trot jump and he had told her how he wasn’t good at hand gallops. If he really galloped, he could risk having a big flub and embarrassing himself. Probably the smart thing to do was just go a little faster.

But it soon became clear that was not John’s intention. Instead of playing it safe, he was figuring he had nothing to lose and was going all out. He kicked Gidget into a real hand gallop and did it just as Zoe had told him to—long before the jump. Zoe held her breath as he approached the jump. She saw the distance he saw, or at least she hoped he saw it. It was a long distance and he needed to keep going. If he doubted himself for a second and stepped off the gas, it wouldn’t be pretty.

John kept going and Gidget’s stride ate up the ground. The distance they left from was long but bold-long, not desperate-long.

Cassidy came back third to last with Lawless. She laid down a really good trip, putting the pressure squarely on Zoe. She had Cassidy on one side of her and Kendall and Veracity on the other side of her, coming back last.

At the in-gate she realized her shoulders were clenched up practically to her ears and let them drop.

She wanted this so badly. She wanted this win.

Zoe rode like a woman on a mission. She rode like only she knew how to. She was more focused than she’d been all day. Every roll back turn was neat and smooth. Every distance came up perfectly. She waited till she’d made the turn and then effortlessly settled down to the trot and patiently hopped the wall.

She let Trey’s stride out for the hand gallop and saw the distance ten strides out. Unlike John’s ride, she rode up to the deep one and Trey jumped the moon.

This time Grant’s whoops sounded exuberant, not surprised. Her scores were a 92.75 and a 94.25 with all four option points and nine handy points. She had beaten Cassidy but Kendall was still to go.

There was nothing to do but wait and watch. As she watched, Zoe found herself thinking about John’s ride more than her own, how he had nailed the hand gallop and what it meant that he had totally and completely put himself out there.

Kendall looked like she barely ever touched the reins. Coming back for the trot jump, it was like all she had to do was think trot and Veracity trotted. He was jumping high and tight with his front end. It was hard not to admire a horse that talented and the partnership Kendall had built with him.

She let him out for the hand gallop and found a more open spot than Zoe had.

Kendall’s dad went crazy from the in-gate, hooting and hollering. The crowd stood up and cheered.

The announcer exuberantly issued the scores. “Looks like it’s a three-peat for Veracity and Kendall Adams!”

Kendall came out of the ring laying on Veracity’s neck, hugging and patting him. Her dad rushed up to clap her on the thigh.

Zoe tried to offer her congratulations too but her voice was lost in all the other people’s.

“I hope you’re not completely disappointed,” Zoe told Grant. “I’m sorry I didn’t ride the best all day.”

Grant shrugged. “That’s horse showing, babe.” He didn’t say it with any hostility—maybe the second place had dulled the disappointment of the other performances.

The award presentation was chaotic. The horse that was fifth became unsettled and started hopping up and down, nearly rearing.

John had finished tenth, which was a great ribbon. If the trot jump hadn’t snagged him up, he would have been right up there at the top.

She didn’t get to talk to him during the presentation. When she came out of the ring, she looked for him. At first she thought he had left, but then she saw him walking toward her.

She slid off and let a groom take Trey from her.

“Your hand-gallop was amazing!” she said. “I feel like I want to say I’m proud of you but I hate when people say they’re proud of people. Isn’t that something only your parents are supposed to say?”

“Totally,” John said. “I wish I hadn’t messed up the trot jump. That wouldn’t have happened if you were on her.”

“You can’t be sure about that.”

There was so much more Zoe wanted to talk to him about but the PR person for the show interrupted, explaining they needed Zoe at the press conference.

“Go—” John told her. “You’re needed.”

“We’ll catch up later?” Zoe said.

“Definitely.”

When all the photos and interviews were over, Zoe went back to the hotel and lay on her bed, still in her boots and breeches. Congratulatory texts rolled in, plenty from numbers she didn’t even recognize.

Great ride!

Well done!

You go, girl!

All followed by lots of emojis.

She texted back “thanks” to most of the people and wrote more to people like Hannah and Linda.

By ten o’clock the texts had died down and she still hadn’t received any from the one person who really mattered to her.

She decided to write to him, choosing two simple words.
Hey,
sweetie
.

She stared at her phone, waiting for the three dots to appear that would mean he was typing. Where could he be right now that he wouldn’t have his phone? Had he gone out to celebrate with Hugo and his crew? Was he asleep?

Finally, she saw the dots. She clutched her phone inches from her face, waiting.

Yes, darling?

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Lindsay started riding without stirrups, gaining back her strength. Zoe knew her time at Lyman Creek would be over soon. She had gotten two calls about possible jobs, one for a big sales operation and one for a trainer that specialized in amateur riders. She wasn’t super fired up about either position but they were jobs with decent salaries and nice horses. She could take either position and go to Wellington, and probably find something better over the winter.

When Grant asked to talk to her one day, Zoe was sure it was going to be the thank-you-you’ve-been-great-we-don’t-need-you-anymore speech.

