Home for Christmas (17 page)

“Easy, easy,” I called. “It's okay, boy.”

Watson rose into the air, ignoring my words. He stretched his front hooves toward the gray sky, and I started slipping out of the saddle.

I am not falling off!

I twisted black mane in my fingers and pushed my own weight forward, against Watson's neck, throwing him off balance. As quickly as he'd reared, he had all four hooves on the ground. My heart thumped in my chest. I tapped my heels lightly against Watson's sides—I wanted him to keep moving forward and not try to rear again.

“Sasha,” Lauren said in a quiet voice. “Are you okay?”

I didn't answer. I kept my fingers entwined in Watson's mane and used every part of my body that was in contact with his to try and feel for a hint—even the slightest clue—that he was going to rear again. But once seemed to be enough. Watson walked in a straight line and obeyed my commands.

“Now I'm okay,” I answered.

“That was really scary,” Lauren said. “I know you can handle it, Sasha, and you weren't scared at all. But if you
want to go back and let Quinn find someone else to ride these guys, I'm cool with that.”

I smiled. “You're silly to think I wasn't scared. Being on a thousand-pound-plus horse that could flip onto his back and crush you beneath him is
terrifying.
I just can't let Watson know that's how I feel. I'm okay to keep riding unless things really start to get out of control.”

“Sounds good,” Lauren said. “Want to trot?”

“Let's. It's time to let these boys burn off some energy.”

Without any prodding from me, Watson switched from a fast walk to a trot. Reeser trotted beside us. Lauren and I posted to our horses' trots, but I knew neither of us had to. Watson's trot was the smoothest of any horse I'd ever ridden. I was pretty sure it was the same for Lauren and Reeser.

The horses' hooves churned up the loose dirt on the track, and the longer we trotted, the less Watson acted out. Lauren and Reeser kept pace with us—the gleaming chestnut was a great match for her. I knew that she had a gray mare—Whisper, I think—at Canterwood, but if she hadn't gotten her own horse yet, Reeser would make a good one.

“Canter?” I called to Lauren.

“Ready!” Lauren said back.

I sat deep in the saddle and gave Watson a little extra
rein. I pressed my knees against his sides, and he responded instantly. Simultaneously, he and Reeser started cantering. We followed a gentle turn of the track and passed a mile marker. I wasn't sure which one it was—but I knew jockeys watched them to determine how far they had gone or how much of the race was left.

Watson cantered happily, an ear forward and one ear back. His strides were longer than Charm's, even though Charm was part Thoroughbred. I barely moved in the saddle, and all I could hear were the pounding hoofbeats of the two horses and the whoosh of wind in my ears.

Reeser and Lauren kept up beside us. I looked over for a fraction of a second, and we smiled at each other.

I thought back to Callie's worries at the beginning of break—that my friends and I had to watch our backs because of how talented Lauren and her friends were as riders. I hadn't seen much of Lauren's rider friends aside from the jumping at Briar Creek. Now I was getting a front seat to Lauren's riding. She had everything a rider needed to do well at Canterwood. Better than “well.” Despite that, I didn't feel threatened. Lauren wasn't a mini-Heather—a Heather back from our early days. Lauren loved horses. She loved riding. She seemed more like me than I think she realized.

Reeser pulled ahead by a half stride. Watson didn't charge after him like I expected. As a reward, I let out more rein, and with a snort, Watson increased his speed. The two horses cantered side by side.

Watson's rhythmic breathing mixed with the sounds of hoofbeats on the track made me grin.

It was time.

“Go?” I asked Lauren.

“Go!” she said.

I eased my hands up along Watson's neck and lifted myself so I hovered above the saddle. Watson seemed to almost pause for a second—as if he was testing that I was really asking him to gallop. He must have gotten confirmation, because he moved into a ground-eating gallop. I kept him in hand and didn't allow him to move to the top speed I knew he was capable of achieving.

I sneaked a peek to my left, and Lauren was bent low over Reeser's neck. The shiny chestnut's mane flowed against Lauren's face, and she smiled.

“This is awesome!” I said, hoping Lauren could hear me.

“The best!” Lauren said.

We swept past Quinn and the crowd along the rails. Watson didn't push for a faster pace. I'd given him what he wanted—a chance to run.

Lauren and I let the horses continue their controlled gallops. Sweat broke out around Watson's neck as the reins rubbed against his coat. I kept him even with Reeser, and he didn't fight me to overpower the other horse.

“Easing up,” I told Lauren.

She nodded. “Me too.”

I gathered the reins and slowly brought Watson down from a gallop to a canter to a trot and finally a walk. It didn't feel as if I was riding a live wire anymore. Or holding a ticking time bomb. Watson tossed his head playfully, happily.

Reeser, breathing hard, was as winded as Watson. The other ex-racehorse's nostrils flared as he breathed fast. Despite the exercise, there was a bounce in his stride.

“Wow,” I said. “That was one of the best rides in my entire life.”

“Oh, me too!” Lauren said, all smiles. “I still can't believe it just happened.”

I edged Watson closer to Reeser and held up a hand. “To us having a chance to play jockeys.”

Laughing, Lauren slapped my palm. “To us, indeed!”

