Hercules: A Matter of Trust (10 page)

S
cott Summers found his sister sitting in the kitchen later that night. Everyone else had gone to bed, and Debby was still up. He pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. “Got a minute?”

Debby looked up from the laptop computer she'd been typing on. Scott realized how tired she was, and stressed, and he was glad he'd decided to stay at the farm for a while and help get it back into shape. But only if staying worked for Emily.

“Sure. What's going on?” Debby asked.

“It's Emily.”

Debby's face stiffened ever so slightly. “What about her?”

“I think…” He paused, trying to figure out the best way to express his concerns. “I know you've really gone out of your way to welcome her to the farm and get her involved, but I think it's not going very well.”

Debby sighed and sat back in her chair, looking ever more tired. “I know. She made some comments today that…” She shook her head. “Do you think it's that I left her at the hospital?”

“Among other things.” Scott leaned forward. “I think we made a mistake with that decision. None of the kids should ever be left alone in the hospital.” He couldn't keep the tension out of his voice. “Horses don't come first sometimes.”

He expected argument, but Debby nodded. “I know. I made a mistake.” She sighed. “But that's not all it is, is it?”

Scott shook his head, relieved that Debby had agreed with him. He could tell from her tone that she did regret it and that it wouldn't happen again. “I think Emily feels like she's losing me. She's not feeling part of things here.”

Debby shut her computer and gave Scott her full focus. “I tried to get her back in the ring, but she's not interested. I don't know what to do. I can't teach her dressage, and if that's what she needs—”

“No.” Scott rubbed his jaw. “I think…I think she needs to feel like she belongs. She needs to believe that this is her family and her farm as much as it is mine.”

Debby studied him. “It would have been a lot easier if you'd brought her back to see us before this.”

Scott ground his jaw against the guilt that Debby's statement brought up. He had enough issues around coming back, and he wasn't going to get into them with his sister. This discussion was about Emily. “What do you think about a trail ride and picnic? Like the old days?”

Debby raised her brows. “I haven't thought of those trail rides in forever. We don't have time to take a whole day off—”

“We need to make time.” Scott nodded, growing more certain the longer he thought about it. “For all of us.” He met his sister's eyes. “I'm not going anywhere, Debby, and it's equally as important for you and me to connect as well. You with Emily, me with your kids and Rick, and Emily with everyone.”

Debby looked at her computer, and Scott knew she was thinking about all the work that had to be done.

“It'll all still be there if you take a day off.” He leaned forward. “I'm going to take Emily tomorrow, and anyone else who will come. I hope you join us.”

When Debby didn't say anything, he pushed back
from the table to head upstairs and tell Emily about the plan if she was still awake. It was so late, he doubted she was. He'd reached the doorway when his sister said his name.

“Scott?”

He turned back. “Yes?”

She gave him a weary smile that had a hint of cautious hope. “We'll all go on the trail ride tomorrow.”

Scott grinned back, suddenly feeling like he was fifteen again, eagerly anticipating a day out on the trails.

Then he thought of Emily's sad eyes and the betrayal in them when he'd told her what he'd done with Rhapsody's lease, and some of his confidence faded. It was what Emily needed, but would it be enough?

 

Emily walked into the kitchen the next morning to find Meredith and Caitlyn making sandwiches. There were an assortment of leather saddle bags with straps on the table, cans of soda, and a pan of freshly baked brownies on the counter. The smell of chocolate hit Emily the moment she pushed open the door, and her mouth started watering even before she saw the pan of brownies. “What's going on?”

“Trail ride today,” Meredith announced. “Caitlyn and I are finishing up the food. Everyone is rushing
through the barn chores so we can get out of here.” She tossed a plastic container at Emily. “Will you put the brownies in here?”

“A trail ride?” Emily caught the container. “Who's going?”

“The family,” Caitlyn said. “Plus Meredith because she's like family.” Caitlyn grabbed a big bag of potato chips and jammed them into one of the leather bags.

“Oh.” The family? The last thing Emily needed was to spend the day with people who didn't want her along. “I don't think I can go. My back—”

“No!” Meredith interrupted before Emily could even give her excuse. She waved a carrot at Emily. “You have to go. It's going to be so fun!”

“Yeah!” Caitlyn came to stand behind Meredith, her hands on her hips as she chomped on a potato chip she'd just swiped. “You promised to come to my party in the hay barn today, and I'm doing this instead. So you already said you'd come!”

Emily stared at Caitlyn and Meredith and realized they weren't faking it. They really wanted her to come. Like,
really
. She nodded. “I guess I'll come, then.”

“Woohoo!” Meredith threw up her hand and slapped Caitlyn a high five, then they both high-fived Emily. Twice.

Emily started laughing when Caitlyn went back for a third high five. “You guys need help or what?”

“Of course!” Meredith handed Emily a butter knife. “Dish up those brownies, girl! We're on a deadline! And give me one of them before you pack them up. I can't possibly wait all day for chocolate.”

