Best Enemies (Canterwood Crest) (12 page)

“Stop messing around,” Heather said, her voice low. “This is our shot at the YENT, not Jasmine’s. You’ll both be sorry if you make this easy for her.”

Julia and Heather stepped around our blankets and went over to Alison. The girls petted Sunstruck before walking away.

“You guys can go, if you want,” Paige said. “We can study later.”

I looked at Callie, then shook my head. “Nope,” I said. “I’m staying. We have a lesson later and that’s enough. I don’t want to overpractice and burn Charm out.”

“Agreed,” Callie said. “We have homework to do.”

17
STOP RADIATING HEARTS ALREADY

THAT AFTERNOON AT THE STABLE, I RACED
through tacking up Charm to get to the outdoor arena. I couldn’t wait to have my first lesson with Eric. I’d worn my good breeches and had taken extra care to put on a shirt Charm hadn’t stained. Luna’s stall was empty, so Eric was probably warming up.

“You get to work out with Luna, boy,” I said to Charm. “And I know you like her.”

Charm bobbed his head and I laughed.

I hugged Charm before leading him down the aisle. Callie had Jack in crossties and was saddling him.

“Want me to wait for you?” I asked.

“No, go ahead,” Callie said. “I’ll be out in five.”

I led Charm outside, mounted, and let him trot toward
the arena. Charm, loving the sun and warmer air, swished his tail. He had an extra bounce in his stride today.

As we entered the arena I saw that Eric and Heather were already inside. Heather circled Aristocrat at the far end and Eric trotted Luna along the fence. I urged Charm toward Luna and Eric stopped her when he saw me. Heather glanced at me, but kept riding.

“Hi,” I said, pulling Charm up beside Luna.

“Hey, teammate,” he said.

“Isn’t it awesome?”

Eric nodded. “It’s going to be great.”

“This is
not
happening!” Heather said, huffing. She rode Aristocrat over to us and stopped him in front of Charm and Luna.

“What?” I asked.

Heather rolled her eyes. “You are so not doing boyfriend/girlfriend stuff during lessons. We’re here to ride—not to make googly eyes at each other.”

“We’re not,” I said, laughing. “You seriously need to be less crazy.”

Eric just looked at Heather, an amused expression on his face.

Heather stared me down. “Save it, Silver. You’re
practically radiating hearts. Just keep it out of the arena.”

She spun Aristocrat around and cantered him away from us.

“Guess I better stay away from you,” I said, looking at Eric.

He nodded with pretend seriousness. “You better. Stop radiating hearts already.”

I was going to kill Heather later for saying that. I urged Charm in front of Luna. Jasmine came in a few minutes later and we all warmed up until Mr. Conner arrived.

“Good afternoon,” Mr. Conner said, stopping in the center of the arena. Heather, Callie, Jasmine, Eric, and I halted our horses in front of him. “Since we have two new riders, ensuring a sense of teamwork is important. That’s why, for today, we’ll be doing drill team exercises.”

Drill team? That meant—

“This means you’ll all have to work together in unison,” Mr. Conner said.

Jasmine looked over at me and shook her head.

“Don’t drills usually need an even number of riders?” Callie asked.

“Yes,” Mr. Conner said. “But there are a few drills that
work with an uneven number. Let’s try one. Line up your horses at the end of the arena.”

I was on the outside with Callie next to me, then Jasmine, Heather, and Eric. Mr. Conner stepped off to the side. “Walk your horses forward in a straight line and keep them even.”

I asked Charm for a walk and he started forward, in step with Jack. Jasmine urged Phoenix at a faster walk and he jumped ahead of the other horses.

“Slower, Jasmine,” Mr. Conner said.

Jasmine, frowning, pulled Phoenix back and got him in line. We managed to keep our horses together until we reached the end of the arena.

“Start back across at a trot,” Mr. Conner instructed.

“Should we count?” Callie asked.

Jasmine rolled her eyes. “Do you
need
to count, Callie?”

“On three,” Heather said, interrupting before Callie could respond. “One. Two. Three.”

On three, the horses trotted. I eased Charm back when he started to nose in front of Jack. Charm’s Thoroughbred blood was kicking in—he wanted to race! We trotted the horses down the arena and Eric and Luna fell back half a stride.

“Eric,” Mr. Conner called. “Keep Luna moving.”

Eric got Luna back in line with the rest of us.

“Can’t you keep that slow horse moving?” Jasmine snapped at Eric.

Mr. Conner walked over before he could say anything.

“Good job,” he said. “These exercises will teach you to work as a team and to pay attention to timing. Let’s run through a few more.”

Mr. Conner worked with us for another half hour before he dismissed us. “Nice work, everyone,” he said. “See you next class.”