21

Sasha

“I CAN'T BELIEVE THE ADOPT-A-THON
is tomorrow!” I said on Friday afternoon.

“It came so fast!” Callie agreed.

Dad had dropped us off at Briar Creek for a trail ride. We were walking up to the barn from the driveway. It was another cloudy, gray day. It was barely in the forties and again, no chance of snow. I still had my fingers crossed for a white Christmas.

“Was
that
Santa there last time we came here?” Jacob asked, nodding ahead. “If you guys tell me that it was, then I'm really worried about my memory.”

I looked where he gestured. A Santa figurine about half my height had been placed next to the entrance door for people at the stable's front. Light-up reindeer were on the
other side. Windows were covered in decals—snowflakes, snow people, and snowballs.

“Kim decorated for Christmas,” I said. “Yes! She has the best decorations. I always help put them up.”

“You did get to do that at Safe Haven,” Brit said.

I smiled. “That was a fun day.”

A few days ago I'd finished exercising a horse and had gone to the decorating committee with Jacob, Paige, Lauren, and Taylor. Even though Lauren and I weren't assigned to this area, which fell under the red experience level, we'd both wanted to get creative. We'd had so much fun going through the boxes of Christmas decorations and picking up where the last shift of decorators left off. Lauren had gotten a surprise when her sisters, Becca and Charlotte, had shown up. Both older girls weren't riders, but they definitely knew how to decorate. When we'd finished, Safe Haven looked like a winter wonderland.

“Wow,” Alison said
as we walked down Briar Creek's aisle. “These decorations are awesome!”

She was right. The entire stable had been decked out in Christmas decorations. A few people were still hanging wreaths on stall doors, out of the reach of a curious muzzle, and putting up colored lights.

Garland stretched from the top of one stall to the next. Clear teensy white lights were embedded in the garland. Glittery red and green ball ornaments hung on fishing line from the rafters and looked as if they floated.

The overhead sound system was tuned into the local holiday tunes radio station, and Christmas music filled the stable at a low volume.

“Tack up and meet out front?” I asked. “I'll help Jacob.”

“I'll help you, Paige,” Callie said.

Paige nodded her thanks. I couldn't have been prouder of my friend—she
and
Jacob were game to ride, and they had spent most of their days at a stable surrounded by horses. I wouldn't be surprised if Paige asked me to help cook meals for the homeless or something next Christmas. I smiled to myself—Paige had tasted my cooking. I wouldn't be making meals for
anyone
.

Twenty minutes later
we were all astride our horses and headed toward the trails.

“Sasha,” Brit said. She walked Apollo next to Charm. “We want to give you a little, tiny thank-you for everything you've done for us so far.”

I scrunched my nose. “I don't need a thank-you. You guys deserve one—you're all here for me.”

“No,” Eric said, shaking his head. “We're here to help horses and make a difference this Christmas. That's because of you.”

We pulled up the horses as we reached the edge of the woods.

Paige and Heather grinned at me. “We want you and Jacob to go on a trail ride,” Heather said. “Just the two of you.”

I grinned. “What? But what about you guys?”

Alison waved a gloved hand. “Puh-lease. I think we can find our way down a trail and back.”

I glanced over at Jacob. He was on the other side of Brit and Apollo.

“Did you have anything to do with this?” I asked him. My tone was high and totally giving away how excited I was.

“Nothing,” Jacob said. “If everyone really,
really
wants us to go, I think it would be rude for us to say no.”

“Oh, yeah?” I asked, laughing. “Well, then I guess we better go.”

Callie nodded. “Go. Or we will think you're rude.”

Brit blew me a kiss and winked. “Have fuuun!”

I shot her a
stop it right now
look, and she burst into giggles.

“See you guys back here in an hour?” I asked.

Heather checked her watch. “Sounds good.”

I eased Charm forward and Jacob did the same with Bliss, the bay mare he'd ridden last time.

“This might be one of the best ideas those guys have ever had,” I said. I stroked Charm's gleaming neck with one hand as I guided him closer to Bliss.

“It's up there for sure,” Jacob said, grinning. “I was hoping for some alone time with you.”

“Me too,” I said.

We entered the thick woods, and I angled Charm down a side path. This one wasn't used as often as the main trail that I'd taken my friends on during their first visit. The bare trees were full of chirping birds and twittering squirrels. Bleak sunlight peeked through thick gray clouds, and I was glad I'd worn my down-filled vest.

“Sasha, it's been amazing to spend so much time with you,” Jacob said.

We were close enough that our boots almost brushed against each other's.

“It's been great for me, too,” I said. “It's different to see you outside of campus.”

“Good different, I hope.”

“Very good different,” I said, smiling.

Charm and Bliss walked with ease beside each other. Charm knew this trail by heart. Even though we'd been at Canterwood for a while, he hadn't forgotten his way around.

“When we played Guilty Party, you kind of stole part of my Christmas present for you,” Jacob said.

“What do you mean?” I asked. I looked into his clover-green eyes.

“I was just as guilty as you. I've wanted to say ‘I love you' for a while, but I was . . . scared.”

“Of what?” I asked.

The horses kept a steady walk, sidestepping a downed tree and continuing along the dirt path.

“Of scaring you off. You not being ready for me to say it. Scared of you not feeling the same way yet.”