Jealousy (9 page)

~T

I smiled, tucking the card back into the envelope. I couldn't wait to gather all of the checks and send them to the retired-racehorse charity. I rifled through the pile, picking out cards from Becca, my parents, Ana, and Brielle. But I'd have to read them later. It was time to meet Taylor.

THE FIRST DAY OF NOVEMBER WAS COMFORTABLY
cool. I zipped my coffee-colored wool jacket. The frisky horses definitely felt the drop in temperature. A herd of seven or eight horses played, nipping each other's necks and darting up the hill at a full gallop.

In the big arena, Mr. Conner was trotting a gray gelding in a large circle. The young horse had arrived a few days ago and was one of the horses that Mr. Conner was training. I knew the gelding's name was Lexington and that he had been brought to Mr. Conner with only basic training. Lexa said she'd heard that the owner was trying to make the United States Equestrian Team and was too busy training his other, more seasoned horses to work with Lexington. It was Mr. Conner's job to train the young horse and feel out
his potential. I crossed my fingers that I'd see Lexington competing at the Rolex Kentucky years from now when he was much older and competing in the top show circuit.

I stopped, stepping off the sidewalk and onto the grass to watch Mr. Conner ride. Lexington showed how green he was from his uneven trot to his jerky transition to a canter, but he seemed willing to work. It seemed as though the pair had been at work for a while—Lexington's coat was steely gray around his saddle pad, and bits of froth from his mouth working the bit flecked against his chest.

Mr. Conner was a quiet rider—exactly what Lexington needed. The stillness of Mr. Conner's hands and legs seemed to work with keeping Lexington calm. I watched them for minutes, even though I could have stood there all day. My eyes didn't know where to look as I tried to follow Mr. Conner's aids to Lexington. Mr. Conner was the kind of rider that I hoped to be someday.

Reluctantly I left the pair to practice in private and walked into the stable. I walked down the aisle, oddly quiet for a late Saturday morning, and noted that most of the horses wore light blankets. Almost every horse had their finely sculpted head stuck over their stall door. Necks craned in my direction, and there was an occasional whinny or neigh as the horses talked back and forth.

Near the end of the aisle, I spotted a bay and a gray with their heads together. It was as if they were using ESP to have a secret conversation.

“Don't let me interrupt,” I said, smiling at them.

Ever, Khloe's bay horse, swiveled her head toward me. In the stall next to her, Whisper, my gray mare, pricked her ears and let out a soft grunt.

“Hi, pretties,” I said. I didn't want Ever to feel left out, so I stood between the two horses and scratched their cheeks.

“I'm sure Khloe is going to come see you very soon, Ever-girl,” I told Khloe's mare. “Take a nap—it's the weekend!” I gave the mare a final pat and moved to Whisper's stall. Her brass nameplate with her name etched into it had a fingerprint smudge on it. I used my sleeve to wipe it clean before unlatching the stall door.

“Hi, hi, hi,” I said to Whisper. I put my arms around her neck, hugging her. “You smell so good! I'm so happy to see you.”

Whisper's winter coat was starting to grow in. Her sleek gray body was filling out with fuzzy longer hair to keep her warm.

I looked her over—from big brown eyes and long eyelashes to adorable pink-and-black snip. Each time I saw Whisper, it was almost as if I was seeing her for the first
time. It was still hard to believe that she was mine. My parents had surprised me with the gift of my first horse when I'd been accepted to Canterwood. I'd met several horses before seeing Whisper. It had been love at first sight.

I stood on tiptoes to reach Whisper's ear. “We're going trail riding with Khloe and Ever,” I said, keeping my voice low. “But first Taylor's coming. Here. To talk.”

Whisper leaned her head into me, pushing her muzzle against my collarbone. “Ohhh,” I said, laughing. “You're as bad as Khloe! You want details. Well,
mon amour
, you'll have to wait until we hit the trails.”

I rubbed my hand down Whisper's forehead, over her muzzle, and under her chin. I looked down the aisle. A few students had horses in crossties, and the hot walker had four horses walking in cooling circles. A familiar hat—UConn Huskies—popped into view, and Taylor and I saw each other at the same time.

I waved and he smiled, heading toward me. I'd given him the University of Connecticut hat after we'd been dating a while.

“What do you think?” I asked. “Is this stable insane or what?”

Taylor's eyes roamed from the stalls, to the loft, to the empty wash stall. “It's gorgeous, Laur. Wow. This type of
space to practice in and keep Whisper must be so conducive to good lessons.”

“Absolutely. But I don't want to take away anything from Briar Creek. I learned so much about who I am and what I want while I was there. I'd never be
here
if it weren't for Briar Creek and Kim.”

Taylor shook his head. “I don't think you're knocking BC at all. They are both different places with their own strengths that help you and Whisper in different ways.”

Whisper, hearing her name, stretched her neck and bumped Taylor's arm with her muzzle.

“Hey!” Taylor laughed. “I'm sorry, Princess Whisper. I was just about to say hi to you.”

Taylor had spent lots of afternoons at Briar Creek with me over the summer, and I loved how comfy he and Whisper were with each other.

Taylor scratched under Whisper's forelock, one of her favorite spots, and she closed her eyes in bliss.

“She's glad to see you,” I said. “Clearly, I never pet her or pay any attention to her at all.”

