Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 128313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“Genny!” I said, and climbed over the arena fence. I landed in front of her and bent down to give her a hug. Genny’s embrace was warm. When I drew back, I nodded at Jasper. “Mr. Knighton,” I said, and heard the creak of the plastic handles under his hands.
Good. I’m glad the use of his formal name pissed him off.
“Pfft,” Genny said, and laughed. “Mr. Knighton!” She held up her hand. “Call him Jasper, Hallie. He’s too uptight as it is to be called Mr. Knighton too. It’ll go to his head.”
I nodded to Genny and gave her a tight smile. “How are you doing, darlin’?” I said, hoping I wasn’t being too forward.
“Better,” Genny said, positively. “It’s been a rough road, but I’m getting there,” she said and took a deep breath. “Slowly.” That strained breath told me just how hard it had been for her—still was.
I took hold of her hand and squeezed. “You’re missed.”
“Thank you,” Genny said, and I noticed Jasper’s hands loosen on the wheelchair’s handles a little. Like he was a touch more relaxed. Huxley chose that moment to put his head over the fence and nudge my arm of the hand that was in my pocket.
I rolled my eyes and handed him another mint. He crunched away contently, and Genny said, “It was so nice to see him with you like that.” She cocked her head to the side. “You seem like the perfect pairing.” She added, “Leon said that you’re both training really well and he’s excited to see you in action. He thinks you could go far at Sandings.”
I laid my hand on Huxley’s neck, then shifted my gaze to Jasper, who was silent and statue still. “That’s nice of him,” I said, but couldn’t hold my tongue enough to also say, “Your brother disagrees, though.” Okay, apparently I was still more than pissed. Jasper tensed, and unable to stop my tongue I added, “He gave me a grocery list of issues I had the other day. Made me wonder what I was even doing here.”
“Jasper!” Genny said and turned to look up at her brother, angry on my behalf. I should have felt guilty about my words, but I didn’t. Not one single part of me felt bad. If he could be a prick, I could be one too. And his harsh words had made me question my ability.
“What?” he said, incredulously. “All our riders need to be as prepared as possible. The Sandings Grand Prix is the big leagues, and these are Knighton horses.” He gestured to Huxley. “The pressure on the circuit is intense. We must be as faultless as we can.” Jasper shrugged, and that movement incensed me. “No one is perfect.”
“You’re right,” I said after a few strained seconds. “No one is. And no one should act as though they are either.”
Genny’s brow furrowed, and she looked from Jasper to me and back again. In that moment, I considered that maybe I’d gone too far. Jasper was technically my boss and had the power to cut my sponsorship whenever he wanted. But I just couldn’t help myself where he was concerned. Rationality left my body, and only the need to fight back remained.
After a few strained seconds, Genny went to open her mouth to speak again, when suddenly an alarm sounded, piercing the air, and Jasper whipped his head to look behind us—in the direction they’d just come from.
Genny turned too, and I placed my hand on Huxley’s neck to calm him down when the shrill sound made his head throw back in surprise. “Ssh, boy,” I soothed, then made sure the gate to the arena was locked. He was safe inside there.
“Stay here,” Jasper said, and took off running in the direction of a nearby barn. There were raised voices and the sound of something breaking.
“Dahlia,” Genny whispered, and the color drained from her face.
“Dahlia?” I questioned, keeping my eyes fixed on the barn. Grooms and yard staff rushed to try to shut the barn gates manually that had opened automatically when the alarm sounded.
“That’s Dahlia’s barn,” Genny said. “It’s all electronically controlled.” Genny swallowed, and my heart began slamming in my chest. “She needs extra care as she spooks so easily now. We had to install extra-strength stalls to hold her.” Genny looked to me. “The alarm . . . It only makes that sound when the electrics have gone down or someone has opened the gates manually.”
On cue, there was a flurry of panicked, raised voices, and then a horse I recognized as Dahlia burst from the gap they’d been unable to close in the barn doors. The anxious mare was covered in sweat, and her eyes were wide as she galloped down the path.
“Dahlia!” Genny cried, and I heard the fear in her voice. I searched the area around us. It was all gated and there was nowhere for Dahlia to go. She reached a fenced-off area and turned, galloping like a bat out of hell. She headed for a nearby grass paddock, and I held my breath as she stormed toward the high fence that surrounded it.