Moonlight Mile (5 page)

But she shrugged and tried to forget about that. It was too late to worry about it now. Besides, Brett hardly ever came to Jordan's lessons. He probably wouldn't even show up tomorrow.

She stepped to the window and looked out. The full moon made everything outside look silvery and magical. For a moment Nina recalled her uncle's comments about Serena and shivered.

Hearing a rustle of movement from the doorway, she turned just in time to see Bastet wander in with Teniers right behind her. Both cats leaped gracefully onto Nina's bed, settling themselves in their accustomed spot at the foot. Nina smiled as they started to purr, then turned to check the duffel and garment bags sitting near the door. She'd packed everything she might need in there, including the costumes for herself and Breezy. The vintage breeches were sitting at the top of the unzipped duffel, and Nina stroked the rough beige fabric.

“I wonder who else might have worn you in a big show?” she murmured.

She gave the breeches one last pat, then grabbed her laptop and climbed into bed. Soon she was logging on to the Pony Post. Her friends there had been following her
progress on the Serena costume all week, offering suggestions and encouragement. Nina had posted a photo of the breeches, too, promising to send them another picture of herself wearing them in the show ring, since her father was playing photographer tomorrow.

Now she found recent messages from all three of her friends:

[BROOKE]
Good luck tomorrow Nina! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

[HALEY]
Me too! I know u and B will do great!

[MADDIE]
Me three!!! Go get em, tiger! (That's what my dad says before my soccer games sometimes, lol!)

[MADDIE]
O, and I know u say u never get nervous. But if u do, just picture all the other horses and riders in their underwear!

Nina laughed and opened a text box, typing fast.

[NINA]
OK, now I'm totally picturing Breezy dressed in boxer shorts and a tank top! Maybe I should rethink our costume, lol . . . Anyway, u guys are the best cheering section ever! I'll let u know how it goes as soon as I can.

CHAPTER

5

THE SHRILL WAIL OF NINA'S
alarm yanked her out of a restless sleep the next morning. She sat up and slapped it off, feeling tired and a bit fuzzy-headed. She'd noticed she often had especially vivid dreams during a full moon, and last night had been no exception. The difference was that this time, all the dreams had been about Serena—at least Nina thought they had been. The details were already fading, drifting just beyond reach of her memory, leaving her with only an unsettled feeling and the faint whiff of voodoo.

“Whatever,” she said aloud, then yawned. She stretched her feet out beneath the covers—the cats had left, though
not long ago since she could still feel the warm spot where they'd been.

Nina stood up, her nose twitching at the enticing scent of coffee drifting back from the kitchen. She glanced at the window, and for a second it was as if she could still see the full moon hanging heavy in the bright early-morning sky. But she shook that off, along with her lingering grogginess. The sun was up, and it was time to get this day started.

Cypress Trail Stables was always a pretty busy place, with an active lesson program and lots of boarders and leasers coming and going seven days a week. But Nina had never seen it as crowded and crazed as on this particular show morning. Miss Adaline and the other instructors were bustling around, helping students get ready. Horses stood in the wash racks or grooming ties, while riders raced back and forth to the tack room or their storage lockers.

Nina paused in the entryway for a moment, taking it all in. Jordan rushed past, holding a bucket, then stopped short when she saw her.

“Nina! You're finally here!” she said breathlessly. “Did you bring your costume?”

“Of course.” Nina patted the duffel under her arm. “Got my show clothes to change into later too. That way they won't get dirty while I'm getting Breezy ready.”

“Oh!” Jordan's eyes widened with alarm as she glanced down at her own pale gray breeches and white shirt. “Wish I'd thought of that. I'll probably be filthy by showtime.”

Nina shrugged. “Don't worry. With my luck, Breezy will blow a big green pony sneeze all over me as soon as I change.” She grinned. “Then again, maybe not. I'm feeling positive, since I've already got my lucky undies on.”

Jordan laughed. “Seriously? You mean those ratty old pink things with the dancing teddy bears printed all over them?”

