Heartlines

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Well good morning, sleepyhead!" I woke abruptly, sitting up much faster than I should. I groaned in pain, but turned to see Jared standing in the doorway of the loft, coming in and dropping his heavy-looking book bag. "Take it easy, Kat, it’s just me," he almost commanded, clearly worried. He was a good friend. "What time is it?" I muttered sleepily, "about three o’clock. Just got home from school. Don’t worry about it though, you need to sleep as much as possible. It’s the best way for you to heal, considering you never sit still when you are up and about," he teased, and I made a snarky face in turn. "Yeah yeah, you hush." I pulled myself out of the small bed slowly, and began to strip the sheets to convert it back into a couch. Jared walked over quickly to stop me, "I’ll take care of it. You go see Kiro, I’ll be down in a moment," he knew me too well, knowing exactly what I was aiming for. I nodded in agreement and went back down to see my horse.

Just the thought … ‘my horse’ … was a sad reminder that he wasn’t yet mine. How was I ever going to get the money to purchase him? Trina would charge a hefty price for him, considering he now had a winning streak in Eventing. I knew the people that had been at the circuit Jared and I had entered before the crash would flock him like birds to a fishing hole. I could only hope that his anti-stranger ways could scare them away. "Is that bad to wish for?" I thought aloud, thinking I was out of earshot of anyone. Unfortunately, I wasn’t. "What did you say, madam?" The new voice startled me, causing me to jump uncomfortably. The voice came from a man, dressed in high-class riding gear, standing by the stall near Northgate. I knew it was the owner of the barn from his location – the horse stalled next to Northgate was Standfordshire Delight.

Jared had told me many things about the barn owner and his horse. Standford was remarkable animal, one of amazing talent. Gary Richard had brought him up from scratch, born from one of the top Warmbloods in Germany. Gary had Standford shipped back to the US with him, and the rest is history. Today, Standford held countless awards, won about half a million Grand Prix’s, anything you could think of. Oddly enough, he wasn’t an Eventer, but a show jumper. Gary did own a mare that he evented with, but she was up and coming. I might have asked him why he spent all the extra money to make the barn one of the eventing type if I didn’t have other things on my mind.

"I’m sorry miss; I didn’t mean to startle you. You are Kristene, aren’t you- Jared’s friend, owner of that black over there?" I nodded quickly, wanting to seem more professional than I had so far. "Yes sir, I am." I walked up to him and reached my hand out in greeting, "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Richards, Jared has said great things." He chuckled to himself a bit, shaking my hand firmly. "Yes, I’m sure he has. He’s a good kid, and he has a nice horse. Much like yours," he gestured his hand over to Kiro’s stall, and began walking to his door. I walked a bit ahead of Mr. Richards, terrified of what Kiro may do. "Please be careful sir, he’s a bit … afraid of strangers, I guess you could say." Gary stopped just short of Kiro’s stall, continuing his content chuckle, "Yes Kristene, I found that out a little bit ago," My face went pink, and I gave a stink eye to my black beast. He gave me a sparkly look, ears pricked, almost to say ‘well what’s wrong?’

"I’m really sorry about that, Mr. Richards," I muttered apologetically. He just shook his head and waved his hand, "Don’t be sorry little lady, I’ve met many a horse that has the personality like yours. Just good with his master, nobody else." I smiled and nodded, glad that Gary Richards seemed so understanding. "Mister, I’m in a bit of a predicament. See, my trainer owns Kiro, he’s not mine. She wants to sell him, though. It would be devastating for both me and Kiro, and I really don’t want to see that happen. Unfortunately, I don’t have the funds to purchase Kiro right now. I’d like to ask for the opportunity to work at this beautiful stable. I can start as soon as I am well enough to lift a water bucket." I didn’t have to inform him of the accident – considering he was stalling my horse, he had to know.