Freefall: Book Three in the Defining Gravity Series, page 12
Beside him, the rest of Rob’s horses had come outside and, like rolling was contagious, they all dropped to the ground one by one and rolled, too.
Red lurched to his feet, circled a few times, and then dropped down again on his other side, the clean side, to repeat the process, rising up with a huge shake that sent dirt flying up around him in a halo. He snorted, gave one final shake and then marched back into his stall, ready to work on his hay pile again.
“Sorry it’s not pasture, buddy,” I told him, “we’re working on it.”
“Coffee?” Rob appeared in the aisle outside Red’s door.
“Yeah, thanks,” I gratefully took the paper cup he handed me, inhaling deeply before taking my first sip. “Did Hilary say something about pastries?”
I followed Rob into the tack room where Hilary was sorting her tack with one hand while balancing a cheese croissant in the other. I helped myself to something oozing with raspberry filling and closed my eyes as the sweetness hit my tongue.
Artimax didn’t mind me brushing him and tacking him up. I hadn’t spent much time with him last year when Rob had first bought him, and he’d always intimidated me slightly with his overwhelming personality, but it turned out that he was completely sweet.
He stood solidly while I worked over his speckled coat, but every time I picked up a new brush he had to turn around and sniff it all over before I could keep brushing him. He also had a weird habit of licking me whenever I got close to his head. He’d turn and look like he was going to nip my arm and then he’d just lick it instead. It was bizarre, but he didn’t seem to mean any harm and it made me laugh, so I just ignored him and kept on getting him ready.
I looked at the horse boots Rob handed me skeptically and held them up to Artimax’s legs to figure out which way was up. They were battered leather that looked like they’d been through the wash a few times. There was soft fleece on the inside and they had buckles instead of the Velcro I was used to. Finally, I strapped them on as best I could and hoped I’d done it right.
The soreness that I’d felt right after my earlier ride on Red had faded to a dull ache so I was able to climb into my saddle with reasonable finesse. Artimax was a bigger horse than Red and his stride was longer, but it didn’t take long before I felt fairly confident that he wasn’t going to toss me off his back.
Hilary looked way more relaxed on Jerry than she had the day before and he, too, was less prancy, even with all the new horses in the barn.
We started out in the same way as before, letting them walk on loose reins and stretch out and take in the new scenery. We turned into the little pasture and followed it downward to the stream. But these horses knew all about water and they didn’t even hesitate; even Jerry didn’t fool around splashing like he had before.
When it came time for the uphill trot section, Artimax strode out powerfully, throwing me backward behind his motion so that I accidentally popped him in the mouth.
“Sorry, boy,” I whispered, quickly getting myself organized and moving with him rather than against him. As soon as I found his rhythm he was steady and easy to follow.
“He’ll duck his head at first when you canter,” Rob called back. “Don’t fight him, just give him his head for a second and he’ll settle in. He’s honest and you could canter him on a loose rein forever without him taking advantage of you. Liza thinks it’s more of a strength and balance issue than a vice; we’re working through it.”
I gulped nervously and involuntarily leaned forward when Artimax sprang into a canter, but I did as Rob said, letting the reins slide lightly through my fingers a good six inches while Arti shot his nose forward and down. Then I gradually took up the reins until I could feel a light contact with his mouth and was relieved to find that he was ready to listen to me.
Wow, I thought, carefully adjusting his stride to something less enthusiastic. He’s fantastic. After that, I wasn’t afraid at all.
By the end of our ride, Hilary seemed completely back to her old self, laughing and joking with us and looking as confident as she ever had on Jerry. The nervous girl from yesterday and the snappish girl from this morning had disappeared.
I came back to the barn, completely tired and happy, but when Rob suggested that we ride yet another round of horses I had to suppress a groan. I’d been a hard worker at Aunt Lillian’s place, but I usually just rode once a day, and I had to admit that I didn’t work Red very hard when I did ride him. Now I realized just how out of shape I was; I was sore in places I didn’t even want to think about.
