Silver Hawk Ridge: Taking Flight

{ Chapter 40 }

Alright loyal readers, we are 1 chapter away from the end...

If silence could have a decibel level, this one would be louder than a rocket launch (okay, a bottle falling in a shower, but still). Even Kennedy radiated nerves by the way she chewed profusely on the inside of her check. Both of us had horses in hand, so we couldn't do much beyond little fidgeting. The rest of the trainers left the ring, save for Mr. Watts, Ms. Brand, Ms. Flint, and two trainers that I didn't recognize. They made their way down the stairs to us, each with a sheaf of papers in hand.

"Alright ladies. First off, I have to commend you on a job well done. We gave you a tough test and a tough course to work through, and you made every effort to impress."

Okay cool, so we made it?

"We had our critiques for everything on what could have been done differently, or what would have liked to have seen more of."

Forget it, I didn't make it, she maybe didn't make it, maybe neither of us made it. I knew this was too good to be true. You know if it hadn't been--

"But then that would have made it our performances, not yours, and that's now what we were here to see."

Wait, what?

"And with that," Mr. Watts stepped forward "It is with great pride that we extend the privilege of being members of the Silver Hawk Ridge Academy national level equestrian team. Ms. Flint, it is a bittersweet thing to hand these two over to you", and with that he handed us framed certificates dictating our placement onto the national team. Kennedy and I smiled as we shook hands with the national team trainers and posed for photos for the social media pages.

"Aaaand, we have one more surprise for you ladies" Ms. Flint said with a sneaky grin. They handed both of us forest green gift bags. Upon removing them we were blessed with the sight of our national team warm ups.

"Alright, there's no way you both just had those whipped up this morning" I laughed. "How long have you guys had these?"

"Funny story, that one" Coach Flint, rolling her eyes and glancing at Mr. Watts. "I wanted you guys from the get-go, but this guy here wouldn't let me", tipping her head in his direction.

Wait, WHAT?!

"Would you care to explain that one further Mr. Watts?" Kennedy voiced my thoughts with both humor and an incredulous manner.

"Happily. Kennedy, you've always had growing room in terms of your spirit and your maturity as a rider. You grew quickly over the last year and a half. Savannah, it wasn't enough that you won the scholarship, you had to dive in head first and prove you had what we wanted to see. The Varsity team let us see what you could do under our instruction with what you already had. You both developed and presented the skill set to be on the national team and even be successful on that level, but I wanted to see if you were hungry enough for it. And based on the season you were definitely hungry enough for it. In fact you almost devoured us this season." He laughed at the last remark. I could feel my face blushing a brilliant scarlet at the praise.

"Alright you two, go get your horses cooled down. Savannah, get Rega ready for transport. It's 9:30AM now and you told me that your parents are set to pick you up at 10:30. We'll exchange your hunt coats when you get back". With that the coaches walked out of the arena.

"So, we've officially hit the top" I started.

"Indeed we have. Not that you ever seemed to consider us rivals, but any rivalry that we've ever had is only to be healthy from now on." She said, extending her hand.

"Always. I've got your back" I took her hand firmly. "Alright, Rega's been cooled, so I should get her shipping gear packed and dump her gear back into my tack trunk".

Now that we'd cemented our deal, everything felt charged to head into the new semester with a bang.

~~~~~~~~~

I shut my room door gently. Rega's shipping preparation and packing had been quick, but definitely not painless. She was in a mood post tryouts despite the most luxurious cooling and rubdown facilities that she'd been treated too. Now she sat patiently in her stall bundled up in her shipping gear with a bran mash and my tack trunk, ringside backpack, and duffle had everything loaded and was sitting in front of her stall waiting to be loaded.

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

I was tackled onto my bed by all of my friends.

"First of all, get off!" the grumble came out muffled. "Second, how the heck did you guys know?"

"We may or may not have asked Ms. Brandt to message us with the consensus" Avery said sheepishly. Of course they did. That's why I loved this group. I'd texted Delaney and we'd borderline squealed over the phone, but it wasn't the same as getting to have the attack of smothering hugs. We hadn't spoken much lately, and I felt bad, but she understood.

   "Of course you did" I laughed, rolling my eyes. After helping me make sure everything was packed for my early departure, I finally got the chance to take a shower and let everything sink in. I was officially on the national team. I would be traveling all over the country competing and riding for clinics. It was definitely a huge undertaking, but I couldn't wait to get started. Once I'd hopped out of the shower, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a red sweater, throwing my black quilted coat on over it and shoving my feet into my black paddock boots. After we hauled my suitcases down to the curb to my parent's waiting truck, I said my goodbyes.

"Ugh! I can't believe I won't see you guys till after Christmas, it's not fair" I whined.

"Tell me about it! Text us when you get back home!" Bianca said, wrapping me in one last warm hug. Once I'd peeled myself away, I turned to find my parents talking to Reyana and Amanda.

"... just need you to go to admin so they can verify that you picked your child up and then pick up any medications from the clinic".

"Okay, that can be done. Savannah?" I walked closer hearing my name called. "We're gonna go do some admin so we can actually take you home with us, can you take the truck down to the stables and load up?" I nodded and my dad tossed the keys to me. After parking the truck in the loading zone, I booked it into the barn. I dreaded loading my heavy trunk into the trailer, but it was all part of the sport. After loading the last of it all into the trailer's tack cab, I rushed back to grab Rega, running right into Drew. We hadn't seen much of each other through finals. He'd wanted to be there for my jury, but he had travel stuff with his sister to take care of.

   "Guess I won't be seeing you during practice anymore" he smirked. I smiled sheepishly and threw my arms around him, laying my head on his shoulder.

   "That doesn't mean I won't come bug you all the time".

   "I don't think I would mind that much". I felt the muscles in his jaw that were against my head flex into a smile. Among the many things I would miss over break, getting to spend time with Drew was one that stuck out. The movie nights and the weekend trail rides were things that I'd grown contently accustomed to.

   "Alright, I gotta get the big girl loaded up, but I'll let you know when I get to SC. Text me when your flight takes off and gets in?"

   "You know it" he smiled down at me sweetly, taking my face in his hands and stroking the apple of my cheek with his left thumb. I darted forward to press my lips to his. They were a warm contrast against the cold air that had surrounded the campus. One hand stayed on my face while the other wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. We had to pull away all too soon, but I didn't care. One was better than none. He placed one last kiss on my forehead before leaving me with Rega. Sliding her shipping halter and clipping a rope on, she ambled with me into the light snow that had begun to fall on the already blanketed ground. Once Regan was in the trailer I drove back up to meet my parents.

   "Alright kiddo, let's get you guys home". My dad and I switched places. I plugged in my earbuds and Jimmy Buffet swirl around me as I gazed out the window and watched what had been my home since August roll by as we set off towards home.

...of book 1.
Yes, there will be book 2 and it is under way as I type this.