He strode out of the arena and Heather rode Aristocrat beside Phoenix. “Are you
trying
to sink our team?” she asked Jasmine.

Jas rolled her eyes. “Do you think I care about the team? This drill stuff is so lame. Mr. Conner should be focusing on us as individuals so we have a better shot at the YENT.”

Eric looked over at Jasmine. “We just spent forty-five minutes working on transitions and staying in control of our horses. Each of us—as
individuals
.”

“Yeah,” Callie added. “Mr. Conner knows what he’s doing.”

Jas sighed. “I don’t even know how you made the team, Eric. But no big deal. I’ll be off this team and onto the YENT soon anyway.”

She trotted Phoenix away from us and I stared after her, tempted to chase her down and toss her into the big puddle by the fence.

Callie, Heather, Eric, and I just looked at each other. No words necessary.

18
CHEATING ON CHARM

“CHARM, IT’LL BE OKAY,” I SAID. “WE’RE JUST
going to play in the water.”

It was a warm Saturday afternoon and I’d led Charm over to the creek to work on his water phobia. I’d texted Eric to see if he’d wanted to come, but he was playing baseball with his friends. Mr. Conner had said I could work with Charm at the part of the creek that was in sight of his office. He’d understood that I’d wanted to work through this on my own.

Charm snorted, slowing as we approached the creek. “C’mon,” I said, patting his neck. “I’m right here.”

I led him in small circles a few yards away from the creek bed. With every lap, I increased the size of the circle and led him closer to the creek. After ten minutes, I was
dizzy and Charm was still feet away from the water.

“Let’s go, boy,” I said, leading him toward the creek. Here, the water was only six inches deep. But Charm dug in his heels, raising his head and refusing to step into the water. It wasn’t like I could pull him in. I had to show Charm there was nothing to be afraid of.

I led Charm a couple of feet away from the creek and tied his lead line with a slip knot to a sturdy tree branch. Charm, relieved to be away from the water, relaxed and tipped his ears forward.

“Oh, we’re not done,” I said.

Charm watched as I walked away from him and stepped into the creek. I’d worn my pink rain boots so I could walk through the water. Water swirled around my ankles and I turned back to face Charm.

“See?” I asked him. “I’m totally fine.”

Charm snorted like he didn’t believe me. I stayed in the creek for a few minutes, sloshing my boots through the water. Charm kept his eyes on me the whole time. I finally untied him and patted his neck.

“Okay, that’s it for today’s water lesson. But next time,
you’re
going in, ’kay?”

Charm and I walked back to the stable yard and I took him to the big pasture, turning him loose inside. “Later,
boy.” He trotted a few strides before breaking into a canter, his mane whipping through the air. He zoomed past Aristocrat and Phoenix and came to a halt beside Luna, who was grazing. Never shy about eating, Charm started munching grass beside her.

I turned and walked back to the stable to hang up his lead line. Inside, Alison had Sunstruck in crossties. The Arabian’s coat gleamed. Alison had even polished his hooves.

“He looks amazing,” I said.

Alison nodded. “Thanks. But he’s bored. He loves to exercise and I haven’t been able to do anything but lunge him.”

I rubbed Sunstruck’s cheek. “Can Heather ride him for you?”

“I asked her a few days ago,” Alison said. “She will whenever she can.”

“But she’s probably superfocused on Aristocrat since the YENT tryouts are two and a half weeks away,” I guessed.

Alison smoothed Sunstruck’s mane. “Yeah.”

“I could ride him sometime, if you want,” I offered.

Alison looked up at me immediately. “Really? You would?”

“Sure,” I said. “Charm’s done for the day, so I’m free.”

Alison smiled. “Thanks. Really. I was getting desperate.”

“Desperate… awesome,” I said, smiling back at her.

“You know what I mean. I’ll go grab his tack.” Alison darted off and came back with Sunstruck’s gear and we tacked him up together. I got my helmet and changed into the spare pair of riding boots that I kept in my tack trunk. In the arena, Alison held him while I mounted. Sunstruck was a hand shorter than Charm and much slighter. For a second, I felt like I was cheating on Charm.

“Anything I should know?” I asked Alison, looking down at her.

“His mouth is sensitive,” Alison said. “So keep your hands light. You’ve probably been around him enough to know everything else.”

I nodded. “Okay. Let me get used to him, then you can coach us.”

Alison moved into the center of the arena and I walked Sunstruck to the fence. He moved comfortably under me and I took him through a figure eight to get used to how he handled. He turned from the slightest movement of my hands.

“He’s great,” I told Alison.

“Thanks.” She beamed. “Want to trot him?”

I nodded and let Sunstruck into a trot. His gait was smooth, almost like floating. Alison watched as we made two laps around the arena.