Home for Christmas (4 page)

“This is it,” I said, my voice small.

Kim had done a lot of renovation since I'd left. The stable had attracted more students after I, and then Lauren Towers, had trained here and been accepted to Canterwood. The pastures on either side of the driveway had freshly painted fences. The old orange round pens that had rusted at the hinges were gone. In their place—a new arena. The stable, once sporting chipped paint, was now a glossy gray.

Dad eased the Ford to a stop at the stable entrance. “Call me when you're ready to come home,” he said to me.

“Okay, thanks, Dad,” I said.

Heather got out, and I hopped to the ground, followed by Brit, Paige, Callie, Jacob, Alison, and Eric.

I shoved my hands in my pockets, almost unable to breathe as I waited for the verdict from my friends.

“Briar Creek is so great,” Alison said, her eyes roaming over the grounds. “It feels so intimate. I love that.”

I grinned. “Thanks, Alison.”

“It really looks like a good place to train,” Heather said. She held up her hands in a
what gives?
gesture to me. “You made it sound like we were coming to a place with rusty barbed-wire fences and overflowing muck piles. What's that about?”

Everyone looked at me. “I don't know,” I said, shrugging. “I guess I didn't want you guys to expect something like Canterwood and be disappointed. This place is really important to me, and I wanted my friends to like it as much as I do.”

“Well,
I
think it's fab,” Brit said, looping her arm through mine. “I want to meet the horses!”

“Yeah, I want to see the stable!” Callie said. “Come on, Tour Guide.”

Laughing, I led them inside. The stable was empty, as it usually was during Christmas break. I was glad to have the place to myself to give my friends a private tour. I'd texted Kim to tell her we were coming, and I couldn't wait to introduce her to everyone.

“Ooh, a Morgan just like Black Jack!” Callie said. She broke free of our cluster and headed for a stall up ahead. The black horse had his head over the stall door, his muzzle stretching toward Callie. “Aww! He's so sweet! You'd like my horse, Jack,” Callie told the Morgan.

Kim had added on stalls and more space at the back of the stable. I'd seen photos that she'd sent me when the construction was finished. Now there were about thirty stalls.

I gave everyone a tour, showing them the tack room, Kim's office—empty but with the desk light on—and the feed room, and we leisurely started down the main aisle to look at the horses.

“I
did
ask Kim if we could borrow stable horses to trail ride whenever we have free time,” I said. “She said yes and sent me a list of the horses that were going to be available to us.”

“Awesome,” Eric said. “I'll miss Luna, but I'm glad I get to ride.”

Luna was the sweet gray Canterwood mare that Eric rode. When Eric and I had dated, Luna had acted as if she had a crush on Charm. The two horses were still good friends. Just like Eric and me.

I turned to Jacob. “Kim's got a very quiet, easygoing horse picked out for you,” I said. I nodded at Paige. “Same for you. You guys don't
have
to ride, though. If you don't want to, I'll stay back with you and we can hang out.”

Jacob smiled and threaded his fingers through mine. He wasn't an equestrian, but he had basic knowledge of
riding. His teacher had been none other than Eric, my ex-boyfriend, who had so generously taught Jacob in secret so he and I could ride together.

Paige's experience around horses was limited too, and she'd never had lessons.

“I trust that you chose the right horse for me,” Jacob said. “You know what I can handle. Plus, I want to spend time with you, and this entire break is
about
horses. I want to ride.”

I squeezed his hand. “You're the best!” I gave him a quick kiss and bounced on my toes.

Jacob wrinkled his nose. “I have to say, I'm pretty good at guessing most of your lip-glossy things—flavors. But what
is
that?”

Laughing, I told him.

“Let me try it again,” he said.

I kissed him, and we smiled at each other.

“I'll remember that one now,” Jacob said.

“Okay!” I said, suddenly aware that everyone was watching us with grins on their faces. “Paige, what would you like to do?”

“Ride, obvi!” Paige said. “I want to. You gave me a riding lesson once, and I think I've done enough of the basic stuff with you to ride.”

“Let me take you to the horses that we'll be riding. They're at the end of the stable.” I worked hard to keep my steps even and not turn around and spill secret news I'd been holding inside for weeks.

5

Sasha

MY FRIENDS FOLLOWED ME, AND
I walked up to a stall and clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth to get the horse's attention. The palomino gelding started toward me and put his beautiful Arabian head over the door.

I turned to the group, and Alison gasped. Her eyes were as round as peppermint candies.

“Alison,” I said. “You'll be riding this strange horse named . . . Sunstruck. I think that's his name. Is that okay?”

