"He's not back yet." Bo said in a worried tone. She reached for Woody's hand.
"It'll be fine. He'll be here to see Jessie jump her last hurdles." Woody was scouring the surrounding area, looking for Buzz's familiar figure to reappear. So far, nothing.
"But they're on the fifth contestant. And with the sixth contestant eliminated last round, it'll be her turn next." Bo fretted quietly.
"And I'm telling you, he'll be here. He wouldn't just abandon this." Woody sounded more confident than he felt. Then suddenly, he spotted the exact person he'd been looking for. He nudged Bo, and pointed over to the left of the arena.
"Oh!" Bo let the word out in a gasp and smiled. "He's here…." She trailed off. "But why is he waiting by the railing? Shouldn't he be back there, with Jessie?"
Why wasn't he back there with her?
Jessie couldn't see anything of Buzz anywhere. There was no indication of why he'd even left. They were obviously doing worse than she'd feared, worse than he was letting on. She was an amateur at this really. Perhaps he had come to the conclusion she couldn't win, and he'd gone to pack his things and leave. She might as well kiss goodbye to their relationship, and her little cottage.
They were going to lose the farm, and she had lost him.
With a heavy sigh, Jessie buckled her riding hat onto her head and mounted Buttercup for the last time that contest. She petted the horse's neck and Buttercup whinnied softly and stamped her foot.
"C'mon girl. Let's get this over with," she whispered to the filly, as they cantered towards the start line.
"There she is." Bo pointed out Jessie to her husband. "She looks so forlorn. I don't even think she realises he came back to watch."
Woody didn't say anything. The bell had sounded for the next round to start, and in slow motion he watched Buttercup jump the first hurdle without incident. It was almost like everything was moving in slow motion.
Over the second hurdle and then the third. The bars stayed in place, and the horse simply carried on to the fourth hurdle.
At the fifth jump, Jessie almost overbalanced; the horse tipped forward more, but she held her position and the hurdle remained in one piece.
The sixth and seventh hurdles also were left intact, and Woody suddenly caught himself sitting upright as Bo squeezed his hand tightly, her eyes wide.
Jessie prayed that nothing would distract her now. She was vaguely aware that the crowd had fallen silent, and the surrounding sideshows and displays were blinking and shining their lights, but made no noise.
The eighth hurdle was coming up fast, and she launched the white filly over it. She looked up for a split second, and her stomach leapt too. For there, right by the railings on the other side of the ninth hurdle, was Buzz.
She wanted to scream in joy, but she kept her focus in front of her. This was it – make or break time. She had no idea if she would even make the ninth hurdle, but she had to try. It was then she noticed that Buzz was subtly holding something aloft. Something small, green and shiny.
Her features broke into a smile as she leaned down to the horse and whispered:
"Get the apple, girl."
Woody held his breath as Jessie maneuvered Buttercup into the air. She seemed to suspend there above the ninth hurdle – and then she came down to land with a light thud, and coasted around to take on the tenth hurdle.
As she did so, and the horse jumped the final one, the back hoof clipped the railing there. It wobbled precariously for a second - but then stayed still.
Woody was aware all of a sudden that he was on his feet, clapping like mad, and Bo was stood up too beside him, her hands pressed together in front of her chest, and a look of happiness on her face. A wave of shock washed over him as the crowd behind him showed their approval too.
Jessie had done it; a completely flawless round! He twisted to look at the judge's panel, who were all clapping the young female rider. Woody glanced across to the railings, and noticed Buzz was gone from the space he'd occupied previously. When he turned back again to the field, Jessie too had disappeared from view through the exit.
Jessie dismounted, trembling, and started to undo her riding hat. From behind, she felt someone embrace her waist, and she stopped everything she was doing and whirled around.
"Where the hell were you?" She shouted, loud enough for a few people in the vicinity to turn and stare. Her embracer stared back at her, wide eyed.
"I'm s-sorry…" Buzz stuttered. "I….I know she likes apples…and…after seeing you with Bullseye the other time in the stable…"
Jessie mouth twisted as she fought with her emotions. "You left me….you just…walked off. I came back and you weren't here…don't you…." she felt tears pricking her eyelids.
"I'm sorry…" Buzz whispered again, getting up the courage to step forward and take her in his arms. She balled her hands into fists and thumped them on his chest as he cradled her.
"Don't you..." she felt the sob rise in her throat. "Don't you ever….do that again….ever…you hear me…don't you leave me again!"
"I won't…" Buzz soothed her. "I won't..." he drew back for a moment and looked down at her. "How about we see to Buttercup before they announce the results?"
Jessie nodded simply, wiping her face with her fingers as Buzz unbuckled her riding hat and removed it. He pushed her hair back out of her face and put his fingers under her chin, lifting it so his lips could meet hers.
As he pulled away, her hands came up to rest on his shoulders. "About that stables plan, Buzz?"
"What about it?" He remembered fondly their little talk so many weeks ago.
"Well, if this doesn't work out, and we have to go and do that, I get to be in charge. That way no one gets to put me up to doing this crazy stuff ever again!"