The River Speaks

Chapter Fifty: Race

Chapter Fifty: Race

The next morning, the whole family decided they were still going to have an intervention with Aiden, but I stayed quiet because everything they were saying to him, I already told him last night....and I already screamed at him in the barn for it.
He just kind of sat there and let them bitch at him. I could tell he wasn't listening though and everyone else could too.
When they were finished, he said he was going to go take a shower, and now we're all downstairs just quiet while he's upstairs.
"Do you think he listened?" Michael asks finally.
"No." Jackie says. "He's stubborn."
"Everything you guys said to him, I told him last night." I offer. "He listened to me then. I really don't think he's going to run away though. Not again." I shake my head.
"He's different." Olivia says. "He seems better now, thanks to Lily."
I hesitate.
"That's not thanks to me." I say. "He was like that when I met him. I've said it a hundred times and I'll say it again. The Aiden you think he is and the Aide he actually is are two different people." I pause. "And I don't mean to call you guys out, but he's an amazing person, and he thinks he's a fuck up because none of you trust him. He doesn't deserve that."
They're all quiet for a little while, and then Aiden comes downstairs in jeans and a white t-shirt. He's wearing boots.
"Can we go outside?" He asks.
"Yeah."
"Can I come?" Olivia asks.
"Sure." I shrug.

