Initiation (10 page)

“WOW!” RILEY SAID, EYEING MY SADDLE.

“That's
gorgeous
.”

That was nice of her!
I chided myself for making a snap judgment about Riley—especially on my very first day. Maybe we could be friendly after all.

“Thanks,” I said, making sure to give her a genuine smile. “I worked for it all summer. My parents helped, though—it was their Welcome-to-Canterwood gift. Thanks for your compliment, Riley,” I said. “It means a lot.”

Riley widened her eyes. “Gosh,” she said. “
My
parents offered to buy me a Butet, but I said no. I was too afraid the judges would think I'm one of those people who try to cover for their lack of skill with expensive tack.”

Well
, then, guess I'd been off on the whole “friendly” thing. I reminded myself that snap judgments were perfectly fine.

“Okay, then,” I said politely, turning back toward Whisper.

“Oh, no,” Riley said, holding up her hands. Her sincerity was about as authentic as a Chanel purse on Manhattan's Grand Street. “I definitely wasn't insinuating that
you're
a bad rider.” She continued. “I mean, we
both
know a saddle isn't going to sway
Mr. Conner's
decision. You'd know that if you met Mr. Conner. Or maybe you
haven't
.
”

“Look,” I cut in. “I didn't get this tack because it cost a lot of money.” My voice was a notch lower than usual. “I work hard for everything. I. Get. Which is why I'm here— to work. So unless you actually have something useful to say . . . ?”

Riley looked as me as though I'd pointed out an enormous zit in the middle of her forehead. Her mouth was open, but nothing came out.

“Didn't think so,” I said. “But thanks for stopping by!”

I turned around, scooped up the tack, and walked around to Whisper's side.

I heard Riley's boots clomp away. I smiled to myself.

Whisper's saddle pad fit smoothly on her back. I hoisted the saddle in the air, standing on my tiptoes. She was very tall at sixteen hands. She stood, patient, while I tightened the girth.

“Good girl,” I said. “You know, you didn't meet her, but the last horse I rode filled her stomach with air sometimes. The saddle would be loose when I tried to mount her and then I'd slip sideways when she let the air out.”

I peeked to make sure Riley was really gone . . . all clear. Phew! There were enough Rileys on the show circuit.

I shifted my full attention back to Whisper. I unhooked her crossties and slipped the reins over her head. Holding the crownpiece in my hand, I placed her snaffle bit in my hand. Whisper took it without hesitation and I put the crownpiece behind her ears and then buckled the bridle.

With a light hold on the reins, I put on my helmet.

“Time to go find Lexa,” I told Whisper.

WHISPER FOLLOWED ME DOWN THE AISLE
, shoes clicking against the concrete. I didn't want to make Lexa wait long, but I couldn't help but slow a little to take in the beauty of the stable. The black iron bars gave the horses a wide view of the stable if their heads weren't poked out of the stall doors. Each stall was a roomy box stall with clean, deep sawdust. The wide, well-swept aisle had crossties every few stalls if a rider didn't want to tie his or her horse to iron bars.

Two stable grooms worked their way down the aisle, cleaning out stalls, refilling water buckets, and feeding horses.

I stepped out of the stable with Whisper on my heels. The sun had finally burned off the early morning fog and
I saw Lexa standing next to Honor. The horse reminded me of Ana's mare, Breeze, from a distance. A boy I'd never met stood next to Lexa. Whatever he'd just said made her laugh—her infectious laugh.

“Hey, Lauren,” Lexa said when I reached them. “This,” she said, slinging her arm over the taller boy's shoulder, “is Cole Harris. Cole is one of my best friends
and
he's a rider!”

“Don't listen to her,” Cole told me, extending his hand to shake mine. He leaned in and whispered: “I'm
really
not a rider. I just love the clothes so much, I wear them here a lot and just hang out.”

For a split second, I wasn't sure if it was a joke or not, but Cole smiled at me and Lexa shoved him saying, “Cole. We
like
LT. Don't scare her away, please?”

“Sorry, LT. It's nice to meet you.”

“You, too,” I said. “So, do you pleasure ride or are you on a riding team?”

“I made the intermediate team at the end of last year,” Cole said. “I haven't been riding as long as most of the people here, but I'm trying to catch up.”

“He's being modest,” Lexa said. “He's a great rider. No catching up needed.”

“I'm testing for a team,” I said. “It feels a little intimidating. I'd love to see you ride sometime!”

Cole straightened his yellow polo shirt. “For sure. And don't stress the test. Mr. Conner's a
good
instructor. Lexa told me you guys are going on a trail ride, so she'll tell you everything you need to know. She's the best bestie a best bestie can have.” His smile reached all the way up to his eyes.

“Back at you,” Lexa said, bumping his arm with hers. She looked at me. “Cole not only made me a list of clothes to bring and new items to buy for school, but he also got on Skype with me and helped me put outfits together. He's a fashion genius.”

“Oh, stop,” Cole said. “I had to make sure you looked good so we could be seen together.”

His green eyes sparkled. I loved the way they looked against his light brown hair.

Lexa laughed. “Seriously, he's going to be an amazing fashion designer. You should see his sketchbook someday. He's created some outfits that we're going to see in display windows one day. Dresses especially.”

“We'll have to have talk fashion sometime,” I said. “I'm obsessed with it. Especially classic looks.”

“Have you sketched anything?” Cole asked.

“Not yet, but I'm taking fashion as my elective this year,” I said. “I'm sure we'll be asked to draw.”

“I'm taking fashion, too! Who's your teacher?”

“Ms. Snow,” I said.

Cole smiled. “Awesome! Same class. It'll be fun.”

