Hercules: A Matter of Trust (12 page)

A
t three minutes after eight o'clock the next morning, Emily sat down on her bed. Fully dressed in her chaps, helmet, paddock boots, and riding gloves. Ready to ride.

But so not.

“I can't do this,” she whispered. She held out her hands, not surprised to see them shaking.

There was a knock on the door, and before Emily could pull her hands back, the door opened, and her dad walked in. He was wearing a faded red T-shirt that he always wore for yard work in New Jersey, and she chuckled, remembering digging up weeds alongside of him many times.

He came in and sat down beside her, the bed creaking beneath his weight. “Hey, Em.”

Emily looked up in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Aunt Debby told me about your conversation with her yesterday. That you were scared to jump. Thought you might be nervous about going down to the ring this morning, so I thought I'd walk you down there.”

She took a deep breath and then looked at him. “Would you be disappointed in me if I didn't ever jump? I really don't know if I can.”

He smiled and lightly rapped his knuckles on her helmet. “Emily, don't be silly. I stopped riding for more than ten years. If riding isn't right for you, then that's fine.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Really? So I don't have to go down there?”

He caught her chin and forced her to look at him. “Walking away from riding because you're not interested in it is completely fine. But walking away from riding because you're scared, knowing that you still love it and would like to ride, is a huge mistake. Which is it, Emily?”

She blew out a puff of air, unable to lie. “I'm scared,” she mumbled.

Her dad nodded. “Then the only answer is to go out there and climb on. Aunt Debby's not going to have you do anything that makes you nervous.”

“But jumping makes me nervous!” As the words burst out of her mouth, Emily realized how good it felt to be able to say them freely. She even smiled, despite her shaking hands.

“Well, let's go see what Aunt Debby has planned before you make up your mind, okay?” He stood up and held out his hand. “Come on, Em. It'll be okay.”

She took a deep breath, then stood up and grabbed her dad's hand. “Thanks for coming up to get me.”

He smiled down at her as they walked out the door. “Anytime, Em. And if I ever forget to come get you when you need me to, don't hesitate to tell me, okay?”

She grinned at him. “I'll totally give you grief.”

He winked. “Sounds perfect.” They reached the top of the stairs. “After you, my dear.”

And just like that, Emily's good feelings vanished, replaced by a trembling in her belly that reminded her of Hercules…and then she smiled. She didn't need to get buried under a mound of boards to learn the lesson he'd learned. With her dad and Aunt Debby looking out for her, it was all going to be all right.

She hoped.

 

When Emily rounded the corner to the ring, she saw all her cousins, Meredith, and Uncle Rick all sitting on the fence rail…to watch her lesson?

She sucked in her breath, feeling her cheeks burn, and she opened her mouth to protest—

“Emily!”

She glanced over at her aunt, who was in the ring, then froze.

Her aunt was holding Sapphire.
And he was tacked up, ready to be ridden.

But no one was on him.

“What's he doing here?” Her mouth was parched, her hands shaking again. She looked at her dad. “Dad?”

He grinned down at her, his face delighted. “We decided that you need to ride a horse you trusted, and there's no horse you trust as much as Sapphire.”

Her mouth gaped.
“My lesson is on Sapphire?”

He chuckled. “It won't be if you don't get into that ring and get on him.”

Tears filled Emily's eyes as she stumbled forward, her vision blurry as she hurried toward Sapphire. She climbed through the rails and rushed into the ring, then came to an awed stop a few feet from him. Afraid it was a mistake or a joke…

Then Aunt Debby held out Sapphire's reins to her, a wide smile on her face. “You going to get on or what?”

“Oh,
yes.
” Emily snatched the reins, but instead of climbing on, she threw her arms around Sapphire's neck and buried her face in his soft coat. He snorted and stepped sideways, dragging her along. Emily let go and grinned at her aunt. “He wants me to get on.”

“Of course he does. Leg up?”

“Definitely!” Emily grasped the saddle and lifted her leg.

“On three. One, two, three—” Aunt Debby hoisted her up and Emily threw her leg over Sapphire's broad back, sinking deep into the leather saddle.

“Oh,
wow
.” Emily leaned forward and stroked his neck as Aunt Debby adjusted her stirrups for her, unable to believe she was really on Sapphire. Not sneaking a ride, but really,
truly
allowed to ride him.

Sapphire turned his head to look at her, then lifted his upper lip in a grimace that totally made her laugh. His dark brown eyes were fastened on her, and something inside her chest bubbled with warmth. It was Sapphire. He would take care of her.

Aunt Debby patted her leg. “You're good. Why don't you go warm up?”

Emily tucked her feet in the stirrups and looked
down at the joy in Aunt Debby's eyes. “Thank you.”