“Omigod! Baby!” Alison ran forward toward her horse and peppered his muzzle and cheeks with kisses.

“How did you—? When did—?” Alison sputtered at me.

Eric, Callie, Brit, and Heather all shared the same look: hope. Hope that their horses were here and not at Canterwood.

“They're all here!” I said. “I coordinated the travel with Mr. Conner, and he worked with your parents and Kim. They'll be staying at Briar Creek until we go back to school.”

Eric looked at his boots for a split second. “Luna's here too,” I assured him. “Mr. Conner knows you love her like she's yours.”

That made him grin.

“Go find your horses,” I said. “They're all in the last few stalls.”

Callie, Eric, Brit, Heather, and Alison hurried down the aisle, not even glancing at the Briar Creek horses.

“If it's okay, I'd like to say hi to Charm and then introduce you to your horses,” I said to Jacob and Paige.

They nodded.

“That was an amazing surprise, Sash,” Paige said.

“I wanted the horses to be home for Christmas too,” I said. “Home for them is wherever we are.”

Jacob, Paige, and I walked past Heather, who had her arms around Aristocrat's neck. The liver chestnut leaned into her. Brit had found Apollo—her gray gelding—and
was whispering in his ear. Callie and Black Jack were reunited in the stall next to Apollo. Eric dug into his pocket, produced a peppermint stick, and held it flat on his palm for Luna.

It made me teary to see all of my friends with their horses—the horses they thought they'd be without over break. It hadn't been easy getting them here. The Foxes had put up a fight about having Heather's expensive horse staying “at some stable in
Union
,” but Mr. Conner and I had managed to convince them.

“Charm?” I called. A low nicker came from the right side of the aisle. “Chaaarm! I hear you!” Another nicker, louder and longer this time. I broke into a jog, not waiting for Paige and Jacob to catch up.

As I reached the stall, a chestnut head popped over. Wide brown eyes found me, and I grinned. “Charm!” I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his mane. He smelled like clean hay and sweet grain. I stepped back and held his face in my hands. Charm wore his dark-brown leather halter, with his name inscribed on a gold name plate attached to the halter.

“Look at my other boyfriend,” I said as Jacob reached my side.

“Hey, Charm,” Jacob said. He put out a tentative hand
for Charm to sniff. Charm bumped Jacob's hand with his muzzle, and Jacob patted his neck. I couldn't believe Jacob was the guy who, when we had first met, was so scared of horses he wouldn't even touch Charm.

Paige caught up and petted Charm's cheek.

Charm's coat gleamed from daily brushings. Every hair on his white blaze sparkled like fresh snow. His socks were just as clean. Charm's breeding—a mix of Thoroughbred and Belgian—made him tall and strong.

“Anyone interested in a ride?” I called.

“Yes!” everyone chorused back.

With a final pat, I left Charm, and my friends and I met in the center of the aisle.

“Sasha, wow,” Callie said. Her brown eyes danced. “This was the biggest surprise!”

Heather nodded. “Really. I was down about spending Christmas away from Aristocrat. Thank you so much!”

I waved my hand. “I wanted to do it. Mr. Conner did most of the work, really. It's a small thanks to you all for helping me with the charity project.”

I explained that everyone would find their tack and grooming supplies in a closet at the back of the stable. I hadn't wanted to blow the surprise when I'd shown them the real tack room.

“So, you guys tack up. I'm going to introduce Jacob and Paige to their horses and help them get ready. Want to meet out in front of the stable in half an hour?” I asked.

“Deal!” Brit said.

6

Lauren

“YOU,” KHLOE SAID, POINTING A
red fingernail at me, “are being shady.”

We had just finished breakfast and were getting ready to go to Briar Creek. I wanted to show my friends the stable and go trail riding. Taylor, the rest of the guys, Ana, and Brielle were meeting us there.

“Me?” I asked. My voice was octaves higher than normal. “Nope, no shadiness here.”

Clare, in black breeches and a down vest, studied me. “Khloe's right. Something's up.”

Channel Khloe,
I told myself.
Be an actress!

“I—I was just thinking about Charlotte coming home tomorrow,” I said. “It's going to be a little weird.”

Clare, Khloe, Lexa, Carina, and Becca all exchanged looks. We were seated at the breakfast nook table. The girls had met Becca yesterday, and I couldn't have asked for a better introduction. Just like I knew she would be, Becca was open and friendly with everyone, and it didn't take long before she felt like one of our group. Everyone had whispered to me the second Becca had stepped out of the room last night how much they liked her.