Instead he asked her if she’d be interested in staying on with them through Florida and probably beyond. He said he didn’t want Lindsay riding all the babies anymore. He wanted her to concentrate on the more established horses and Zoe would do all the pre-green horses and some of the first years too.

While Zoe would be second to Lindsay and wouldn’t be riding in the biggest classes, Grant’s horses were top of the line. It was probably better to ride super nice greenies than mediocre experienced ones.

Zoe said she needed a few days to think about it.

But what was there to think about really?

Linda had her sister helping her now and John hadn’t even hinted that he might want her to ride for him again.

She told Grant yes the next day.

The following weeks passed with the weather turning so unbearably hot that they had to ride early. Lindsay took her stirrups back and popped over small jumps. They were skipping Harrisburg and Washington, and hoping Lindsay could show by the National.

Kathleen came for a short visit, bringing her son and nanny. She rode a few times as the nanny chased the towheaded boy all over the farm, from the tractor shed to the pond.

When Zoe saw the little boy standing at the edge of the pond throwing sticks in and watching them float, she felt her chest tighten. But the nanny was always right next to him.

Lindsay became more friendly to Zoe, perhaps because she wasn’t a threat anymore. She had a bit of a tough exterior but Zoe began to see small moments where Lindsay opened up and let down her guard.

She and Lindsay were at the nail salon on a Monday when Zoe got a text from Linda. It was a photo of her hand . . . with a diamond ring.

She and Eamon were planning a small ceremony at Morada Bay in between the Regionals and the Talent Search Finals. Zoe knew so many horse show marriages ended in divorce. Yet, there was the romantic in her, the one who still hoped for a happily-ever-after movie ending for Linda.

Maybe she and Eamon would be the exception.

She asked Grant for a few days off and found a relatively cheap flight into Newark. One of the best parts of the wedding was Hannah was coming, driving down from Tufts.

And she would she see John.

Even though the seats were cramped and the only thing the airline offered for free was a tiny glass of soda, flying felt nearly luxurious since Zoe never really flew anywhere. Usually it was hours in the car.

She tried to remember the last time she’d flown. It was her first year out of ponies when one of Jamie’s clients paid for her to fly to Pony Finals to ride a large pony for her.

By the time Zoe arrived at the hotel, Hannah had already checked in. The elevator ride to the fifth floor felt like it took forever. Zoe practically ran down the hallway and was sliding her key card into the slot when Hannah pulled open the door.

Hannah squealed and the two hugged. They didn’t let go right away. Finally, when they did, Zoe looked at Hannah to see if anything was different about her. She was still pretty. She still had that somewhat innocent look about her, even though the girl that stood before Zoe now was very different than the girl Zoe had known at Jamie’s.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m here,” Hannah said.

“I can’t believe it either.”

Zoe hung up the dress she’d brought for the wedding in the closet next to Hannah’s. One good thing about working for Grant was that she could actually afford a few things for herself and she was also slowly paying off her credit card debt. Hannah and Zoe laughed because both their dresses were light blue, although Hannah’s had a tiered top and Zoe’s had a one-shoulder top. Both were just above knee-length.

“We’ll be twins!” Hannah said.

“I guess blue’s in,” Zoe said.

They sat across from each other on the beds and talked and talked. Zoe asked Hannah about school and Hannah asked Zoe about working for Grant.

Hannah said, “I’m going home for a week or two and then coming back for the fall semester. I got put in a suite for housing which is basically four rooms that share a common room and a bathroom. I kind of know one of the girls from my chem class and she knows the other two girls, so I think it’ll be good.”

Zoe told her, “So I guess I’m going to WEF with Grant and Lindsay. It’s pretty good. They have really nice horses and I get to ride a lot. I miss having kids around the barn, though, or other customers. It’s just me and Grant and Lindsay.”

The subject of John came up when they talked about Linda and the wedding.

“I can’t believe I’m finally going to meet him.”

“We’ve been texting a lot since Derby Finals.”

Hannah widened her eyes. “Really?”

“He always texts to say good-night.”

“Seriously?”

Zoe nodded. “Do you think that means anything?”

“It means you’re the last person he’s thinking of before he falls asleep. That’s huge.”

“I don’t know. What about you? You can’t possibly tell me there weren’t tons of cute boys walking around campus?”

Hannah pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I guess there were. There was one boy in my psych class. I don’t know. I still don’t feel ready to date yet.”

“I doubt Chris is sitting around being celibate.”

“Thanks for that,” Hannah said, looking away.

“I’m sorry,” Zoe replied quickly. “I’m sorry I said that. I don’t actually think he got over you fast or anything but I just really feel like you need to live your life and put him behind you. I hate the idea of you not hooking up with guys because of him, or because of one mistake you made and feeling guilty about that.”

“It was a pretty bad mistake,” Hannah said.

“Still,” Zoe said. “Take it from the queen of mistakes . . . life goes on.”

Hannah shrugged. “Maybe I’ll meet someone in the fall.”

“I hope so,” Zoe said.

“I’m considering riding on the school team.”

“That sounds great.”

“I figure it would be a way to meet more people and I miss the horses.”

“You won’t find any guys there, though,” Zoe pointed out.