The Horsewoman(46)

But when she got to the far end and turned him back around toward the barn, she didn’t hesitate.

Gave him one kick, and then another, telling him to pick up speed.

Then she was coming down the middle to where Gus had set up a small jump for his other riders, feeling as if she were flying, blocking out the fear now, oblivious to the pain she was still feeling, feeling herself smiling, even as she felt her breath coming as hard as the horse’s.

She jumped Paladin then.

Felt the jolt in her legs as he landed, but kept going, circling like it was a tight rollback.

Coming back around.

Jumped him again.





FIFTY-TWO



I WAS GETTING READY to ride Sky in competition, for the first time since the fall.

Second Friday after the Grand Prix. In a side ring today, not the International Arena. Meter 30 today, half what I’d jumped with Coronado. When I walked the course with Grandmother the top rail didn’t look much higher than a curb after what I’d been jumping with Coronado.

Grandmother was training me today, not Daniel, who had driven to Fort Lauderdale to meet with an immigration lawyer, Mr. Connors.

“It is for a friend, not me,” he had said.

“Is your friend in trouble?” I’d asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you going to get into trouble helping him?”

“He is my friend,” Daniel had said, and left it at that.

Normally Mom would have been the one to step in and act as my trainer. But this happened to be the day when Dr. Garry had scheduled an MRI and some other tests to see how she was healing.

“You don’t need me anyway,” she said at breakfast. “You’ve got the world’s greatest trainer in your corner today.” She nodded at Grandmother and said, “Just ask her.”

“It’s almost not fair to the other riders,” Grandmother said.

She was chattering away as we walked the course, pointing out the hot spots in between bantering with other trainers and riders. Ever since we’d gotten Steve Gorton off her back and she wasn’t worrying about money, at least for now, she seemed happier than she’d been since Mom’s injuries. Clearly enjoying the hell out of the way things were going.

“God, it’s good being back in the saddle,” she said after we finished walking the jump-off course.

“Did you really just say that?” I said.

She winked and began singing. “Back in the saddle again…”

“I’ll pay you to stop singing,” I said.

“Out where a friend is a friend…”

“People are staring,” I said. “You know that, right?”

“Just letting them know that the grandmother is back,” she said.

There were sixty in the class today. Normally Tyler Cullen, one of the headliners for a four-star Grand Prix on Saturday night, wouldn’t have bothered with a smaller event like this. But he’d decided to enter another one of his horses, Bandit. Grandmother and I were convinced he was doing it to mess with me, even though I wasn’t riding Coronado today.

After we were finished in the ring, we sat on the grassy hill above it and waited for Emilio to walk Sky up from the barn. Suddenly, my grandmother threw back her head and laughed.

“What’s so funny?” I said.

“I was just imagining that little twerp Tyler Cullen trying to smart-mouth me today,” she said.

“He is kind of small, now that you mention it,” I said.

“One of these days,” Grandmother said, “I might ask him if he wants to sit on my shoulder.”

When Emilio was back with Sky, Grandmother made a point of checking boots and saddle and bridle and spurs. Totally in charge today and loving every minute of it. Time for me to get up on Sky in the schooling ring. I put on the hairnet I wore under my helmet, put on my gloves. Walked down the hill. Emilio helped me up. Grandmother clapped her hands.

“Let’s do this,” she said.

She walked over and took her place next to the practice jumps. As I eased Sky into her first jump of the day, I heard Grandmother yell, “Eyes up. Heels down.”

“I know,” I said as we went past her.

“I heard that,” she said.

We came back around.

“Hands up!” she barked.

“They are up,” I said.

But I felt myself smiling.

“Not high enough,” she said. “Different horse today.”

“No shit,” I said, my back to her.

“Heard that, too,” she said.

Mom had always been her main focus, even after I’d started riding in competition and Grandmother told me I was wasting my talent, and my promise. But today was all about me.

Back in the saddle again.

After a few more jumps, getting closer to my place in the order, she waved me over.

“Remember,” she said. “Coronado drifts left. Always. Into the jump, over it, through it. Sky does the opposite. She goes right. Go ahead and jump her again.”

I turned Sky away from her, over to where Emilio was standing near the fence. As I did, I saw a flash of gray, and saw Tyler Cullen nearly cut me off with Bandit. No contact. But he had to have seen me. Which meant he’d done it on purpose. I was able to get Sky out of his way at the last second.