“Me either!”

Emily hummed cheerfully as she cut the brownies, handing one over to each of the others and keeping one for herself before filling up the plastic container. Caitlyn and Meredith rushed around the kitchen at a frenzied pace, shoving food in their mouths as fast as they were packing it in the saddle bags.

Caitlyn held up a small plastic container she'd pulled out of the fridge. “Salmon paste for the crackers.” She wrinkled her nose. “Yes or no?”

The three of them looked at one another, then they all shouted “No!” at the same time, promptly descending into hysteria as Caitlyn pulled off the top and set it on the counter under Max's window for him to munch on next time he showed up.

Emily grinned at Meredith as she began to pack the pickles in a plastic bag, suddenly very much looking forward to the day. So what if her family was going to be there? She'd have fun anyway!

T
hey were about two hours into the trail ride, surrounded by thick woods and lush vegetation that smelled like damp springtime. Emily had fallen behind the others, enjoying the bonding but a little tired of trying to explain why she wasn't jumping, of retelling the story about her disastrous show. Of course, the gang was also giving Alison a hard time for her horrible model class with Sapphire, but Alison didn't seem to mind. Emily did. She just wasn't used to a family getting all in her business the way this one did.

Plus, both Meredith and Alison were riding their own beautiful horses, and Emily just felt…plain, riding Moondance.

Sapphire hadn't been permitted to come on the trail ride because he was too unpredictable. Aunt Debby was afraid whoever rode him would fall off and he'd get away.

Emily missed him. A lot.

She knew Aunt Debby was probably right that Sapphire would misbehave, but she didn't care. It wasn't the same without him.

“Em?”

She glanced over at her dad, who was riding a huge, dark bay horse named Spartacus. The horse was spirited and energetic, and her dad had had his hands full for the first two hours. Emily was actually impressed with her dad's skills. She hadn't realized how talented he was at riding. “You're good.”

Her dad looked pleased. “Starting to get the feel back again.” He patted Spartacus's muscular neck. “I didn't realize how much I missed it.” He slanted a look at Emily. “Had I realized, I would have been right there beside you at the barn, taking lessons.”

She snorted. “Dressage? You think dressage is worthless.”

He raised his brows. “Do I?”

She looked at him and suddenly thought of the thousands of hours he'd spent at horse shows with her.
Of all the money he'd spent on leasing the best horses for her. Of the countless times he'd listened to her rant about a show or a lesson or a horse. Never once had he even mentioned his other life as a hunter/jumper rider. Never once had he suggested she try jumping instead of dressage.

Emily's dad patted her leg, his face softening. “Emily, I think dressage is great, and I think you're a fantastic rider. In fact, dressage is very difficult, and I know that if I was going to learn dressage, I'd have to start at the bottom, because there are so many things I never learned as a hunter/jumper rider.”

“Oh, totally! There's so much…” Her voice faded as she realized what her dad had said. What his point was. “You're saying that I shouldn't be embarrassed to be starting over with the jumping?”

He nodded. “Jumping is different. The whole world is different. But you'll catch on so fast, as long as you give yourself a break.” He leaned closer to her. “I love you, Em.”

She looked at her dad then, saw the sincerity on his face. “Then why—”

“We're here because I think it'll be best for you. Do you think it's easy for me to walk away from my life in New Jersey? I had friends there, too. I'm doing
my business from here, but it's not the same thing. I feel like this is important.
Family
is important, and it's time you had a solid support system around you. I'm doing this for you, Emily.” He gestured toward the mountains in the distance. “Isn't it wonderful? Doesn't it do something for you?”

She looked around her, at the trees surrounding her, at the row of horses in front of her. Meredith turned around in the saddle and grinned at her, and Emily waved back then looked at her dad, who watched them with a pleased expression on his face.

“When was the last time you got to spend the day with me
and
horses?” he asked. “I'm so glad I can share this with you now.”

She gave a slight nod. He had a point.

She patted Moondance's neck then gaped as Aunt Debby let out a whoop up front and kicked her horse into a canter. Everyone else leaped forward, including Moondance. Emily rose into a half-seat, giving Moondance loose reins as they galloped along the wooded path, eight sets of hooves thudding on the dirt.

Uncle Rick shouted something she couldn't understand, but suddenly her aunt and cousins starting singing. A rowdy song she didn't know about the old
west and riding the trails. But everyone was screaming it, including her dad, and suddenly Emily started laughing. “You guys are crazy!”

“You had no idea, did you?” her dad shouted back, urging Spartacus along. His hair was whipping in the wind; he was laughing—laughing like she'd never seen him laugh.

“Les would kill you for encouraging me to ride this recklessly!” she shouted at him.

Her dad rolled his eyes. “Les doesn't know what he's missing! This is what riding is all about!” He clucked to Spartacus and moved ahead, yelling to his sister that he was going to beat her.

