Author's Note: Wow, it's been a while since the muse has struck me! But it's back for right now. I won't make any promises about a certain number of chapters, but I will try to do a bunch of writing as long as the muses cooperate, lol. Special thanks to kaitlin, Liberating Penguins, JmacNCheese, y0urs x truly, and alli88! Your reviews are much appreciated. Ok, so this is a longer chapter and I hope y'all will enjoy it…real drama coming soon, I promise, lol!
Disclaimer: I should hope you have it memorized by now.
Longing to Know
Chapter 6
1, 2, 3, hup. 1, 2… Harley's lithe body shifted forward in the saddle again as the muscular Thoroughbred sprung over the second four-foot jump effortlessly. She straightened up and guided him in a gentle curve. Turn, turn, turn. 1, 2, 3, 4… The powerful hindquarters gathered under her as the horse thrust himself in the air.
"He's dropping his left shoulder on the turns! Pick it up!" The comment was shouted from a thin, older man wearing tan breeches and shiny black dress boots. From the middle of the arena, Charles Shaw peered at horse and rider scrutinizingly from under his black derby. "Circle!"
Harley averted her eyes from the upcoming jump and raising her left rein slightly, directed the horse in a 20-meter circle. Acting out of instinct, she lifted her left rein imperceptibly higher and shifted her weight to the outside when she felt the distinct drop in the gait.
"Good." Shaw called out, pleased with her tactful correction. "Give him some rein and take him over the cavaletties."
Allowing the animal to stretch his neck, Harley cantered a wide arch before pointing him at the row of small jumps, placed just far enough apart for the horse to land and push off between each.
"Bring him into your hands, softly now," Shaw told her as she passed. "Rhythm…cavaletties are for rhythm! Feel his motion! Don't just sit there, follow him! This is a two-player sport." –a pause– "Take him around again."
Harley swore quietly as she slipped behind the horse's motion again. Concentrate, Harley, concentrate! Just concentrate on the horse, she yelled at herself, doing her best to catch up to the feel of the gait. Heading down the cavaletties for the second time, Harley managed to pull herself together.
"Better," he commented, then pointed to the standards on the other side of the arena. "Take him over the combination again."
Harley's head whirled. FOCUS! Aiming the horse at the first jump, she shifted into two-point and let the big animal take over. He flew over the poles, clearing with a foot to spare, then landed softly in the dirt footing.
1, 2… Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Bradin moving across the yard.
"Look out!"
But the warning came too late. As the Thoroughbred sprung up, Harley's center of gravity was thrown backward, unseating her. She reached for the pommel of the saddle, but missed as the horse's weight shifted forward, throwing her onto his sweaty neck. A sharp spasm of pain shot through Harley's left side, and she instinctively tensed. Feeling herself sliding off the saddle, she feebly made an attempt to stay on. Time slowed as she fell toward the ground, though she was crashing through the jump in a moment.
Harley lay still, fighting the darkness that threatened to overtake her. The fog passed, but she struggled to fill her lungs, gaping like a fish out of water. Shaw appeared next to her, his aged fingers checking her arms and legs for fractures.
"Does anything hurt?" he asked worriedly.
Still struggling to breathe properly, Harley shook her head. It was a lie, but she knew nothing was broken anyway. She slowly sat up, her eyes searching for the horse. Finding her voice, she anxiously asked, "Where's Rouge?"
Shaw chuckled. As if in response to her inquiry, the big Thoroughbred stepped up from behind her and nuzzled her shoulder. Harley lifted herself from the ground and using the horse's strong shoulder as a support, she began to dust herself off.
"Try it again?" Shaw raised his eyebrows in question.
Harley could not force the words out of her mouth, so she simply nodded, turning to the horse and lifting her lower leg. Shaw boosted her up into the saddle quickly and easily, betraying his elderly outward appearance. Setting the jump standards back up, he set them a hole higher.
Squeezing the horse into a trot, Harley carefully tested herself. Crap, she thought angrily as her left hip and knee protested loudly to her posting. Maybe she could suck it up for another go round. She had to; there was no choice in the matter. Inwardly groaning, she cued Rouge to canter.
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, Harley mentally counted with the horse's stride as the big chestnut tackled the cavaletties.
"Good!" Shaw called to her.