*****

Everyone decided to join us outside and we showed all of them the baby chicks and how to milk the cows and they seemed to be having fun.
Now we're all standing around the barn and some of the stray kittens are wandering around. Ruby neighs loudly and I turn to see one of them standing on her back.
She walks over to the edge of her stall and nudges my shoulder with her nose, neighing again.
I open the door to let her out, and then I tune into Noah's conversation with Reese, Jackson, and Andrew.
"I could probably beat anybody in a race on War. I mean, he's my horse and I've been riding longer than Lily has been alive."
I scoff loudly.
"I bet you a hundred bucks I'll beat you in a horse race."
"You? Beat me?" He scoffs. "Right. As if that'll ever happen."
"What, you think you're all macho manly?" April rolls her eyes. "I could beat both of you."
"I could beat all of you." May says.
"Alright, yeah." I say. "You guys wanna put your money where your mouth is? The four of us race and each of us owes the winner a hundred bucks."
My siblings and I are competitive and we always have been.
"You're on." Noah says. "No backing out. You better cough up a hundred bucks. I'm going to win."
We get the competitiveness from Daddy. He looks excited for this race.
"I'll set up a course." He says. "Get your partners ready." He rubs Ruby's nose as he passes.
"Wanna make it interesting?" April says. "Bareback."
"No." Mama says. "Absolutely not. I don't wanna be taking one of you to the hospital."
"Well it won't be me." I say.
"You're not doin it bareback." Daddy says. "You guys are competitive, but you're also stupid."
He walks out to set up the race.
I go up the stairs in the barn to get my favorite saddle. It's not the one from World War One, but it's the first one I got when I got Ruby.
I take her out of the barn and brush her, clean her horseshoes, and get her ready. I brush her tail and hair.
After a while, Daddy comes back.
"Whoever wins gets to race me." He says. "And if they win, I give them another hundred. If they lose, I get their winning money."
"You're on." I say.
"Get your horses and get to the end of the driveway."
"Helmets!" Mama orders.
"We're not wearing helmets." Noah says.
"Helmets." She repeats.
I roll my shoulders and stretch, and then I grab the riding helmet Mama is talking about and walk out with Ruby's lead in my hand, which is attached to her.
"You're going to win." Aiden says. "I've seen you ride. You know what you're doing."
"My money's on May." Andrew says.
"My money is on April." Jackson smirks.
Sluts.
Everyone else starts to bet on who's going to win, and Daddy has the pickup truck parked.
"Everyone sits in the bed of the truck to watch." He says. He has a fricken megaphone.
Aiden gives me a quick kiss and runs over to the truck with Mama, his family, and his friends.
"Alright." Daddy says into the megaphone when we get close. "You guys are going to run down the driveway, swim across the pond, out of the pond and down to the pasture fence, jump over the fence, down to the tree line, circle the tree that got struck by lightning when you guys were kids, and then come back the same way. Whoever gets back to where I'm standing first wins."
"Easy." Noah says cockily.
"Get ready to lose, motherfuckers." April snickers. May rolls her eyes.
"You're all going down." She says.
I don't bother saying anything.
I'm going to win.
"Mount your partners!" Daddy says into the megaphone.
I move Ruby's lead so it's behind her head and mount her, holding on.
When I'm sure I'm ready, I look at Daddy.
"On your mark, get set, go!"
He blows a whistle and we all take off towards the pond.
Ruby and I are right behind Noah, who is in front. I hear everyone cheering us on from the sidelines. I lean into Ruby and dig my heels into her side.
She gets into the pond and swims across it, coming out right behind Noah.
He's stronger than me, but Ruby and I are more in sync.
Noah reaches the fence with War, who slows down slightly for the jump.
I lean into Ruby and feel her soar into the air. I move upwards with her and she lands perfectly. I land back onto the saddle and urge her to go faster. I can hear Aiden screaming because I'm in front. I circle the lightening tree and go zipping back the same way I came. Noah is right on my heels and I feel adrenaline coursing through every ounce in my body.
I jump back over the pasture fence with Ruby and she scurries through the water.
Noah and I are neck and neck, and Daddy has a slow motion camera going for when we pass the finish line.
Come on Ruby, we got this!
We emerge from the water and Noah gets in front of me slightly, so I dig my heels in deeper, and I swear on every ounce of my body, Noah and I passed the finish line at the same time, with April and May less than a second behind.
I'm soaked up to my ribcage from the water as I pull Ruby to a stop and turn to Daddy.
"Well?" Noah asks. "Who won?"
Daddy rewinds the video and everyone is running over here to see who won.
I hop off of Ruby and remove my boots, dumping the water.
"Lilliana and Ruby." Daddy says. "But a hair."
"What?!" Noah says, outraged.
"Next time you try to challenge me, remember you spend more time thinking about riding instead of actually doing it." I say as I high five Aiden.
"Let me see that video." Noah huffs, marching over to Daddy. I go over there too and we both peek over his shoulder and watch as Ruby's nose crosses the line just an inch before War's does.
Noah cusses quietly.
"I believe you guys owe me some money?" I tap my chin.
"Asshole." April says, slapping a wet hundred dollar bill in my hand.
May pays up, and Noah glares at me as he hands me the last hundred.
"You're going to lose it to Daddy." Noah snaps.
"No she's not, because I'm not going to race her."
"You're not?" I ask.
"Why?" May huffs.
"Because I'm going to lose." He shrugs.
"Really?" I say. "You taught me everything I know."
"Yes." He says. "I taught all four of you everything I know. The difference, however, is you actually listened to me."
"What do you mean?" April asks.
"All of you got horses for your sixteenth birthday." He says calmly. "And what did I tell you when you got them?"
"You said it's not really our horse unless we spend every second we have with it."
"April was preoccupied with Franklin Miller, May was in cheerleading, and Noah was in football. You guys spent the time you were willing to give up with your horses. Lilliana, however, spent every single second se had with Ruby. Ruby is attuned to her. Ruby is nobody else's but hers. Ruby listens to Lily's body language. They know each other like you guys know the back of your hand. That's the difference between you guys and Lily. I knew she was going to win before the race even started, simply because Lily and Ruby are a team...whereas you guys and your horses are just...friends." He shrugs.
"Lily doesn't even live here." April says. "And she's preoccupied with Aiden." She folds her arms over her chest.
"Yes." Daddy says. "But when she is here, even if she's here with Aiden, she just brings him with her to see Ruby. The rest of you get so preoccupied with your lives that you forget about the farm."
Daddy pauses.
"Also, since everyone is here, I would like to make it known that yes, we were going to sell Winter's foal, but your mother and I decided we're giving it to Aiden."
"Do you even know how to break a horse?" May asks.
"He can learn." I say. "We all learned."