“Do you do this every day?” I asked Rob, dropping to the ground and wincing as pain shot up through my ankles and knees.
“Yeah, when I’m lucky. When school and other stuff doesn’t get in the way. I would ride twenty a day if I had my choice.”
“Okay, well, you are completely crazy then,” I said, laughing.
“Maybe a little,” he said, not looking sorry at all. “Come on, just one more round and then we can hang out for a while before my dad comes to pick me up.”
“But who am I going to ride? You have Possum and Hilary has Ellie, but I don’t want to pull Red out again. He’s not even fully dry yet.”
“You can ride Riverdance,” Hilary said from her spot on the lawn where an already freshly bathed Jerry was cropping mouthfuls of grass as fast as he could, droplets of water dripping off his grey sides.
“Sadie’s horse? I can’t ride him while she’s not here; and he’s too good for me anyway. I don’t want to wreck him.”
“You won’t wreck him.” Hilary laughed. “He’s super well-trained, but he’s easy going, too. Sadie said I should take him out a couple times a week just to stretch his legs and I’ve just been too busy to do it, she won’t mind.”
“I don’t know,” I said doubtfully, thinking of how stern Sadie was when something displeased her.
“Hang on, I’ll text her and make sure it’s okay then.”
I slid my saddle off Artimax and hung it up on one of the folding racks in the barn aisle, and then pulled his boots off before carefully hosing him down, all the while worrying about what Sadie would say. On one hand, I wanted her to say no; Riverdance was an ex-bullfighting horse, elegant and well-trained with big soft, intelligent eyes and a knowing expression. He reminded me of a younger version of Claudia’s horse Quarry, who I’d learned to ride on. Bottom line; he was too good for me and I didn’t want to ruin him.
On the other hand, it was one thing knowing that about myself and another thing completely for Sadie to say it in a horrified text. Sadie was kind but she was strict, too, and Riverdance was her prized possession. I couldn’t imagine her—
“Yep, she says its fine,” Hilary said. “Just use his own tack and give him lots of carrots.”
“That’s all she said?” I asked skeptically. No dire warnings about being careful with his mouth or bouncing around on his sensitive back?
“Nope, that’s it. She watched you ride Quarry all summer, Astrid. She trusts you to take care of her horse and not do anything stupid. And it’s my first ride on Ellie since she arrived here. I’m probably not breaking out of a walk.”
“I’m good with an easy ride, too,” Rob said. “Apparently, we’ve got to build you guys up slowly. I want you nice and fit this summer to help condition these horses.”
“Oh great,” I said, groaning out loud. “I’m going to need more pastries then.”
We took a short break to fuel up on snacks and glug down the bottles of water Hilary had stocked the fridge with.
Then I took a deep breath and grabbed Riverdance’s custom-made wooden grooming box, the one with his name engraved on the side in gold letters, his supple leather halter and a carrot, and slipped into his stall.
“Hey, buddy,” I said almost reverently, holding out my hand so he could sniff it. I’d handled Riverdance a ton back at Claudia’s, turning him in and out and cleaning his stall, but this felt different, as if I were meeting him for the first time.
Huh, huh, huh, he said under his breath and then caught sight of the carrot and pricked his ears, standing to attention with his front feet close together. He arched his neck and bobbed his nose politely, encouraging me to hand it over.
“You’re so pretty,” I said, breaking off a piece of carrot and holding it outstretched on my palm.
He took it gently, his whiskers barely brushing my skin, and crunched it slowly, half-closing his eyes, savouring each bite.
When he was done, I slipped the halter over his head and tied him lightly to the ring in the wall. I ran my hand down his golden neck, marveling at how silky smooth he was; he didn’t have any remains of a winter coat like Red did. It didn’t take me long to brush the non-existent dust off him, pick his feet, and carefully buckle his expensive-looking leather exercise boots onto his legs.
“Do you think Sadie would mind if I used my own saddle?” I asked doubtfully, looking at the buttery soft leather of Riverdance’s saddle. Quarry’s old tack was nice, but this looked almost brand new. “I don’t want to scratch this one.”