"Good boy, Rouge." The horse's ears swished back as she said the words. "Come on, buddy, let's do this thing." Rouge snorted, then shortened his stride as Harley asked him to.
Throw your heart over first…then jump after it. The words floated through her head. Harley counted strides, shifting into two-point just before the horse gathered himself up. Giving the horse his space on the landing, she reined him in softly, once again counting her strides. 1, 2, hup!
Rouge sailed over the second jump easily, landing almost daintily on the offside as if jumping the 4-foot 2-inch fence had been no effort whatsoever. Breathing a sigh of relief, Harley envisioned herself catching her heart and putting it back in place.
Throw your heart over first…then jump after it. Silly words from a corny Disney movie, perhaps, but a great help when in need of courage. Harley had to laugh at herself.
Slowing Rouge to a walk, then to a halt next to Shaw, Harley looked down at the white-haired gentleman and asked, "Was that okay?"
Shaw chuckled, patting her knee gently in a grandfatherly gesture. "Good enough for today, Harley. I'll get someone to cool him out." Shaw raised his hand to stop Harley's protest. "You go home and get some rest. That fall wasn't horrible, but it was quite unlike you to loose your focus."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Shaw, I've just had some other things on my mind and I—" her voice trailed off.
"Don't apologize," Shaw reassured her with a smile. "Everyone gets a little unfocused sometimes. Just be thankful it wasn't a worse fall and that you weren't in competition."
Harley half-smiled and nodded. "But really, Mr. Shaw, I'd just as soon take care of Rouge before I leave. It's no trouble, and I would rather know for myself that he's getting taken care of properly."
Shaw looked at her, seemingly unconvinced by her argument.
"Besides, I'm fine. Really, I am. You don't have to worry about me."
Sighing, he shook his head, a grin spreading across his wrinkled features. "I just can't win with you, can I? You'd fight to take care of the horse even if you'd broken two legs and couldn't stand up, but that's what I've always admired about you."
"You were the one who taught me that the horse comes first," Harley reminded him.
"Just make sure you get enough rest. I don't want you hurting yourself."
"I will."
With that, Shaw excused himself, leaving Harley and Rouge alone in the arena.
"Well, Rouge. That was exciting. But you're a good boy." She stroked the chestnut's sweaty neck. "How's about we go for a walk out down to the creek?"
Rouge's ears flicked up and he tensed to move forward. Harley laughed at him. "You know where we're goin', huh bud?"
Moving the horse over to the arena gate, Harley leaned down and unlatched it. She squeezed Rouge through, then closed it after him. Rouge walked along the narrow path without guidance, knowing where they were headed.
As the horse and rider maneuvered through the pasture gate, Harley allowed herself to relax. What had gone wrong before the fall? She'd never been that unfocused in all her years of riding. What was wrong with her? Ever since Bradin Westerly had shown up for a job, her life had been all mixed up. Every time she saw him, her stomach did a little flip-flop. Every night she thought of him, unsure of why her mind turned to the surfer boy she tried so hard to dislike. There it was again. Could she ever stop thinking about him?
Harley looked around her as Rouge planted his forefeet in the small stream with a splash. Following the meandering stream with her eyes, she spotted several brown horses grazing in the lush grass a few hundred yards away. Beyond the horses, white panel fencing criss-crossed like a mint candy stick, twisting and curving as far as the eye could see. An endless expanse of green stretched out in all directions, seeming to go on forever. A warm breeze stirred the grass, as if the ocean was exhaling its salty sea-breath from the other side of the hill. How peaceful it was—away from the noisy traffic of PCH and downtown Playa Linda.
The distant roar of a jetliner drowned out the gentle trickle of the stream, pulling her from her quiescent musings. Harley looked up, shading her eyes from the sun. She watched the silver belly of the airplane until it was out of sight before turning Rouge back toward the barn.
Reining the big Thoroughbred in at the barn door, Harley slowly eased herself off the saddle, doing her best to land with most of her weight on her right leg. She missed and for a moment her weight fell on her left leg. Letting out a gasp of pain, she reached for the horse to steady herself as her left hip went out. The horse looked around at her, nosing her arm as she stood leaning on his side.
"I'm fine, boy," she said. "I don't need you fussing over me, too."
But as much as she tried to convince everyone that she was fine, inwardly, she knew it was a lie.