“Is he going to be okay?” I kept asking but no one answered.
Missy got in the back with him, Owen on her lap screaming his head off. She told my father that everything was going to be okay. That he would be just fine. But the tears that rolled down her cheeks told me that she didn’t believe it and then they were gone.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Andy said. “It’s probably just a concussion.”
“Probably,” I said.
I walked back to our stalls feeling numb. People I didn’t know kept coming up to me and telling me that they were sure Dad was going to be okay. That he was a strong man and could take a little fall like that. But the crack of the pole as his body hit it still reverberated inside my head. The way his body went limp and sort of crumpled into the ground like a rag doll. I didn’t know what had gone wrong. And despite what everyone said, I didn’t know if he was going to be okay.
It was up to me to take care of Canterbury. No one else wanted to do it. They looked at the horse like he was a traitor. Even Henry just sort of huffed and turned away when he saw me coming with the big chestnut horse in tow. I didn’t know what else to do but look after him. He didn’t really understand what had happened, nudging my pocket for a treat. I gave him one and patted his neck. He’d been bad but after my father had come off, he stood there like a statue, not leaving his side. Putting his nose down and nudging my father like he was begging him to get back up. Eventually I had to drag him away. Missy had glared at him out of the corner of her eye. She wouldn’t have given him a treat. She probably wouldn’t have taken care of him at all but I felt like he was my only connection to my father. He was the horse that he’d owned before I even lived with them. If I took care of him then maybe it was like I was taking care of my dad.
“Are you ready to go home?” Henry finally asked when he’d loaded up the trailer.
He was driving us back to Fox Run and then he’d come back and get his truck and camper in the morning. I was grateful that he was here. If he hadn’t been then I don’t know what I would have done.
“I guess,” I said.
Because I knew that whatever home was, it certainly wasn’t going to be normal any time soon.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claire Svendsen fell in love with horses at age two when she got her first pony. The only trouble was that it wasn’t a real horse, it was a rocking horse. From that day on she begged, pleaded and bribed for lessons, riding clothes and a horse of her own. She had to wait and work really hard to finally get her first real horse but when she did, it was a dream come true. Over the years she has trained horses, given lessons and even run her own stable.
No longer able to ride due to injury, Claire lives vicariously through the characters in her books. When she’s not busy writing, you’ll find her hanging out at the barn with her retired Thoroughbred Merlin who loves carrots, apples and bowing on command.
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Other books in the Show Jumping Dreams Series by Claire Svendsen
#1 Secret Rider
#2 Pony Jumpers
#3 Winter Blues
#4 Star Pupil
#5 Sale Horse
#6 Last Chance
#7 Hunter Pace
#8 Turf Wars
#9 Beach Ride
#10 White Horses
#11 Trick Pony
#12 Off Course
#13 Winter Wonderland
#14 Gift Horse
#15 Half Halt
#16 Young Riders
#17 Show Time
#18 Beginner’s Luck
#19 Chasing Ribbons
(COMING SOON) #20 Double Standards
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY SIX
CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY TWO
CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
COMING SOON
DOUBLE STANDARDS: CHAPTER ONE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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