“I'm glad to know someone already. I can't wait.”

Cole checked his watch. “Sorry, girls, but I've got to run. I need to take care of Valentino and make sure he's settled in.”

“See you,” Lexa said.

“Bye,” I said, smiling at him.

He walked toward the stable and I looked at Lexa.

“Cole's so nice,” I said. “I didn't have any guy riders in my class at Briar Creek, but there seem to be lots of guys riding here.”

“Definitely,” Lexa said. “
Many
super hot ones.”

Giggling, we mounted our horses.

We settled in our saddles and Lexa pointed toward woods that lined the back of the campus.

“Let's head that way,” she said.

Whisper walked next to Honor, both mares bobbing their heads. Honor walked with confidence toward the woods. The activity of people riding, horses grazing in the pastures, and students laughing and moving from building to building didn't catch her attention.

Whisper's head moved from side to side—her eyes wide—as she absorbed the new surroundings. Tremors of
nerves rippled under her skin and I felt them through the saddle. I pushed my weight deeper into the seat and kept my legs light but firm against her sides.

Lexa observed us. “Whisper will be okay when we hit the trail. Honor did the same thing when we went out for the first time. She shrunk a little from all the activity, but she seemed to feel safe as soon as we were in the woods.”

“Where's home?” I asked.

“Virginia.”

“Have you always lived there?” We finally reached the start of the woods and, just as Lexa predicted, Whisper's taut muscles began to loosen.

“Same state, but two different cities,” Lexa said. “My dad got a new job in D.C. a few years ago and we lived too far away for him to commute. We moved and I started riding for a great new stable.”

“I got lucky, too, to come from a good stable before Canterwood. It gave me what I needed to get to Canterwood.”

I didn't say what else I'd needed—self-confidence that I'd lost after my accident.

“I've heard about Briar Creek,” Lexa said. “Everyone knows that's where Sasha Silver came from.”

Sasha. The superstar equestrian whose shoes I'd been worried about filling. Worried there would be expectations
of me to be as great as the legendary Sasha. But Kim and my parents had managed to convince me to make my own path.

“I didn't know her,” I said. “I came to Briar Creek just after she came to Canterwood, I think. She and Charm are immortalized at Briar Creek. It's cool to come from the same town and stable that she did.”

“Briar Creek is pretty small, right?” Lexa asked. “Very small,” I said. “A lot of riders do pleasure riding or the small-time show circuit.”

I edged Whisper over so Lexa and Honor had enough room to skirt around a tree branch. The woods were gorgeous. The leafy trees allowed sunlight to filter through but still kept us cool. The well-worn dirt trail had lots to look at. Honeysuckle bushes flanked both sides of the trail. Giant bumblebees didn't even notice us as they zipped from flower to flower. Some of the trees had massive roots that snaked around the grass and down into the earth. The Connecticut air smelled fresh—full of possibility. Maybe . . . I had a chance at the intermediate team tomorrow.

“Thanks so much for bringing me out here,” I said to Lexa. “I love it.”

“I hoped you would. It's relaxing—my favorite thing to
do when I'm stressed or need to step away from campus.”

“I'm a little nervous about testing tomorrow. Can you explain how it works?”

Lexa and I reached a clearing in the woods and we let the horses amble across the open field. The sun warmed my shoulders and glinted off Whisper's back. The field stretched for miles—never ending luxuriant grass. The horses acted more relaxed, too. Honor's ears flicked back and forth, waiting for a command from Lexa. Whisper's stride lengthened and she huffed out a slow breath.

“I'll tell you everything you need to know about testing. I might even tell you so much, you'll want me to stop.”

I shook my head. “That will
not
happen! Talk away.”

“Okay, so, you should have already gotten an e-mail from Mr. Conner with your testing time.”

“Yep. Four-forty.”

“You'll want to be at the stable as soon as you can after class. Get there early so you have plenty of time to spend with Whisper. I made sure I didn't just get to the stable, tack up, and warm up in the arena. I took a lot of time to talk to Honor. She kept me calm.”

Lexa stood in the stirrups, leaned forward and scratched Honor's ear.

“I never like feeling rushed,” I said. “That's definitely something I'll do. What time should I enter the arena?”

“Fifteen minutes before your test. Mr. Conner has all the riders scheduled with twenty minutes between them, so you can't go in too early. I would do the same warm-up you always do before a lesson.”

I ran a hand over Whisper's shoulder. Talking about testing was scary, but each bit of advice from Lexa made it seem less daunting.

“Are other people watching besides Mr. Conner?” I asked.

“No,” Lexa said. “It's a closed session. Mr. Conner won't ask you to perform any moves you haven't done before. He's not trying to trip up the riders—testing is about evaluating your current skills and deciding where those place you.”

“That makes me feel better to know,” I said. “I wasn't sure if he'd be asking for new things that I haven't done or haven't practiced much.”

Lexa smiled. “I worried about that for my test last year. Hopefully, it'll help to know what's going on when you're there.”

“I'll find a way to help you in return. Who else is already on the intermediate team?”

“Cole, Riley, Clare, Drew, and I are the current team. We're all new to it for this year. I'm so excited!”

“If I make the team, it will be so fun to ride with you. Cole, too. I know I only met him for a few minutes, but I really like him.”

“Cole's the sweetest,” Lexa said. “He and I were instaBFFs when we met.”

“He seems like the type of guy who gets along with everyone,” I said. “And, like I said, it's nice to have guys at the stable.”

“That's part of the reason why Cole's here,” Lexa said, shaking her head. “He was bullied at his public school because he rode horses.”

“
Cole?
Oh, my God.”