Burning Desire

Chapter Ten

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Belmont Equestrian Centre was unusually quiet the next morning. The typical cacophony of an efficient yard was replaced with a disconcerting serenity, silence occasionally punctured by the soft whicker of a horse or the muffled shuffle of hay.

My footsteps resounded through the deserted barn, but somehow the silence seemed louder than the sound of my footfalls echoing through the empty space. Suddenly, a violent crashing sound broke the silence and caused my heart to leap out of my rib cage.

"Oh my God!" I cried, spinning around to see a red-faced girl blinking sheepishly at the water bucket she'd just knocked over.

"Sorry!" she called back, flicking her ginger braid over her shoulder as she bent down to pick up the fallen bucket. I recognised her as Clara, the youngest rider at Belmont. Although she was hopelessly clumsy on the ground, once mounted upon a horse she had a magical gift for riding; each movement graceful, purposeful, refined.

"That's ok," I smiled. "Do you know where everyone is? The yard is so quiet today."

"They all went to some really big dressage competition in Carolina Horse Park," she replied.

"Oh," I frowned. I'd heard nothing about this show. Although, that was probably because I didn't have a reason to compete in it; my injury lately had prevented me from preparing a test. Not that I had a horse to ride anyway.

"I take it you weren't invited either?" Clara smiled sheepishly.

"Nope," I tried to return the gesture. "Clara, you couldn't spare an hour could you? I was going to ride my mare on the lunge but it's not exactly an easy feat with only one person."

She grinned. "Sure!"

Brenna snorted as I entered her stable, eying me warily. She stood relatively still as I groomed her auburn coat, though she insisted on tossing her head every few seconds when I ran a brush through her mane, making the task nearly impossible. Sighing in resignation, I slipped a saddle over her back. She lashed out with a hind-leg but thankfully that was the extent of her protestations. I attempted to sooth her with soft words before slipping on a cavesson bridle; she held her nose high in the air defiantly but allowed me to buckle the leather around her elegant face. I didn't even attempt stretching her legs, knowing that the mare didn't trust me enough yet and it could result in a potentially fatal accident.

"I'm starting to think you take pleasure in being annoying," I tutted, leading her out of the stall and towards the indoor arena where Clara was waiting patiently. I flashed the bright-faced teen a smile, fastening a lunge line to Brenna's bridle.

"She's stunning!" Lara gushed. "What's her name? I don't think I've seen her around the yard before."

"She's called Brenna. She's owned by one of the other riders, Callum – they only arrived a few weeks ago. I've been given the task of...retraining her. She's a bit of a diva."

Brenna snorted and started prancing on the spot as if to illustrate my point. My fingers stretched to grab her bridle and still her, but I withdrew my arm before I had the chance. The whole reason Brenna had become so highly-strung was because she'd learnt to retaliate against forceful, inconsiderate riders. If I wanted her to trust me, I was going to have to demonstrate that I wouldn't hurt her or use force to get her to listen.

"I'm going to lunge her for a few minutes to warm her up and, hopefully, get her a bit more settled. Then would you mind lunging whilst I ride her? I've only ridden her once before and she spooked at something, causing me to fall and get injured. At least we won't have that risk in here."

Clara smiled with a nod of affirmation. "Sure."

I allowed the lunge line to stretch out between us before encouraging Brenna forward into a walk with a click of my tongue. She snorted and broke into a smooth gait, though it was far from relaxed. She carried her head high in the air, eyes training my every movement in distrust, and tension limiting any extension in her strides. I frowned. It was sad to see such a stunning horse plagued by anxiety.