Taylor nodded. “I can tell. Whisper's starved for attention. I don't know how you couldn't pet this pretty girl all of the time.”

We both started laughing, and Whisper eyed the two
of us. I started telling Taylor about the stable and how different it was from Briar Creek. When Taylor stopped scratching her, Wisp moved her head to near me. When I got caught up in our conversation and didn't give Whisper affection, she turned back to Taylor.

“Look at yourself,” I said to Whisper, my tone teasing. “You're not interested in hanging out with us at all unless you're getting petted or scratched. Jeez, Wisp.”

The mare shook her head and neck, sending her mane flying.

“I was thinking that we could go for a walk,” I said. “I could show you around campus, and we'd be able to talk privately. That okay?”

“That's perfect,” Taylor said. “I haven't seen the pool or gym yet, so I'm excited about those.”

“I go to the pool all the time to—” I stopped midsentence. I'd been about to say that I frequented the pool to watch Drew swim and cheer him on during practice. “To study. It's, um, surprisingly calming with, you know, the water.”

With my face hiding behind Whisper's head, I rolled my eyes at my flub.

“Cool, let's go,” Taylor said.

I LED TAY OUT OF THE STABLE, AND WE
walked side by side up the sidewalk. I veered left and took one of the less populated routes.

“You probably know that building,” I said, pointing to one. “Administration.”

“I have to go there tomorrow morning,” Taylor said. “I've got an appointment with the guidance counselor—”

“Ms. Utz,” we finished together.

“She's Canterwood royalty,” I said. “Once you meet her, you'll never forget Ms. Utz.”

“Explain, please.”

I stepped on a crunchy brown leaf with my paddock boot. “Can't, sorry. She's actually quite . . .
indescribable.
”

We walked past a few more buildings, and I motioned
toward them and told Taylor any extra facts. A slight breeze made leaves tumble across the raked lawn, and I inhaled a big gulp of fresh fall air.

“How was last night?” I asked. “The party. People. Your roommate.”

Taylor stuck his hands into the kangaroo pocket of his black fleece pullover. He was casual, but pulled together, in the pullover, dark-wash jeans, his broken-in blue-and-white University of Connecticut hat, and Converse sneakers.

“Your birthday was really fun,” Taylor said. “Your friends know how to throw a serious party! Especially Khloe. She was hilarious, and her toast was awesome. I want her and the rest of your friends to plan my next birthday.”

“Somewhere on this giant campus,” I said, “Khloe Kinsella's feeling like she's having a sugar rush. She'll be able to sense that someone's saying good things about her.”

“Well, it seems like you and I both lucked out, big-time, in the roommate department,” Taylor said. “My roommate, Matthew, is cool. He was in our room when I got back, and we got along right away. He asked me to play a new game on his Xbox, and we played for hours.”

“That was nice of him.”

Taylor stretched his arms to the sky. “It was a no-pressure way to get to know each other. I almost freaked out for a minute, because I kind of forgot where I was. Like, I expected my dad to come in, see me ‘wasting my time' playing a video game, and get mad at me.”

“Tay,” I said, touching his arm. “I'm sorry.”

“I'm not. I'm
here.
Matt and I played as long as we wanted, and no one made me feel bad for doing something that wasn't schoolwork or somehow related to learning about finances or business.”

Quiet anger seeped through me. Mr. Frost had really come down on Taylor even more since I'd been gone.

I motioned for Taylor to follow me onto another sidewalk that forked away from the main one. “That's great! What about this morning? Did your stuff come?”

“Movers were here at nine, and they unloaded my stuff like they were trying to break a record. Matt even got up and helped me move boxes from the hallway into our room. That saved me a ton of time.”

“I really can't wait to meet this guy,” I said. “You're
très
right—we both got amazing roomies.”

“I liked Khloe, Lexa, and the rest of your friends that I met last night too,” Taylor said. He hopped over a crack
in the sidewalk. “I hope you didn't think that I was staying away from you on purpose. I mean, I guess I kind of was, because I wanted to give you and Drew space.” He grinned. “Did you tell Lacey to talk to me all night?”

I frowned. “What? No. Why do you ask?”

“She came up to me, introduced herself and her friends,” Taylor said. He readjusted his hat. “The way Lacey talked to me—like, asking me a zillion questions about myself, offering to show me around school, stuff like that—I thought you or somebody asked her to make sure I had someone to talk to at the party.”

A weird feeling of
jealousy
burned in my chest. There was no reason for me to be jealous! I'd been the one who had told Taylor that I didn't want to get back together. Drew made me beyond happy, and I wanted nothing more than to keep hanging out with him and exploring a possible relationship.

“That's Lacey's personality,” I said. “I'm glad she kept you company last night. She didn't drive you crazy, did she?”

“No way,” Taylor said. “She's a cool girl, and I like getting to know your friends.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that Lacey and I weren't friend-friends like Khloe, Lexa, Clare, Jill, and I were, but
I stopped myself. Taylor had to get to know people on campus.

As if we'd timed our walk perfectly, the gym was just ahead.

“Those tennis courts close in a couple of weeks,” I said, pointing to the empty courts. “And the outdoor pool's already closed.”

We passed by the Olympic-size pool, which had been drained and covered until next year. Taylor craned his neck to inspect every inch of it, and the giant smile on his face reinforced my guess that he was impressed.