“Oh, Astrid, stop worrying about every little thing,” Hilary said in exasperation. “You’re not going to wreck anything. You are perfectly capable of not ruining an eight-thousand-dollar custom-made saddle.” I could hear laughter in her voice.
“Great, thanks a lot,” I muttered, setting the saddle carefully on Riverdance’s back, “that’s very reassuring.”
I did the girth up loosely and carefully slipped the plain snaffle between his teeth. He accepted it politely, opening his mouth obediently and let me adjust all the fittings until everything lay flat and perfect. I arranged his long forelock between his eyes and then laughed when he turned to me, expecting a treat.
“Is this the point where Sadie gives you more carrots?” I asked, tightening his girth one more hole and leading him to the mounting block. I’d put some chewy molasses horse cookies in my pocket and I broke a piece off and fed it to him, laughing when his eyes widened in surprise and he bobbed his nose up and down excitedly.
I led him tentatively to the mounting block and waited for the others.
“I’ve always liked him,” Rob said, eyeing Riverdance appreciatively. He ran a hand over the horse’s shoulder. “Sadie brought him from South America, right?”
“Yeah, Brazil. Sadie’s brilliant on him.”
“Well, she’s a great rider; he’s probably a lot of fun, too. Don’t worry, you’ll do great.”
I smiled and nodded, not feeling quite as nervous as I had before. Grooming Riverdance had settled me down and I felt like we’d made friends. I’d never seen him put a foot wrong with Sadie and he was always an easy-going type of guy so most likely I would survive this ride.
Possum had been eyeing him up and now she arched her neck and squealed, striking out a front foot and batting her eyelashes at him.
“Uh-uh,” Rob told her, “now is time for working, not flirting. You can do that on your own time.”
Possum made a chortling noise under her breath, but she stood obediently while Rob swung up on her and let her walk in big circles on the driveway.
“Okay, buddy, here goes nothing,” I said, climbing the block and getting gingerly onto his back. It wasn’t elegant, but I made sure not to thump down on the overly expensive saddle, and Riverdance stood rock-still and at attention until I’d picked up my stirrups and adjusted my reins.
I’d barely brushed my calves against his side and he was off, arching his neck and mouthing the bit, his stride powerful and electric underneath me. It was like driving a sports car rather than a pick-up truck, and it was exhilarating and scary at the same time. He felt full of compressed power just waiting for an outlet.
“Breathe,” Rob reminded me, “and he might do better on a looser rein, he’s expecting to work right now and you want him to get into relaxation mode instead.”
“Right,” I said, inhaling and exhaling deeply, and consciously asking my muscles to relax. Riverdance responded right away, swivelling an ear back, and then dropping his neck down and blowing his own breath out loudly through both nostrils. The energy leaked out of him until, finally, it was like sitting on Red when he was at his most relaxed.
“Ooh, thanks for the tip,” I said, “that’s much better.”
Hilary came out, looking nervous and gingerly tightened Ellie’s girth before stepping onto the mounting block. She paused, stroking Ellie’s neck a few times before taking a deep breath and climbing carefully into the saddle.
Ellie didn’t flinch; she was a green horse comparatively speaking, but she had had a few months of training under her belt back at the ranch and she was sensible. She just turned around and sniffed half-heartedly at Hilary’s boot before moving off in a slow walk.
And that’s how our ambling ride went. Both baby horses followed Riverdance resolutely up the trail, looking around at the new West Coast terrain with mild interest. They didn’t mind crossing the streams or heading up and down hills, and they barely looked at the sheep when we passed, which made sense since they were used to cattle and donkeys back home. When we arrived at the ocean they pricked their ears and snorted in excitement, but they didn’t threaten to bolt or act silly at all.
Rob was grinning from ear to ear. “Your aunt breeds awesome horses, Astrid. These guys are so smart and so solid; this is the type of horse every kid should grow up with.”
Even Hilary was smiling and lavishing praise on Ellie, her own nervousness evaporating with every step. We kept the horses at a walk, although they probably could have easily handled faster gaits, and arrived back at the barn in excellent spirits.