Aunt Debby winked at her. “Get to work, Emily. We're not here to chat.”

Emily giggled and gathered her reins, not at all put off by her aunt's manner. Not anymore. She sank into her heels and lightly pressed her calves to Sapphire's sides.

He immediately moved forward into a rolling walk that was so comfortable and so majestic, just like he was. She glanced over at her audience on the fence rail.

They were all grinning at her, even Kyle. Meredith gave her a thumbs-up, and Emily returned it, and then saw Hercules and Max standing at the edge of the crowd. Hercules was resting his little black nose on the bottom rail, and he was watching her. She blew him a kiss, and he snorted and darted behind Max to hide, then Hercules poked his head beneath Max's belly to peer at Emily. She smiled, realizing that Hercules had found his home with Max, and that he was going to be all right.

Sapphire gave a jig to the right, and Emily laughed as she followed along with him, keeping balance over his broad back. “Even in the ring, you still have to be a troublemaker, don't you?”

He craned his head around to look at her, and she
could have sworn he winked. She knew then she was in for a very spirited ride as only Sapphire could give, and her heart jumped in eager anticipation. “Well, if you're that energetic, let's get going!”

She nudged Sapphire into a trot, sighing with delight as he responded, hopping into action with a trot that was powerful and athletic. His muscles rippled beneath her as he pushed forward. So much strength and energy. So graceful and light as he danced across the ground, his toes barely brushing it. The comparison to Moondance…No. There was no comparison. He was…he was
everything
.

She glanced over at Aunt Debby, suddenly thrilled that she didn't believe in the eternal warm-up like Emily's old coach, Les, did. “Canter?”

Aunt Debby nodded, a twinkle in her eye. “Go for it.”

Emily sat down in the saddle and nudged Sapphire into a canter. Energy rippled through him, his tail swished, and she laughed, knowing exactly what he was going to do before he did it.

She sat up, took a firm grip on the reins and giggled when Sapphire squealed and bolted, trying to get his head down so he could plant a firm buck. “I know you too well, Sapphire.” She threw her weight
back so he couldn't get his head down. “You're such a troublemaker.”

She had Sapphire back under control in seconds, because he'd never really gotten out of control. He swished his tail again and did a tiny buck and then settled back down to a proper canter. She patted his neck, chuckling as he shook his head. “You can't pull that stuff on me, sweetie.”

“Nice work, Emily.”

She looked over at her aunt, who was leaning on an oxer. “Really?”

Aunt Debby nodded. “You knew what he was doing before he did it, and stopped him. Good job.”

Emily heard the sincerity in her aunt's voice and was unable to stop herself from beaming. She'd done right by Sapphire. Proven she was capable of riding him. Maybe it had started out as a pity ride, but now…now it was different.

This wasn't going to be the only time she was going to be allowed to ride him.
She'd done it.

Her aunt lowered the cross rail and pointed to it. “You up for it, Em? No pressure.”

Emily looked at the red-and-white-striped rail, and the jump she'd crashed on at the show flashed through her mind. Then Sapphire snorted and pranced sideways,
and she remembered she was on him.

On her best friend. Together, they could do it.

She adjusted her reins and nodded. “Let's do it.”

Aunt Debby nodded. “Just trot up to it, go up in half-seat and grab his mane. He has much more spring than Moondance, so if you don't hold on to his mane, you're going to get left behind.”

“Of course he'd jump bigger than Moondance. He's Sapphire!” She clucked him into a trot and looked ahead to the jump, planning her approach.

She turned and straightened him out. His head came up and his ears went forward, and she felt his body coil beneath her. The jump got closer, and she waited for a flash of fear…but none came.

Just total and complete confidence in the horse she was riding and the team they made together.

She rose in her stirrups and grabbed his mane, keeping him straight between her calves. Two more steps…

Sapphire exploded into the air, vaulting so high above the cross rail Emily felt like they were flying! She clung to him, gripping his mane and clenching her calves as they sailed through the air, keeping her position and balance perfect as they came down, landing gracefully.

“Keep going,” Aunt Debby said. “Canter the vertical in six strides.”

Emily looked ahead to the vertical and saw it was bigger than any she'd ever jumped. It wasn't three feet, but it seemed pretty close. With a hit of adrenaline, she directed Sapphire toward the vertical rail, counting his strides as he thundered forward.
Land, one, two, three, four, five, six!
Sapphire vaulted through the air again, sailing so high they almost touched the sky.

They hung in the air for what seemed like hours, and she knew she'd come home. To her family, to Sapphire, to the farm, and to the kind of riding that would fill her soul forever.

Cover photo © 2009 Arctic-Images/Getty Images

Lettering and logo illustration by Leah Palmer Preiss

Cover design by Amy Ryan