“Absolutely.” Nina winked. “That's the best thing about those vintage breeches—the old-fashioned fabric is so thick there's no way anything will show through!”

Jordan just shook her head. “Honestly, sometimes I don't even know if you're joking or serious,” she said. “But
never mind—can you help me get the dirt off Freckie's fetlocks?”

“Sure. Just let me drop my stuff by Breezy's stall first.”

For the next two hours, Nina barely stopped moving. She helped Jordan, then fetched Breezy out of his stall and gave him the grooming of his life. She wanted him to look perfect for his show debut.

“Twenty minutes to showtime, everyone!” one of the instructors hollered, charging down the barn aisle. “Make sure you're ready when your division starts!”

“Yikes.” Nina glanced down at her shorts and T-shirt. “Better get changed, Breezy. I don't want to embarrass you by looking less fabulous than you do!”

She gave Breezy a brisk pat, which made him jerk his head up from his hay pile and let out a loud snort. He turned his head and eyed her rather suspiciously before stepping over to the stall door to look out.

Nina chuckled as she watched his ears prick this way and that. The hustle and bustle of show day had him—like all the horses and ponies in the barn—a little more jazzed than usual. After a moment, though, he returned to his
hay pile, settling down to eat with one last sigh. Nina let herself out of the stall and headed for the changing room.

Less than ten minutes later, she was fully dressed in her show clothes, including the vintage breeches. A couple of people had already commented on the cool old pants, which made Nina smile.

She found Jordan by her horse's stall, looking pale and rather clammy. “Oh my gosh, I'm so nervous I could die!” she wailed. “My legs are shaking so bad, I don't think I'll be able to ride!”

“Chill. Breathe. Try not to hyperventilate.” Nina rubbed her friend's arm, then grabbed Jordan's wrist to check her watch. “The littler kids still have one more division, then we're next. You'll probably relax once you start your warm-up.”

Jordan raised an eyebrow. “Have you
met
me?” she exclaimed.

Her words came out sounding so wounded that Nina couldn't help giggling. For a second Jordan looked annoyed; then she blinked and started giggling too.

“Sorry,” she said. “Am I spazzing out again?”

“Totally. But it's okay—it's one of my favorite things about you.” Nina slung an arm around her friend's shoulder and gave her a hug. “Come on, I'll help you get Freckie's bridle on.”

A few minutes later Jordan and Freckles were in the smaller riding ring, which was being used as a warm-up area. At least a dozen horses and ponies were in there, going every which way as their riders put them through their paces or jumped the small crossrails set up in the middle. Nina watched the action for a second, then realized she needed to start her own warm-up if she wanted to be ready. Breezy might be a little pepped up by the show atmosphere, but she wanted to have plenty of time to make sure he was moving off her leg and paying attention. Even a show probably wasn't enough to wake him up entirely!

Jordan glanced over, and Nina tossed her a thumbs-up. Then she turned and dashed for the barn.

As she raced in, she almost crashed into someone coming out. “Sorry!” she blurted out. “I was—oh! Uh, hi, Brett.”

“Hey, Nina.” Jordan's brother grinned at her. “I like the monkey suit.”

Nina glanced down at her navy blue jacket and crisp white show shirt. “What, this old thing?” she said. “It's just what I wear around the house. You know.”

Brett laughed loudly. “Good one!”

Nina smiled back weakly. The joke had been pretty lame, but she supposed boys were easily amused. “So you came to watch Jordan's show, huh?”

“I guess.” Brett glanced around the barn. “The parentals insisted. I mean, it's not like I wanted to spend my Saturday smelling horse poo, you know?” He barked out another laugh at that. “So are you and the runt riding in the same, you know, competition thingy as Jordan?”

“Same classes, yeah.” Nina smiled tightly, deciding to ignore the not-so-appreciated nickname for Breezy. “Speaking of which, I need to go get ready.”

