His Second Chance

Chapter Nineteen

Three weeks later

I was woken abruptly to Chloe hitting me with a pillow.

"What do you want?" I moaned.

"Get up! We're going to the show today!" she said.

"Is that today?" I sounded drunk - drunk with sleep.

"Yes, and we're going to be late if you don't get up within the next five minutes!" she shouted as she left my room.

I was so tired from last night. Jack had visited again last night with Anouk, comparing notes. I had only been there because I wanted to know if anything more had been discovered. They were still hooked on the fact that Louie was guilty. They supposedly had more evidence against him; Jack was trying his best to go against it, but so far nothing was working.

But today wasn't a day for thinking about this situation. Today was a day for winning, and I was determined to bring a red ribbon home today.

I dragged myself from my bed, falling onto Ranger again, and downstairs where Chloe had left some toast and jam on the kitchen table for me. I was missing Elizabeth's big breakfasts. I was missing Elizabeth a lot, and I knew everything else was too. But we had to carry on as normal.

As I sat down to eat my toast, I heard Chloe loading Ava into the trailer. I shouted out an obscene phrase as I knew I literally had five minutes before we left. I ran upstairs with the toast still hanging out of my mouth, grabbing my old jeans and T-shirt. I climbed into them as quickly as possible, sprinting back down the stairs and out the front door.

Chloe was waiting by the trailer, on her phone. I ran up to her, looking a complete mess. She looked at me and burst into laughter.

"What?" I challenged.

"Get in the car," she laughed, walking towards the house.

"Where are you going, I thought we were going!" I cried.

"Where are your showing breeches?" she asked, knowing fully what the answer would be.

I groaned and jumped out of the car. I knew where they were in the house, but Chloe caught me as I ran past.

"I've already put them in the boot," she grinned.

"Why did you make me get out then?" I cried.

"I didn't make you do anything, I asked you where your breeches were," she replied," Just get in!"

I did as I was told, and made sure to stay where I was, so Chloe couldn't take advantage of my drowsiness. I fell asleep again on the way there, even though the show grounds were only a five minute drive away. I let Chloe get Ava out and sort everything out. We had only brought Ava, as it was only a local show just for me to regain my confidence.

I got changed in the back of the car. Of course, when I came out, Chloe was ready. Ava was waiting patiently, dozing quietly.

"I bet this will go the same way as it did last time," I said miserably.

"Why are you in such a sour mood today?" Chloe asked," You'll be fine, you know Ava very well, and she knows you. Just pretend you're at home, jumping in the school."

I nodded as we walked towards the ring. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as I mounted Ava, waiting impatiently to go in. They finally called my number, and I trotted Ava in. I had already memorized the course, not something I usually did, but this time I knew exactly where I was going.

I felt confident, and this rubbed off on Ava. She looked very proud as she trotted around the course, flicking her tail and shaking her head. I waited until the judges were ready before beginning my course.