When Happily Ever After Ends (2 page)

“I guess so,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve always taken it for granted, I guess. My grandparents gave my parents this place when they were married—right after Dad got back from Vietnam. Riding students have come all the way from Atlanta to work with my father.”

“That’s a two-hour trip,” Zack observed thoughtfully. “I’m impressed.”

Shannon realized that she was doing all the talking. Embarrassed, she added, “I guess I’d better go up to the house. People are waiting for me for my party. Why don’t you come, too? We’re having chocolate cake.”

Zack slid his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and stepped backward. “Your mom invited me, but I’d rather not. It’s for your friends and family.”

“I could bring you some cake later.”

“Sounds good,” he said. “I’d better get back to work. I’ve got some stuff to do in the tack room.”

She watched him leave, feeling flushed with contentment. Could her life get any better? She had
a beautiful, magnificent horse. She’d carried on a long conversation with Zack, and she had an entire summer to train with her father. Shannon turned to the house, at the top of a small hill. She had a quarter-mile run from the barn. Suddenly, she couldn’t wait to open her presents, eat birthday cake, and tell Heather everything!

She blew her horse a kiss and raced up the path, her long blond ponytail flying.

The porch’s screen door clattered shut behind Shannon as she bounced into the big country kitchen where everybody was standing around a massive round oak table. “It’s about time, birthday girl!” her grandmother said with a smile.

“Grandma!” Shannon cried, hugging a tall, stately woman with salt-and-pepper hair.

All ten girls from the Pony Club started squealing. “You got a
horse!”
Tammy Morrison exclaimed, hopping up and down.

“I want to see him,” chimed in Melanie, who was only eleven.

“After cake,” Shannon’s mother declared, lighting the last of the candles on the colorful cake she placed on the table. “Now, let’s sing!”

Shannon listened to every off-key note, then blew on the candles, which flickered and went out. Her friends applauded and Shannon bowed from the waist. “Thank you, thank you. Now if everyone eats real fast, I’ll take you to see my horse, Blackwatch.”

Her mother cut the cake and passed it around,
while Shannon described her horse in great detail. “Sounds like he’s a wonder horse,” Heather said.

Taken aback by Heather’s cool tone, Shannon studied her freckle-faced, red-haired friend. “Well, he’s pretty special to me.” Shannon wanted Heather to say something more encouraging, but all Heather did was nibble at a pink frosting rose.

“I have a present for you,” Grandmother said, interrupting the uncomfortable silence between the girls.

“It’s huge!” Melanie squealed. “Open it right now. I want to know what it is!”

Someone pulled a chair away from the table and Shannon sat down, resting the box on her knees as she tore off the paper. She lifted the lid and discovered a gorgeous riding habit, complete with breeches, black topcoat, blouse with ascot, hard riding helmet, and gloves. “Wow! You’re so lucky!” Tammy exclaimed. “My riding stuff’s
so
old.”

Shannon held the stylish coat against her body. “It’s perfect, Grandma! Thanks a million.”

“You’ll look like a princess,” Grandmother beamed.

“We need a picture of this,” her mother said, glancing around the room. “Paul? Now where did he go? He was right here a minute ago.” Surprised, Shannon looked about for her father. He’d supported her during every major event in her life. He should have been here now. Where was he? she wondered. “Oh, never mind,” her mother said as she quickly picked up the camera. “I’ll take the pictures.”

She fired off several shots as Shannon began opening other gifts. There was a riding crop, cassettes of her favorite rock group, a new T-shirt, and a box of fancy hair bows. She saved Heather’s gift for last. In a small box was a pair of earrings and a rhinestone bracelet that Shannon had admired during their last shopping excursion at the mall. She hugged her friends one by one, then led the way down to the barn.

“What do you think?” she asked as the girls hung over the top of the stall and peered through the gaps in the wood.

“Awesome!” Melanie said.

“He’s magnificent,” Cathie Kasch added.

“I’m going to start working him today,” Shannon explained.

“Don’t you think you should let him get used to his surroundings first?” Heather asked.

“What’s to get used to? This is his home now,” Shannon said, slightly puzzled by Heather’s attitude. Her best friend wasn’t making nearly the fuss over the new horse as the other girls.

Heather didn’t answer, but wandered over to the stall where her horse, Fantasia, was kept. Shannon followed her. “Will you be riding him in the Nashville show?” Heather asked.

“I’d like to, but Dad doesn’t think he’ll be ready. Even if I don’t jump him, I could still ride in a couple of equitation events—you know, the walk, trot, canter stuff. I don’t know what kind of a jumper he is, but we’ll find out soon.”

“I’m sure your father wouldn’t have picked out a dud.”

“You’re right. Dad knows
everything
about horses.” Shannon took Heather’s elbow, tugged, and blurted, “Guess what? Just before the party, I spoke to Zack. Can you believe it?”

“Isn’t this your lucky day.”

“Is something wrong?” Shannon asked. “I thought you’d be happier for me. You know how long I’ve waited to get a horse as good as this one. Plus I thought you’d be interested in knowing about Zack.” She waited patiently for Heather to answer.

Heather’s face flushed red, making her freckles stand out in blotches. She scuffed at the straw with the toe of her boot. “You know whenever I try to talk to boys, I start to stutter. If a guy even looks at me, my face turns beet-red.”

Shannon nodded sympathetically. Was that all that was bothering her friend? she wondered. The news that Shannon had made inroads with Zack? “You just need to practice.”