“Oh. Yeah. Good luck or whatever.” Brett shoved his hands in the pockets of his faded jeans. “See you out there.”

“Okay.” Nina brushed past him and then stopped, not sure for a second where she was supposed to be going. Oh,
right—Breezy. She turned and headed for her pony's stall, shaking her head at her own airheadedness. What had gotten into her lately? For some reason, being around Brett made her feel tongue-tied and strange.

But never mind—she didn't have time to worry about that right now. She reached Breezy's stall, unlatched the door, and swung it open.

“Ready to go, Breeze-man?” she sang out. “Let's go show 'em what we've got!”

Five minutes later, Nina was swinging into the saddle just outside the warm-up ring. Breezy normally stood stock-still for mounting—maybe almost a little
too
still, since Nina usually had to give him a couple of kicks to get him moving. Not that day, though. As soon as her left foot hit the stirrup, she felt the pony's weight shift. “Easy, boy,” she said, quickly swinging her right leg up and over. As she did, Breezy hopped forward, and Nina collapsed heavily into the saddle to avoid overbalancing.

“You okay?” Miss Adaline asked, hurrying over from nearby, where she'd been helping another rider adjust his stirrups.

“Yeah,” Nina replied breathlessly, shoving herself into position and tucking her right toe into the stirrup. “He just took me by surprise, that's all. He's not exactly his usual lazy self today.” She gathered up her reins. Breezy had stopped, though he still felt a little tense.

Miss Adaline smiled. “The horses know it's a big day too. Don't overdo your aids—he'll be on his toes and probably won't need as much pressure as usual.”

“Got it.” Nina took a deep breath. “Here we go!”

Miss Adaline gave Breezy a pat on the neck, then stepped out of the way. Nina nudged the pony with both heels, expecting a sluggish step at most. Instead, Breezy practically leaped forward, and for a second Nina thought he might actually trot off instead of walk.

She laughed. “Okay, I get it, pony boy,” she said. “Easy with the aids, like Miss A said, right?”

Breezy flicked one ear back at her, then turned it forward again as a tall black horse trotted past. As soon as Nina asked him to move off, Breezy swung into a ground-covering walk—the kind of nice, forward walk it usually took Nina about half a lesson to get out of him.

This is kind of nice,
she thought as they rode through the gate and joined the flow of traffic in the ring.
If Breezy's actually going to volunteer some energy today, I might as well sit back, save my leg muscles, and enjoy it!

She and Breezy were trotting a few minutes later when she heard someone calling her name. Glancing toward the rail, she saw Trinity standing there, waving.

Nina waved back, then rode over. “Hey, Trin, you made it!” she exclaimed. “Did anyone else come?”

“Yeah, the gang's all here.” Trinity waved a vague hand in the direction of the bleachers and lawn chairs set up near the main ring. “Livi, Chelle, the whole bunch from school.” She shaded her eyes and peered out at the crowd of horses and ponies in the warm-up ring. “Is that Jordan?”

Nina glanced over her shoulder. Freckles was near the middle of the ring, trotting a sloppy circle. “Yeah, she's a little nervous.” Seeing Jordan made her think of Brett. Her gaze wandered over the crowd, wondering where he was.

She didn't see him, but she did spy a large crowd of familiar-looking people heading her way. She smiled and waved as her father, at the head of the group, spotted her
and lifted his hand. Nina's mother was right behind him, along with Gramma Rose, Aunt Toni, Cousin DeeDee and Tim, Cousin Tommy and his three kids, and several others.

Soon the whole group was at the rail, greeting Nina and Breezy and saying hello to Trinity.

“This is so exciting!” Aunt Toni exclaimed, reaching out to give Breezy a pat on the nose. “Nina, it's like you're in the Olympics or something!”

“Maybe not
quite
like that.” Nina laughed. “It's fun, though, right?”

Just then a horse cantered past right behind them, and Breezy jumped and turned halfway around. “Oh!” Gramma Rose cried. “Nina, are you all right?”