And then next thing Emily knew, her dad and her aunt were tearing down the path side-by-side, battling each other. Her dad? Drag racing on horseback through the woods? And Aunt Debby, too? Emily had had no idea they'd ever do something like that. Something just for fun. How completely crazy.

And she realized then that her dad was absolutely right. It wasn't about dressage. It wasn't even about jumping. It was about galloping through the woods, yelling and shouting, ducking under branches, being completely free and wild and…crazy!

Then suddenly she saw a series of downed logs
across the trail ahead, and Uncle Rick's horse flew over the first one, and then two more in quick succession. Then Aunt Debby jumped, and then Caitlyn hopped over them on her pony, then Alison—

Emily sat up and hauled Moondance back, the mare fighting her hard because she wanted to follow her friends. Meredith glanced back over her shoulder, then immediately slowed Halo, coming to a stop beside Emily as the others continued to ride over the logs. “What's wrong?”

“I can't do it.” Emily's heart was pounding, her chest tight, her throat dry, and she struggled to get Moondance to stop.

“Can't what?”

Emily shook her head frantically, already starting to sweat. “I can't do it. I can't jump,” she whispered.

Meredith frowned. “Why not?”

Emily shot a glance at her, her hands already starting to shake. “I'm scared,” she whispered. “I'm so scared.”

Meredith's face cleared in understanding just as Aunt Debby hollered for them to hurry up.

Meredith turned to her aunt. “Emily has never gone off-roading!” she shouted back. “We'll catch up.” She turned Halo to the right, and her horse stepped off the trail and into the bushes. “Come on, Em.”

Emily directed Moondance into the woods behind Halo and Meredith. “We're going around the trees?”

Meredith nodded. “We're going around the trees.”

Emily clucked Moondance to catch up so she was riding beside Meredith. “Thanks for saving me,” she whispered. “You're too awesome.”

“You should tell them you're scared.”

“No, I can't. They'll think I'm an idiot.”

“Do I?”

Emily frowned. “You don't seem to…but I didn't mean to tell you. I just didn't know what else to do.”

Meredith shook her head as the horses picked their way through the woods. “Emily, you've got it wrong. Debby seems tough, but she's been in the horse business for a long, long time. She'd totally understand.”

“No, trust me. She wouldn't. She already thinks I'm incompetent. If she also thought I was scared, then—”

Meredith interrupted. “When I first got Halo, he was really bad in the stall. He was a biter.”

Emily ducked under a low pine branch. “So?”

“So he bit me six times the first day. I had terrible bruises on my side and my shoulder, and he nearly crushed my fingers.” Meredith wove Halo around a low pine tree.

“Really? He seems so nice.”

Meredith looked at Emily. “After that first day I walked into the ring where Debby was giving Alison a lesson and I announced I was giving him back.”

Emily raised her brows. “Really?”

Meredith looked at her, then got thonked by a branch. She pressed her hand to her head while Emily ducked. “Yes. I told her he was a monster, and if I kept him, he was going to eat me alive, and I was never going near him again. Ever.”

“What did she say?” Emily glanced at the root system of the first downed tree. It looked pretty big from that angle.

Meredith tightened her grip on Halo's reins as he slogged through a small stream. “She asked me if I was afraid of him.”

Emily followed Halo through the water, keeping a tight grip in case Moondance decided to jump the stream like Sapphire had done when she'd been on the joyride with him. But Moondance picked her way across the wet stones carefully and delicately, like a lady. “What did you say?” They passed the second downed tree, and it actually looked pretty small. Moondance could have stepped over it at a walk.

Meredith looked back. “I told Debby that I wasn't just afraid of Halo. I told her he was an evil demon
horse that would haunt me for the rest of my life.”

Emily burst out laughing. “You didn't!”

“I totally did. I needed her to understand exactly how bad the situation was.” Meredith wrinkled her nose. “So Debby told me that she would work with me and help me deal with the situation. And she did. She went with me into Halo's stall every single time for the next three weeks. And if she couldn't do it, Alison went with me. Never once did either of them pressure me to face him alone.”

Emily bit her lip as they passed the final downed tree. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Meredith turned Halo back toward the path, where the rest of the group was almost out of sight down the trail. “You should trust them, Em. I'm sure Debby would be able to help. She seems tough, but she cares. She really does.”

“About the horses.”

Meredith kicked Halo into a trot. “She cares about us, too.”

Emily bit her lip, realizing that a part of her really,
really
wished Meredith was right. She looked up ahead and saw her aunt riding next to Alison, their heads bent in discussion, and she knew she wanted that to be her. She wanted to be part of that group.
So badly.
Would
admitting she was scared make that happen? Or would it be the final blow to any chance she had at belonging? She wanted them to respect her so much.

As she looked around at the people she was with, at the beautiful woods, as she listened to the laughter and the songs, she realized that she wanted to belong here.

She really, truly did.