“It’ll never change,” Heather sighed. “I’m doomed. I’ll never have a date.”

“Sure you will,” Shannon said, deciding that her friend was simply having a bad day. “Cheer up. You have Fantasia, and you have me, too.” Shannon grinned and so did Heather.

“I’m really glad about your horse,” Heather said contritely. “And the new riding habit. I’m just afraid we won’t get to do all the things we planned this summer because you’ll be so busy training Black.”

“We can still go riding together,” Shannon assured her. “Dad’s already made it clear that he has other students to work with.” Shannon wondered again where he’d gone and hoped he hadn’t fallen into one of his gloomy moods.

“I want this summer to be like all our other ones—lots of horse shows, riding, and winning ribbons,” Heather explained.

“Of course this one will be like all the others,” Shannon replied. Even as she agreed with Heather, Shannon knew she wanted this summer to be
more
than others had been. The new horse was a step forward, and the conversation with Zack had already changed something. The image of his dark eyes caused her to smile secretly. No matter what the summer brought, she was ready for it.

By twilight, everyone had gone home. Shannon was disappointed that she hadn’t been able to ride her horse yet and said as much to her grandmother as she prepared to leave. “Tomorrow
is
another day,” Grandmother said, settling behind the wheel of her car. “Now don’t go spending all summer with that horse of yours. I want some of your time for myself. How about having lunch with me at the hospital next Friday? It’s my volunteer day.”

“Sure, Grandma,” Shannon said, shutting the car door. She felt proud of her sixty-seven-year-old grandmother. Betty Campbell was slim, attractive, fashionable, and very active. She was currently coordinating fundraisers to build a new children’s cancer wing for Chattanooga’s largest medical complex.

“I’ll tell you the details of my latest plan to throw a formal ball in August. It will be so grand that everybody in the city will want to come—including you and your parents.”

Grandmother flashed Shannon’s mother a big smile as she came over to the car. “You can count on us, even though your son hates that sort of thing.”

“We’ll drag him,” Grandmother insisted with a wink. “It’s for a worthy cause.”

Shannon leaned through the open window and kissed her grandmother’s cheek. “I’ll see you next Friday then.”

“Please trade in those jeans for a dress. I want my friends to be as proud of my favorite grandchild as I am.”

“Your
only
grandchild,” Shannon joked. “No jeans—but only for you.”

Grandmother glanced at the house, then started the car. “I guess your father’s busy. Tell him I said good-bye.”

She watched her grandmother drive away, then went into the kitchen where her mother was loading the dishwasher. “It was a great party, Mom. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Don’t run off. I’m starting dinner.”

“I just want to go to the barn and see Black one more time.” Shannon dug around in the vegetable bin for carrots and sliced one into chunks. “I guess I’ll start working with him first thing tomorrow.”

“I give Melanie a lesson at eleven, so we’ll need the ring.”

Shannon realized how her schedule would have to revolve around everybody else’s, which only made her more impatient. “Where’s Daddy?” she asked.

Her mother looked up from scrubbing frosting off the oak table. “I haven’t seen him since he left the party.” She paused. “He’s not been himself lately.”

“Is he getting the flu?”

“No, I don’t think so,” her mother answered. She stopped scrubbing the table and a frown crossed her face. “A little depressed maybe. I think he’s feeling blue again.”

“Maybe he’s working too hard.”

“Running this business is hard work—but I’m afraid it’s more than that.”

Shannon stuffed the carrot chunks into her shirt pocket. “Is something wrong, Mom?” She had always been able to talk openly with her parents, for which she was grateful. Heather was always complaining that with two younger brothers and both her parents working, she could barely get their attention. “At least my horse loves me,” Heather would often grumble.

“Wrong? Of course not. He’s been through these spells before and we’ve weathered them,” her mother assured her with a bright smile. “Don’t worry. Hurry and feed those carrots to that horse. You’re going to spoil him rotten, you know.”

“I know,” Shannon called on her way out the door.

Once inside the barn, she inhaled the fragrance of new hay mingled with leather and horseflesh. To Shannon, the aroma was sweeter than any perfume.

She held out a carrot chunk for Blackwatch, who pricked his ears forward and nibbled across her palm. His velvet muzzle felt soft and his breath warm on her skin. “We’re going to do great things together,” she whispered and scratched behind his ears. The horse snorted and flipped his head, as if he agreed.

The next morning, Shannon bolted her breakfast and urged her father to hurry up with his coffee. “Let’s go,” she begged, anxious to get into the training ring with Black.

He waved her off with a smile. “Don’t rush me, princess.”

She was glad to see that his gloomy mood had lifted somewhat. Her mother had told her not to worry and she’d been right. Shannon thought back to all the times her father had helped her prepare for competitions. It had been hard work, but this time it would be well worth it. She owned a horse that was true show material, and now she had a legitimate chance at making her Olympic dreams come true.

She ran ahead of her father to the barn, readied Black for the training session, and was mounted in the ring when her father arrived.

She took a few laps under her father’s watchful eye. “That’s it, Shannon—shorten the reins and let him take the low fences. Let’s see what he’s got.”

Following her father’s instructions, Shannon tightened her grip on Black’s reins and dug her heels into his flank. The horse responded by breaking into a canter, heading straight for the series of evenly spaced three-foot-high fences that her dad had positioned in the training ring. Even though the barriers were low by advanced competition standards, it was necessary to begin with pure gymnastic jumps to determine a horse’s overall athletic abilities.