We’d taken longer than we’d planned, and Rob’s dad was already there when we got back so there was no time for hanging out and eating more pastries. We untacked quickly and got busy helping him get his horses loaded in the trailer.
“Same time tomorrow?” Rob said to both of us, but his gaze settled on me.
“I have rehearsals tomorrow,” Hilary said quickly, “but you guys go ahead.”
“Okay,” I said, ignoring my protesting muscles, “that would be great. I’ll text you tonight.”
We waved as the truck bumped down the driveway and then both collapsed cross-legged on the cool cement in the open doorway.
“That was fun but exhausting,” Hilary said, leaning her head back against the barn wall. “I don’t know how he does that every day. I’m plenty fine riding one horse a day let alone four or five. He used to ride extra horses for Liza, too, and I’ve never heard him complain or say that he was tired. Not once.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty great,” I said, pressing my damp hands against the smooth, cold floor of the alleyway.
Hilary made a small noise in her throat and then pushed herself upright. “I should feed lunch,” she said and turned away abruptly, her boots loud on the concrete floor.
I pulled myself slowly to my feet and stretched my aching muscles, frowning at Hilary’s retreating back. Something was definitely up with her.
“Hey, Hilary?” I said tentatively, following her to the hay room and standing in the open doorway. “Are you okay? You know you can tell me anything, right?”
She broke open a bale of hay and turned, giving me a funny look. “Thanks, Astrid,” she said, grabbing an armful of flakes. “I mean it. You’re a good friend; the best. I’m fine, though, nothing to worry about.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, “and you’re all right after that thing with Darius last night? You were acting strange.”
“Was I?” she asked, opening her eyes wide to look innocent. “I guess I was a bit distracted; it’s all the stress from the play and the indoor and everything. And plus, he’s the best looking human being I’ve ever seen in my entire life and I think we were meant to be together on a cosmic level.”
“What?” I groaned internally. “Hilary, we’ve been over this; he’s old!”
“Astrid, he’s practically the same age as us,” she said, sounding irritated. “Anyway, it has nothing to do with it. When I looked at him it was like a bolt of lightning hit me. Like I was drowning but being rescued at the same time; it was awful but wonderful, too. You know what it’s like, right?”
“No…” I said slowly, not having a clue what she was talking about, but then I thought of that time, back at Susan Ling’s lake house before the accident and my summer with Quarry, when I’d first noticed Rob. He was balanced on a rope swing curving far out over the dark water. There had been something about the way his body arced through the sky and the way the setting sun touched his skin; I’d never seen anyone look as beautiful or as free. But it had been a tranquil moment, an inspiration, nothing like the fire and fury Hilary said she’d felt last night.
“Well, maybe,” I conceded. “So, what happens now? Are you actually going to see him again? Your mom is going to freak out.”
“Oh, I’m not going to worry about the details,” she said airily, “it will all work out just like I want it to.”
She smiled, her eyes glittering, and I had the sinking feeling that when Hilary set her mind to something she wouldn’t rest until it happened. I only hoped she would take some time to think about it logically before things got too serious.
“Okay, I’m ready for a shower and a real lunch,” Hilary said abruptly, “I’m starving. And, I forgot to tell you that Marion called this morning after you’d left. She asked if you wanted to stay the night with us again. She said she’ll drop off some extra clothes for you after dinner.”
“She did? I guess, if it’s okay with you and your parents. That would be great.”
“Of course it’s okay, it’s better than okay. If I had my way you’d live with us full time.”
“Yeah, I could probably go for that.”
We fed the rest of the horses their lunch and walked side by side up to the house in a tired silence.
I was almost too exhausted to worry about Hilary but not quite. And I couldn’t help wonder why Marion had wanted me to stay here tonight. I was always glad to hang out with the Ahlbergs, of course, but I didn’t like the last-minute decision; something didn’t feel quite right. Were she and my dad arguing about the road trip? Had he actually expected that we’d pick up everything and go with him? Knowing my dad, the answer was probably yes.
